65 year old joins Tennessee State Guard

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.thecommercialappeal.com/m...715114,00.html

( pictures at link )

Young and old try military life in State Guard
Photos by Chris Desmond/The Commercial Appeal

Staff Sgt. Evelyn Wilbanks, 65, of Brighton straps on her Kevlar helmet before an orientation drive in an Army Humvee. Wilbanks has been a member of the all-volunteer Tennessee State Guard for nine years.
Staff Sergeant Basilio Bragado from the 655th Transportation Company aboard NSA Mid-South provides orientation on the Army Humvee to members of the Tennessee State Guard.Story Tools
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By Lela Garlington
Contact
May 21, 2006
Before joining the Tennessee State Guard, Evelyn Wilbanks of Brighton felt excluded at family gatherings when conversations among her six brothers and a sister turned to reminiscing about their military days.
"It was a bond they all shared," reflected the 65-year-old convenience store clerk, divorcee and grandmother of five. "Now I get to share it too."


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As a staff sergeant with the State Guard with nine years of volunteer service, Wilbanks straps on her helmet and adjusts her mirror before taking a spin in a military Humvee during a recent monthly training exercise.
She is one of 52 State Guard members in the 1st Tennessee Regiment of West Tennessee, which normally meets at the Navy Support Activity Mid-South base in Millington.

Unlike the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard, Wilbanks will never be called to serve in Iraq or guard the U.S. borders against illegal immigrants as President Bush proposed last week.

That's just fine with her.

She didn't have to pass a physical exam, but she can experience the camaraderie of being in the military without the long-term commitment. Since she joined the all-volunteer statewide organization that falls under the governor's direction, she has learned how to shoot an M-16 rifle, march in formation, defend herself in hand-to-hand combat and take a prisoner into custody.

She has even had a taste of boot camp during the annual three-day drill. Others have served as color guards for military ceremonies or funerals with military honors.

There are about 350 State Guard members in Tennessee. Unlike the 15,000 men and women who are in the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard, no one is paid or receives any health or retirement benefits for joining the State Guard.

The only time its members are paid for mileage reimbursement is when the governor deploys them for duty within the state.

Most recently the State Guard assisted the Red Cross and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency in Milan when 600 Hurricane Katrina evacuees arrived in town. During the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Wilbanks and others helped secure the Millington Navy base around the clock for three days.

"I've done things I never dreamed I would be doing," said Wilbanks.

Without the State Guard, one of the regiment's youngest members could never experience a taste of military life. "I've got diabetes so I can't join the military," said Shane Bonifer, 17, who is graduating from Brighton High. "This gives me something to do to help out in case something happens."

Before a recent training exercise, Bonifer, who joined in October, was nervous enough to call his commander at home.

"Is the Humvee an automatic?" he asked. "I can't drive a stick."

Unlike Wilbanks and a few others, many of the 1st Regiment members are former military who are too old or not physically fit to serve in the military now.

Some are decorated war heroes. Others, like Millington Mayor Terry Jones, are municipal officials.

"I would volunteer, but the military is not going to take a bunch of us old farts. I had bypass surgery five years ago," said Maj. Mason Ezzell, 62, the local State Guard's recruiter. While Ezzell of Memphis runs LSI, a successful lamination business in Bartlett, he missed the excitement he experienced during his five years as an Air Force pilot.

"It's like a brotherhood almost," he said. Ezzell learned about the State Guard via media coverage of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

His job now is to make sure other civic-minded people want to join. More often than not, Ezzell is explaining to people the difference in the State Guard and the Army National Guard.

"That's where a lot of people get confused. They say, 'I don't want to leave and go to Iraq.' They don't have to go outside of Tennessee."



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Want to sign up?

Want to have the camaraderie of the military without the deep commitment? Then volunteer for the Tennessee State Guard.

Must be between the ages of 16 (with parental permission) and 67.

Must live in Tennessee and have a high school diploma or GED.

Military service preferred but not required.

If you have college degree, you could become a commissioned officer.

While there is no enlistment contract, a one-day drill is held monthly with a three-day annual training session.

No physicals are required.

A background check is required.

If a person is already serving in the Reserve or the National Guard, he or she can't be in the State Guard, too.

Contact: Maj. Mason Ezzell, (901) 378-2347

-- Lela Garlington

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Hmmmmm.