John McKeithen
John Julian McKeithen was an American lawyer and the 49th governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat and attorney from the rural town of Columbia, he first served in other state offices. In 1967 he gained passage after his first term of a constitutional amendment to allow governors to serve two successive terms, he was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to be elected and serve two consecutive terms. He advocated the construction of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, he had served in the US Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II. During the Civil Rights era, in 1965 McKeithen intervened in events in Bogalusa, Louisiana, to end violence after whites of the Ku Klux Klan continued to violently resist change for African Americans, following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he established a commission to work on social transition in the state. McKeithen was born in the village of Grayson just south of Columbia in Caldwell Parish, the son of contractor and farmer, Jesse J. McKeithen and the former DeEtte Eglin.
He attended college in High Point, North Carolina. While in North Carolina he befriended Terry Sanford. In 1942, he earned his law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in the capital city of Baton Rouge. From 1942–1946, during World War II, McKeithen served as a first lieutenant in the 77th Infantry Division, United States Army in the Pacific Theater of Operations, he fought in the battles of Guam, Gulf of Leyte, Ie Shima, Okinawa. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. After the war, McKeithen started practicing law in Columbia. On June 14, 1942, he married Marjorie "Margie" Howell Funderburk, she had Margaret Funderburk. Reared in Winnsboro, Marjorie graduated from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, she taught mathematics and chemistry at Jena High School in Jena and, thereafter, at the Ward 5 School in Caldwell Parish. The McKeithens had six children: their oldest son was Jesse Jay McKeithen, their son Fox McKeithen became a politician, being elected as State Representative and Louisiana Secretary of State.
Their daughters are Rebecca Ann, Melissa Sue, Pamela Clare, Jenneva Maude. Marjorie McKeithen was the homemaker at their Hogan Plantation, yielding the spotlight to her popular husband, whom she affectionately called "J. J." McKeithen joined the Democratic Party, still the only competitive party in the state since disenfranchisement of blacks at the turn of the century. He was elected as a Louisiana state representative in 1948, he became a prominent floor leader for Governor Earl Kemp Long. As a legislator, McKeithen voted for tax increases, believing that the government had to invest in the state. In the 1948 session, he supported the implementation of the 2 percent state sales tax, a 2-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline taxes, higher tobacco and alcohol levies, taxes on chain stores, greater severance taxes, higher rates on electricity. In 1952, as a 33-year-old state legislator, McKeithen was an unsuccessful Democratic primary candidate for lieutenant governor on a slate headed by gubernatorial candidate Carlos Spaht and supported by the Longs.
The "anti-Longs", led that year by Judge Robert F. Kennon of Minden, won the governorship and other top positions. In a runoff election, McKeithen lost the lieutenant governor's race to C. E. "Cap" Barham of Ruston, who had run on the gubernatorial intra-party ticket with U. S. Representative Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. of New Orleans. Barham switched to the Kennon ticket in the runoff against McKeithen. Once in office and Barham were at odds. McKeithen was elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission, serving from 1955 to 1964. In the 1954 Democratic primary for the PSC, he defeated incumbent Harvey Broyles and a second challenger, Louis S. "Buck" Hooper. Because Louisiana was a one-party Democratic state due to the disenfranchisement of blacks since the turn of the century, McKeithen was unopposed in the general election. During the primary campaign, he had called for an investigation regarding the disparity in charges between in-state and out-of-state long-distance telephone calls, having noted that it was cheaper to call from Shreveport to Jackson, than from Shreveport to Monroe.
McKeithen represented Huey Long's old north Louisiana district, was described as making populist attacks on the Southern Bell Telephone Company. He was credited with preserving the traditional nickel telephone call, when most states had raised rates to a dime or higher at pay phone outlets. In the 1960 Democratic primary, McKeithen defeated Hooper again; when McKeithen left the PSC after being elected as governor, he appointed John S. Hunt, II, of Monroe, a nephew of Governors Huey and Earl Long, to finish his term. In 1966 Hunt won a six-year term on the PSC in the Democratic runoff primary, defeating State Representative John Sidney Garrett of Haynesville. McKeithen supported the choice of Garrett as Speaker of the Louisiana House. In his gubernatorial race, McKeithen retained the young political consultant Gus Weill to manage the campaign. A Lafayette native, Weill had earlier done similar work for a former governor. After the election, Weill served during the first term as McKeithen's executive secretary.
In the first primary in December 1963, McKeithen faced a wide array of intra-party opponents, including former Governor Robert Kennon.
256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States)
The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is a modular infantry brigade combat team of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is headquartered in Louisiana; the brigade is part of the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard. The brigade was established in 1967, as part of an initiative by Secretary of Defense McNamara to reduce the number of National Guard divisions while increasing the number of brigades; the 256th replaced a brigade from the 39th Infantry Division in the Louisiana Army National Guard. The brigade was part of the Selected Reserve Force from 1967-1969, but the Selected Reserve Force was eliminated in an attempt to eliminate readiness differences between reserve component units; the brigade consisted of three infantry battalions and a "brigade base": a headquarters company. The brigade was mechanized in 1977, when the 1st Battalion, 156th Infantry was converted to the 1st Battalion, 156th Armor The 256th Brigade was activated from November 1990 through May 1991, conducted training at Fort Hood, TX, but never deployed.
Some controversy arose over this activation of three round out brigades. None of the three brigades deployed before the end of combat in Operations Desert Storm. After the 5th Infantry Division was inactivated in 1992, the 256th Brigade served as the round out brigade for the 2nd Armored Division, until the end of the round out program in 1996. With the end of the round out program, the 256th was selected as one of 15 Enhanced Brigades in the ARNG; the enhanced brigade program increased resources and training to allow the brigades to mobilize and deploy within 120 days. During train up for operations in the spring and fall of 2004, the 256th Infantry Brigade was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas; the Brigade completed a NTC rotation at Fort Irwin, California. The brigade spent another month training in the desert of Camp Buehring, Kuwait prior to moving into Iraq. In 2004–2005, the 256th Brigade was sent to Iraq as part of OIF III, it served under the 1st Cavalry Division for its first five months and its last several months under the 3rd Infantry Division.
During the first half of its combat tour in Iraq some of the brigade's subordinate units served under the 10th Mountain Division. The brigade served in and around Baghdad, Iraq in a FOB known as FOB Victory until 15 June 2004. At this date FOB Victory's name was changed to FOB Liberty because on this date the Iraqi government "stood up". Upon the 256th's arrival at North Liberty it became Camp Tigerland. During operations in theater the brigade operated under the configuration of one-third heavy and two-thirds light; each battalion in the brigade had one company of heavy forces with M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, M2A2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, or a mixture of the two. The other two thirds operated from HMMWV Gun Trucks that mounted either machine guns or automatic grenade launchers; the field artillery battalion was cannibalized to bring the infantry battalions up to full strength. The remainder of the Washington Artillery was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division base defense operations center under the command of the 103rd Field Artillery Brigade and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
One howitzer platoon from the Washington Artillery was used to provide indirect fires in support of FOB Liberty. Additionally, Task Force Bengal was "stood up" as a liaison/training team to equip and assist the 40th Iraqi National Guard Brigade. TF Bengal consisted of soldiers and officers of the infantry, field artillery, engineer units from the 256th Brigade as well as the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry from New York City, attached for the deployment. Attached to the 69th Infantry was Delta 101, a company of tankers and scouts turned infantrymen from New York's 101st Cavalry Regiment. During the American Civil War, the 69th engaged the ancestral units of the 256th many times, so their attachment to each other for OIF provided a symbolic reconciliation 140 years after they fought each other to the death from 1861 to 1865. On 21 February 2005, the 40th ING Brigade assumed authority for 16 square kilometers in and around Al Akadhimian and began patrolling with 2800 soldiers; the 256th lost 32 soldiers in the Iraq War.
On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the gulf coast of Louisiana and Mississippi while most members of the 256th Infantry Brigade were still serving their final weeks of deployment in Iraq. Following the return of the brigade to Louisiana, a detachment mobilized to New Orleans to aid law enforcement with rescue efforts. With the help of the Louisiana State Police, those efforts transitioned into a support mission for the New Orleans Police Department. Joint Task Force Gator was created to help combat the rise of looting and other crimes resulting from the loss of law enforcement officers in the New Orleans area. After three-and-a-half years of assisting local police and patrolling the city, the task force was released from duty on 28 February 2009. On 1 September 2006, the 256th converted from a separate mechanized infantry brigade into a modular Infantry Brigade Combat Team; the 1st Battalion, 156th Armor inactivated and its personnel were used to form the 2d Squadron, 108th Cavalry.
The 2d
Louisiana Army National Guard
The Louisiana Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. The Constitution of the United States charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions; when not Federalized the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of Martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control; the National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or Congress. There are 11,500 soldiers serving in the Louisiana Army National Guard; the Louisiana National Guard maintains 74 units in 44 parishes across the state. The Louisiana Army National Guard was formed in the "18th Century when a militia was formed from among the civilian inhabitants of Colonial Louisiana to assist Royal French and Spanish troops in protecting the colony and preserving the peace" The Militia Act of 1903 organized the various state militias into the present National Guard system.
Several units of the Louisiana Army National Guard were activated in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990-1991. These included the 159th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, which operated the only active hospital in southern Iraq in support of the 3d Armor Division during the ground war; the 2003 invasion of Iraq saw the call up of several units including the 204th ATSG and the 1083rd, 1084th, 1086th, 1087th transportation companies which upon entering the theater of operation fell under the command of V Corps during 2003-04. During OIF III the 256th Infantry Brigade served a combat tour during 2004-2005. Units of the 225th Engineer Brigade have been mobilized for duty in both Afghanistan. Additionally, aviation components such as the 1/244th Aviation Helicopter Battalion, 204th Theater Air Operations Group and the 812th Med Company have served in an active capacity for OIF multiple times at one year intervals. 165TH CSS BN Mobilized in 2008. 773RD MP BN has mobilized as separate companies.
159TH Air Guard SQDN has been mobilized. 256TH IBCT mobilized for a second tour to Iraq on 5 January 2010. The 415th Military Intelligence Battalion mobilized for a second tour to Afghanistan on 29 Nov 2010. After Hurricane Katrina the LA ARNG organised Joint Task Force Gator to assist in relief efforts. Louisiana Army National Guard units are equipped as part of the United States Army; the same ranks and insignia are used and National Guardsmen are eligible to receive all United States military awards. The Louisiana Guard bestows a number of state awards for local services rendered in or to the state of Louisiana. National Guard units can be mobilized at any time by presidential order to supplement regular armed forces, upon declaration of a state of emergency by the governor of the state in which they serve. Unlike Army Reserve members, National Guard members cannot be mobilized individually, but only as part of their respective units. However, there have been some individual activations to support Federal military operations.
For much of the final decades of the twentieth century, National Guard personnel served "One weekend a month, two weeks a year", with a small portion of each unit working for the Guard in a full-time capacity. New forces formation plans of the US Army were announced in early 2007 modifying the recent National Guard active duty callup pace; the new plan will nominally anticipate that each National Guard unit will serve one year of active duty for every five years of service. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates imposed "a one-year limit to the length of Federal deployments for National Guard Soldiers." Call ups by Louisiana authorities for state emergencies are not included in this policy. Joint Force Headquarters Louisiana 256th Infantry Brigade 225th Engineer Brigade 205th Engineer Battalion 527th Engineer Battalion 528th Engineer Battalion, 769th Engineer Battalion 61st Troop Command 139th Regional Support Group 415th Military Intelligence Battalion 165th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion 773d Military Police Battalion - Camp Beauregard, Louisiana.
The 773d gets its numerical designation from the World War Two 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion of the same name. 156th Army Band 199th Regiment 199th Support Battalion State Aviation Command 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group 1st Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment 2nd Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment Camp Beauregard - Pineville Army Aviation Support Facility #2 at Esler Airfield - Pineville Camp Minden, site of the deactivated Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. - Minden Camp Cook - Ball Camp Villere - Slidell Army Aviation Support Facility #1 at Hammond Northshore Regional Airport - Hammond Gillis W. Long Center - Carville Jackson Barracks - New Orleans 156th Infantry Regiment 199th Infantry Regiment 108th Cavalry Regiment 141st Field Artillery Regiment 159th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital Louisiana has two countries in the SPP (State Partne
Haiti
Haiti the Republic of Haiti and called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola, east of Cuba in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island. Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres in size and has an estimated 10.8 million people, making it the most populous country in the Caribbean Community and the second-most populous country in the Caribbean as a whole. The region was inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people. Spain landed on the island on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic; when Columbus landed in Haiti, he had thought he had found India or China. On Christmas Day 1492, Columbus's flagship the Santa Maria ran aground north of what is now Limonade; as a consequence, Columbus ordered his men to salvage what they could from the ship, he created the first European settlement in the Americas, naming it La Navidad after the day the ship was destroyed. The island was claimed by Spain, which ruled until the early 17th century.
Competing claims and settlements by the French led to the western portion of the island being ceded to France, which named it Saint-Domingue. Sugarcane plantations, worked by slaves brought from Africa, were established by colonists. In the midst of the French Revolution and free people of color revolted in the Haitian Revolution, culminating in the abolition of slavery and the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte's army at the Battle of Vertières. Afterward the sovereign state of Haiti was established on 1 January 1804—the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the second republic in the Americas, the only nation in the world established as a result of a successful slave revolt; the rebellion that began in 1791 was led by a former slave and the first black general of the French Army, Toussaint Louverture, whose military genius and political acumen transformed an entire society of slaves into an independent country. Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who declared Haiti's sovereignty and became the first Emperor of Haiti, Jacques I.
The Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years. The Citadelle Laferrière is the largest fortress in the Americas. Henri Christophe—former slave and first king of Haiti, Henri I—built it to withstand a possible foreign attack, it is a founding member of the United Nations, Organization of American States, Association of Caribbean States, the International Francophonie Organisation. In addition to CARICOM, it is a member of the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, it has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas. Most in February 2004, a coup d'état originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A provisional government took control with security provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti; the name Haiti comes from the indigenous Taíno language, the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, "land of high mountains."
The h is silent in French and the ï in Haïti has a diacritical mark used to show that the second vowel is pronounced separately, as in the word naïve. In English, this rule for the pronunciation is disregarded, thus the spelling Haiti is used. There are different anglicizations for its pronunciation such as HIGH-ti, high-EE-ti and haa-EE-ti, which are still in use, but HAY-ti is the most widespread and best-established; the name was restored by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. In French, Haiti's nickname is the "Pearl of the Antilles" because of both its natural beauty, the amount of wealth it accumulated for the Kingdom of France. At the time of European conquest, the island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western three-eighths, was one of many Caribbean islands inhabited by the Taíno Native Americans, speakers of an Arawakan language called Taino, preserved in the Haitian Creole language.
The Taíno name for the entire island was Haiti. The people had migrated over centuries into the Caribbean islands from South America. Genetic studies show, they originated in Central and South America. After migrating to Caribbean islands, in the 15th century, the Taíno were pushed into the northeast Caribbean islands by the Caribs. In the Taíno societies of the Caribbean islands, the largest unit of political organization was led by a cacique, or chief, as the Europeans understood them; the island of Haiti was divided among five Caciquats: the Magua in the north east, the Marien in the north west, the Xaragua in the south west, the Maguana in the center region of Cibao and the Higuey in the south east. The caciquedoms were tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of harvests. Taíno cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the country; these have become national symbols of tourist attractions. Modern-day Léogane started as a French colonial town in the southwest, is beside the former capital of the caciquedom of Xaragua.
Navigator Christoph
Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota
The Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota is a twin-engine helicopter with a single, four-bladed main rotor. The UH-72 is a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145 and was built by American Eurocopter, a division of Airbus Group, Inc. Marketed as the UH-145, the helicopter was selected as the winner of the United States Army's Light Utility Helicopter program on 30 June 2006. In October 2006, American Eurocopter was awarded a production contract for 345 aircraft to replace aging UH-1H/V and OH-58A/C helicopters in the US Army and Army National Guard fleets, it performs logistics and support missions within the US and the National Guard for homeland security, disaster response missions, medical evacuations. The U. S. Army's LHX program began in the early 1980s, proposing two helicopter designs with a high percentage of commonality of dynamic components. One was a light utility version for assault and tactical movement of troops and supplies, the other was a light scout/attack version to complement the growing development of the AH-64 Apache.
As the program was developed, the light utility version was dropped and focus was placed on the light attack reconnaissance version, which became the RAH-66 Comanche. In 2004, the U. S. Department of Defense and the US Army made the decision to terminate the RAH-66 program; as part of the termination, the Army retained the future years' funding intended for the Comanche. To replace the capability of the cancelled Comanche, the US Army planned several programs, including three new aircraft; the Army Staff decided that these three aircraft, the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, the Light Utility Helicopter, the Future Cargo Aircraft, were to be existing, in-production commercial aircraft modified for Army service. The LUH program was initiated in early 2004, with an initial requirement for 322 helicopters to conduct homeland security, logistic, medical evacuation and support of the army test and training centers missions; the LUH contract was released in July 2005. At least five proposals were received, including Bell's 210 and 412, MD Explorer, AW139.
EADS North America marketed the UH-145 variant of the EC 145 for the program. On 30 June 2006, the U. S. Army announced. In August, the UH-145 was designated UH-72A by the Department of Defense; the award was confirmed in October 2006 following protests from losing bidders. Despite a four-month delay due to the protests, the first UH-72 was delivered on time in December, when the name Lakota was formally announced for the type, following the service's tradition of giving Native American names to its helicopters. On 23 August 2007, the UH-72A received full-rate production approval to produce an initially-planned fleet of 345 aircraft through 2017; the UH-72A is produced at Airbus Helicopters's facility in Mississippi. In December 2009, the service ordered 45 more UH-72As; the 100th Lakota was delivered in March 2010, the 250th UH-72 was delivered in April 2013. That month, the U. S. Army opted to halt procurement after 2014 due to budget cuts. In January 2014, Congress gave the Army $171 million to procure 20 additional UH-72As.
The 300th UH-72 was delivered to the Army in May 2014. In May 2013, Congress questioned; the Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno stated that the UH-72A was developed for domestic operations and is not considered to be operationally deployable to combat zones. The UH-72 is employed by the US Army National Guard in a utility role in the US, releasing UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to deploy overseas. On 21 June 2013, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Logistics Frank Kendall stated in a letter to Congress that UH-72 combat modifications were "presently unaffordable". Fleet-wide combat modifications would cost $780 million and add 774 lb of weight per helicopter. In December 2013, the US Army was considering retiring its OH-58 Kiowa fleet and transferring all Army National Guard and US Army Reserve AH-64 Apaches to the active Army to serve as scout helicopters. With this plan all 100 active Army UH-72s along with 104 Army National Guard UH-72s would be transferred to use as training helicopters, replacing the TH-67 Creek at the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Some active Army UH-60 Black Hawks would be transferred to Army Reserve and Army National Guard units for homeland defense and disaster response missions. The proposals aim to retire older helicopters to reduce costs while retaining crucial capabilities. With the prospect of most UH-72s being repurposed as training helicopters, the Army is requesting funds to buy 100 more Lakotas to add to the training fleet; the FY 2015 budget would cover 55 helicopters, FY 2016 funds would complete the purchase. On 4 September 2014, the Army issued a notice of intention to buy up to 155 EC145/UH-72s as a training platform "on an other than full and open competitive basis". AgustaWestland launched a judicial bid to have the acquisition declared illegal, having claimed at a hearing that the EC145 did not offer the best value for the money and that its "restricted flight maneuver envelope" impeded its use for training. Airbus defended the Army's position, noting thei
225th Engineer Brigade (United States)
The 225th Engineer Brigade is a combat heavy engineer brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is one of the largest engineer formations in the United States Army National Guard; the 225th Engineer Brigade is headquartered at Camp Beauregard near Pineville, Louisiana in Rapides Parish. The brigade conducts missions of mobility, counter-mobility and civil engineering support; the brigade possesses a mixture of civil and combat engineer units to accomplish these missions. During 2007 the 225th Engineer Brigade served as the headquarters and construction element for Operations New Horizons 2007. During this mission four construction projects consisting of two-classrooms were built at four different schools within the nation of Belize in Central America; these projects. In addition to these construction mission medical and veterinary services were provide for several thousand Belizians at Orange Walk, Belize. In Operation New Horizons 2000, the brigade constructed buildings on Price Barracks, a military installation outside of Ladyville shared by the British Army and the Belizian Defense Force.
In Operation New Horizons 1997 the brigade constructed a school at Guadalupe. In 1990 the 769th Engineer Battalion participated in the "Fuertes Caminos", a low intensity conflict from 6 January to 7 July 1990. During Operation Beyond the Horizons 2008, the 225th Engineer Brigade will provide construction support to humanitarian assistance missions in Honduras; the 769th Engineer Battalion participated in "Operation Minuteman" in 1990 by constructing a 12 km road in rural Panama. This battalion repaired schools and medical facilities during this operation. In Afghanistan and Iraq, during the "Global War on Terror" since 2001, the brigade has deployed battalion and company sized elements to Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan elements of the 769th Engineer Battalion served as part of Task Force Dragon and Task Force Panther under the 505th Infantry Regiment around Bagram Air Base; the brigade deployed in support to the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. Hundreds of soldiers from the 225th Engineer Brigade have served on Joint Task Force Gator which has provided law enforcement support to New Orleans from summer 2006 to February 28, 2009.
As of 14 July 2008 FSC of the 769th Engineer Battalion returned after a year in Iraq. The units demobilized from Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Feb. 2008 – Mar. 2009, the 927th Sapper Company of the 769th Engineer Battalion deployed to serve a year in Afghanistan. 29 Aug. 2008, the 225th Engineer Brigade mobilized in preparation for Hurricane Gustav. The brigade conducted operations alongside units from several states such as: 203rd Engineer Battalion Missouri, 216th Engineer Battalion Ohio, 224th Engineer Battalion Iowa, units of infantry and military police from Kentucky and Nebraska; the 769th Engineer Battalion operated in the following parishes: East Baton Rouge Parish, Ascension and Iberville. The brigade continued operations through September 2008. May, 2010 - Members of the 2225th Multi-Role Bridging Company, part of the 225th and located at Camp Villerie in Slidell, built & operated floating bridges to help support the cleanup efforts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf Of Mexico.
The 225th Engineer Brigade consists of a Headquarters and Headquarters Company and four Combat Heavy Engineer Battalions. 225th Engineer Brigade Headquartered at Camp Beauregard, LA Headquarters & Headquarters Company205th Engineer Battalion Headquartered in Bogalusa, LA in Washington Parish Headquarters & Headquarters Company 1021st Engineer Company in Covington, LA 843rd Engineer Company 2225th Engineer Company in Marrero, LA Forward Support Company527th Engineer Battalion Headquartered in Ruston, LA in Lincoln Parish Headquarters & Headquarters Company at Ruston, LA 844th Engineer Company at Camp Beauregard 1020th Engineer Company at Marksville, LA in Avoyelles Parish 1022nd Engineer Company at West Monroe, LA in Ouachita Parish Forward Support Company at Ruston, LA528th Engineer Battalion Headquartered in Monroe, LA in Ouachita Parish Headquarters & Service Company at Monroe, LA Forward Support Company at Monroe, LA 922nd Engineer Company at Gonzales, Louisiana in Ascension Parish 830th Engineer Team at Monroe, LA 832nd Engineer Team at Plaquemine, LA 921st Engineer Company at Winnsboro, LA in Franklin Parish 1023rd Engineer Company at Bastrop, LA in Morehouse Parish769th Engineer Battalion Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Headquarters & Headquarters Company at Baton Rouge, Louisiana in East Baton Rouge Parish 926th Engineer Company at Baker, Louisiana in East Baton Rouge Parish 927th Engineer Company at Baton Rouge, Louisiana in East Baton Rouge Parish 928th Engineer Company at Napoleonville in Assumption Parish Forward Support Company at Baton Rouge, Louisiana in East Baton Rouge Parish 256th Infantry Brigade Louisiana Army National Guard Louisiana National Guard official homepage 225th Engineer Brigade
Beechcraft C-12 Huron
The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps; these aircraft are used for various duties, including embassy support, medical evacuation, as well as passenger and light cargo transport. Some aircraft are modified with surveillance systems for various missions, including the Cefly Lancer, Beechcraft RC-12 Guardrail and Project Liberty programs; the first C-12A models entered service with the U. S. Army in 1974 and were used as a liaison and general personnel transport; the aircraft was an "off-the-shelf" Super King Air 200, powered by the type's standard Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-41 engines. The U. S. Navy followed suit in 1979, ordering a version of the Super King Air A200C, designating it the UC-12B, for logistics support between Naval and Marine Corps air stations, air facilities, other activities, both in CONUS and overseas.
The cabin can accommodate cargo, passengers or both. It is equipped to accept litter patients in medical evacuation missions. Through 1982, the Navy ordered 64 of these aircraft. A U. S. Air Force variant of the plane for surveillance roles over Afghanistan and Iraq was the MC-12W Liberty. For that variant, Beechcraft built the basic plane and sent it to Greenville, Texas where sophisticated intelligence and reconnaissance equipment was installed by L-3 Communications Missions Integration; as of 2013 the Liberty program had exceeded 300,000 combat flying hours. The MC-12W signals intelligence asset. With its roles taken over by the growing MQ-9 Reaper fleet, the Air Force decided to divest itself of the 41 Liberty aircraft and turn them over to the U. S. Army and U. S. Special Operations Command, completed by October 2015; the Air Force's final MC-12W deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom ended on 13 October 2015. To meet the needs of transporting larger groups, the U. S. Army purchased six C-12J aircraft, based on the Beechcraft 1900C commuter airliner.
One of the military C-12Js is used for GPS jamming tests at the 586th Flight Test Squadron, Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. Another is based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Three were based at Osan Air Base, South Korea, they have been relocated to Yokota Air Base, Japan. The remaining two are used by U. S. Army Aviation; the TC-12B Huron was a twin-engine, pressurised version of the Beechcraft Super King Air 200. Twenty five served with the US Navy with training Squadron 35, the US Navy's only TC-12B Huron squadron based at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, home of the Training Air Wing 4; the US Navy retired this aircraft on the 16th of May 2017 and replaced and now relies on the T-44C for multi engine training. Although the UD- series 1900s were manufactured for military use, the United States military and other military and government organizations use 1900s from other series such as the UB-series 1900C, 1900Ds which may be found elsewhere. C-12A Used by the U. S. Army for liaison and attache transport.
Based on the King Air A200. UC-12B U. S. Navy/U. S. Marine Corps version with an additional cargo door. Based on the King Air A200C. NC-12B U. S. Navy single-aircraft version, UC-12B BuNo 161311 equipped with four P-3C type Sonobuoy launchers. TC-12B U. S. Navy training version developed by conversion of UC-12B airframes. C-12C U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force version of the C-12A with upgraded engines. Based on the King Air A200. C-12D U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force version. Based on the King Air A200CT, changes include "high-flotation" landing gear. RC-12D Special mission, SIGINT aircraft for the U. S. Army. UC-12D Based on the King Air A200CT. C-12E Upgraded C-12A aircraft for the USAF. 29 C-12As were retro-fitted with Whitney Canada PT6A-42 turboprop engines. C-12F U. S. Air Force transport version. Based on the King Air A200CF and the King Air B200C. RC-12F U. S. Navy version of the UC-12F modified with surface search radar. UC-12F U. S. Navy version based on the King Air B200C. Cockpit upgraded to Proline 21. RC-12G U.
S. Army version used for real-time tactical intelligence support under the Crazyhorse program. Based on the King Air A200CT. Operated by U. S. Army Reserve aviation units. RC-12H Special mission, battlefield SIGINT aircraft for the U. S. Army. C-12L Three A200s acquired for use in the Cefly Lancer program as RU-21Js. In 1984 the three aircraft modified with new VIP interiors, returned to the U. S. Army as C-12Ls. UC-12M U. S. Navy version. Cockpit upgraded to Proline 21. RC-12M U. S. Navy version. Upgraded cockpit instrumentation, plus other systems and structural upgrades. C-12R Off the shelf BE200 modified with EFIS glass cockpit instrumentation. C-12T Upgrade of earlier U. S. Army C-12F versions with improved cockpit instrumentation. C-12U Upg
