NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for December 24, 2020

Posted on: December 24, 2020 December 24, 2020
Author: ncngaweekly

December 24, 2020

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IN THIS EDITION:

PHOTOS: 500 households receive food at Fayetteville drive-thru distribution event Fayetteville Observer
Blizzards slam Midwest as large winter storm threatens to cause flooding in Northeast ErieNewsNow
The Mitchell Institute Releases Two New Forum Papers AFA
2021 National Defense Authorization Update NCNGA
December 24th — Today in Guard History National Guard

PHOTOS: 500 households receive food at Fayetteville drive-thru distribution event Fayetteville Observer

Action Pathways Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast NC distributes food to 500 Cumberland County households on December 23, 2020, at the Smith Recreation Center. Airmen from the North Carolina Air National Guard and soldiers from the North Carolina Army National Guard help load food into vehicles at the drive thru food distribution event.

View Photos

Blizzards slam Midwest as large winter storm threatens to cause flooding in Northeast ErieNewsNow

A large winter storm that brought blizzard conditions to the Midwest on Wednesday night is set to hit much of the East Coast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, bringing snow to parts of the South and heavy rain across the East Coast.

The combination of heavy rain and existing melting snow from last week’s storm could lead to flooding from the mid-Atlantic to New England.

New York City, for example, will be under a high wind warning and a flood watch from Thursday night into Friday morning, with winds forecast to be 20-30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph.

“Anyone dreaming of a white Christmas will have to settle for a windy and soggy holiday,” New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne Criswell said. “However, the hazards are real, and we want every New Yorker to prepare for the potentially damaging winds and heavy rain.”

Our friends at the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) put together a quick read on key items.

Click here to take a look.

December 17th — Today in Guard History National Guard

1944
Skies over the Belgium – It is Christmas Eve and the Battle of the Bulge is raging as American forces attempt to repel German attacks along a front more than 50 miles wide. Brigadier General Frederick Castle commands a B-17 bomber force on a mission to hit enemy targets behind the enemy lines. Castle started his military career as a private in the New Jersey Guard’s 173rd Motor Transport Company, 44th Division. He enlisted in 1924 and remained a drilling Guardsman until the summer of 1926 when he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1930 and was soon serving in the Air Corps. He quickly rose in rank and influence, in part because he became a noted author of several works dealing with the use of air power in modern war. Some of his predications on the use of strategic bombing were proved true once the war in Europe erupted in 1939. By 1944 General Castle is the Assistant Commander of the 4th Bombardment Wing, 8th Air Force based in England. This afternoon he is flying the lead plane of a 2,000-strong B-17 strike heading on a bombing mission to destroy enemy airfields supporting the Bulge campaign. As his bomber approaches an area over Belgium occupied by Allied troops it develops a problem in one of its four engines. Rather than aborting the mission, Castle turns command over to another pilot and dropped out of formation. With the loss of one engine his plane soon lags behind the others. Unable to drop his bombs for fear of hitting friendly forces below, his plane continues on toward its target. However, enemy aircraft quickly finds his crippled plane and repeatedly attack it. After just a few minutes two more engines are on fire and the bomber starts to fall from the sky. Castle realizes it is going to explode or crash and orders all his crew to bail out. Just as the last man leaves the burning plane it explodes and Castle, still at the controls attempting to hold it steady, is killed. But because of his sacrifice, seven of his crewman survived. He is awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his courage in the face of imminent death.

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