Wednesday, April 7, 2004

Notables

Air Force Airman Israel Montalvo has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations.

In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Montalvo is a 1998 graduate of McIntosh High School in Peachtree City.

Army Pfc. William F. Sams Jr. has returned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, after completing a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with additional participation in Operation Northern Delay.

During Operation Northern Delay at Bashir Airfield, the brigade paratroopers established the northernmost coalition offensive boundary and created a stable logistical intersecting point to allow the introduction of equipment and troops into the theater. The operation was the largest airborne assault since World War II and forced Iraqi army to maintain approximately six divisions in the area to protect their northern flank, providing strategic relief for the Coalition Forces advancing on Baghdad.

The multiple operations missions of the brigade paratroopers included seizing the city of Kirkuk, the northern oil fields and several military airfields, thousands of enemy weapons and explosives, millions of dinars worth of terrorist funds, and defeating organized military resistance and arresting hundreds of terrorist and former regime loyalists.

Sams, an infantryman, is the son of W. Fletcher and Dana D. Sams of Antioch Road in Fayetteville.

He graduated in the year 2000 from Brandon Hall High School, Roswell, Ga.

Air Force Airman Richard A. Gray has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations.

In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

Gray is the son of Richard and Valerie Gray of Paces Court, and the grandson of Dick and Lil Gray of Hilo Road, all of Fayetteville.

He is a 2001 graduate of Fayette County High School.