910TH RESERVISTS

910TH RESERVISTS
10 return home
VIENNA -- Ten Air Force reservists assigned to the 910th Airlift Wing's Security Forces Squadron returned home Tuesday after being deployed to the 410th Aerospace Expeditionary Wing Security Forces Squadron at Shaheed Mwafaq Air Base, Jordan. The group left Youngstown on Feb. 24 and served 85 days in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Shaheed Mwafaq has been home to several squadrons of Air Force F-16s and was a transient base for Air Force, Marine and Navy aircraft used in the war with Iraq.
BASIC GRADS
Army: Pvt. Brandon A. Winner (Liberty High School, '02), son of Kimberly Pullin of Liberty; Pvt. Kyle R. Hlebinsky (Lincoln High School, Ellwood City, Pa., '02), son of John and Carol Hlebinsky of Ellwood City.
Navy: Seaman Apprentice Abigail Franchi (Mohawk High School, Bessemer, Pa., '02), daughter of Paula F. Stump of East Palestine.
VETERANS
Memorial Day ceremony
NILES -- American Legion William McKinley Post 106 in Niles will observe Memorial Day at the Niles City Cemetery with an 11 a.m. service Friday. Col. Bob Belknap, commander of 910th Airlift Wing Mission Support Group at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, will be the speaker. The Niles McKinley High School band will also perform. Other participants will be Thomas Bloomquist, commander of the William McKinley Post 106, and the Army-Navy Firing Squad. The Legion will also serve brunch after the service at the American Legion Hall at Main and Margaret streets.
ADVANCED TRAINING
Aircraft maintenance
Air Force Airman James D. Drysdale has completed the aircraft structural maintenance apprentice course at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla. He is the son of Greg R. and Susan A. Drysdale of Wellsville.
Operations specialist
Navy Seaman Recruit Robert C. Davis, son of Dorothy and Joseph E. Davis of Mercer, Pa., recently graduated from Operations Specialist School at Fleet Combat Training Center Dam Neck, Virginia Beach, Va. Davis is a 1998 graduate of Mercer High School.
COMMISSIONED
YSU Army ROTC
The Youngstown State University Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) commissioned three Army second lieutenants in a May 17 ceremony in YSU's Kilcawley Center. They are:
UJames J. Filicky Jr., son of Margaret and James J. Filicky Sr. of Hubbard, who was commissioned in the Signal Corps and was to report for duty Wednesday at Fort Knox, Ky. He is slated to attend Signal Officers Basic Course at Fort Gordon, Ga., and be assigned to the 93rd Signal Brigade there. He received a master of arts degree from YSU.
UMark J. Geisler, son of Mary Ann and Mark J. Geisler of Canfield, was commissioned in the Air Defense Artillery and will report for active duty June 9 at Fort Bliss, Texas, to attend the Air Defense Artillery Offices Basic Course. He then will be assigned to the Air Defense Artillery at Fort Hood, Texas, accompanied by his wife, the former Kathryn Wilson of North Jackson. He received a bachelor of science degree in education from YSU.
UWilliam B. Ramey, son of Margaret and Ervin Ramey of Warren, was commissioned in the Ordnance Corps and will report for active duty at Fort Lewis, Wash., on June 9 to support the Army ROTC National Advanced Leadership Camp. He will then attend Ordnance Officers Advanced Leadership Camp at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. On March 1, he will report for duty in Germany, accompanied by his wife, the former Kelly Kirkwood of Bristol. He graduated from YSU with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice.
Air Force ROTC
Air Force 2nd Lt. Caroline Lorimer of Newton Falls was commissioned at a May 11 ceremony in Hendricks Chapel through the ROTC program at Syracuse University, where she is a senior majoring in television-radio-film.
HONORS
Earns naval aviator wings
Navy Ensign Christine L. Fix, a graduate of Springfield Local High School, was awarded her wings, designating her a naval aviator, during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. Fix, a daughter of Marvin and Carol Fix of Poland, earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Academy. She will be assigned to Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light in San Diego, Calif., flying the SH-60B Seahawk.
DEPLOYED
Enduring Freedom
Several area residents assigned to the 910th Airlift Wing, with headquarters at the Youngstown Air Reserve Base, Vienna, have been deployed to areas of responsibility under the Central Command in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They include:
UReserve Staff Sgt. Jason P. Lombardozzi, a security craftsman. He is the son of Gloria Lombardozzi of Wellsville and a 1989 graduate of Wellsville High School. His wife, Heather, is the daughter of Robert and Joyce Ketchum of Hammondsville.
UReserve Master Sgt. Charles E. Butler, a combat arms supervisor. He is the son of Verda M. Butler of East Palestine and a 1968 graduate of Crestview High School, East Fairfield. His wife, Ida Mae, is the daughter of Roy A. and Nadine L. Morlan of Petersburg.
UReserve Tech. Sgt. James C. Waller, a security craftsman. He is the son of James C. Waller of Campbell.
UReserve Tech. Sgt. Dennis S. Japuncha, a security craftsman. He is the son of Mary Jane Japuncha of Warren and a 1989 graduate of Howland High School. His wife, Denise, is the daughter of Bill H. Heeter of Struthers and Cathy DeVengencie of Warren.
UReserve Staff Sgt. Brian K. Willaman, a security craftsman. He is the son of Ernest R. and Juliann M. Willaman of Vienna. He graduated in 1989 from Mathews High School, Vienna, and received a bachelor's degree in 1998 from YSU.
Returns from Persian Gulf
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Edward A. Thompson (Girard High School, '97), and Seaman Stewart Lee McMahan (Champion High School, '01) recently returned from deployment to the Persian Gulf after more than 100 consecutive days in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom while assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. McMahan is a son of Carol McMahan of Champion.
Ends 10-month stint
Navy Lt. Charles E. Crane, whose wife, Mary, is the daughter of Margret B. Ewing of Sharpsville, Pa., recently returned from a 10-month deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf while assigned to Destroyer Squadron 31, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
With destroyer squadron
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael J. Elbert, son of Sheryl D. Elbert of Steubenville and Donald C. Elbert Jr. of Tiltonsville, recently returned from a 10-month deployment to the Western Pacific and Persian Gulf while assigned to Destroyer Squadron 31, based in Pearl Harbor. Elbert is a 1986 graduate of Buckeye South High School of Tiltonsville and a 1991 graduate of Miami University, Ohio, where he received a bachelor of science degree.
XItems of note for the Military Roundup can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780.