ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. - The last time his coworkers saw Maj. Gregory L. Stone around here was shortly after 9/11.
Stone had just served three months as the Air National Guard's Crisis Action Team (CAT) executive officer here at the Air Guard Readiness Center (ANGRC) before returning to his home in Idaho.
Stone, 40, died in a Kuwaiti field hospital March 25, 2003, three days after a Soldier in his deployed division discharged grenades and gunfire into his and two other tents, mortally wounding him and Army Capt. Christopher Seifert and injuring 14 others.
Today, Stone is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and will never return to the CAT or to its new, high-tech operations room the Air Guard dedicated to him March 14.
Nearly five years later, fellow Guardmembers, family and friends of the Idaho Air Guardsman gathered at the ANGRC to remember him. They signed a proclamation to declare the CAT as the Stone Room. They also unveiled a bronze plaque etched with his image, name and story and hung it inside the CAT's high-security entrance.
Stone joined the Air Force in 1983 and graduated from Oregon State University in 1988. He flew on KC-135 Stratotankers, B-1 Lancers and B-52 Startofortresses during his active-duty career and served as a senior navigator and weapons system officer.
In 2000, Stone transferred to the Idaho Air Guard's 124th Air Support Operations Squadron. At the time of his death, he was serving as an Air Liaison Officer with the 19th Air Support Operations Squadron supporting the 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait. His death occurred five days into Operation Iraqi Freedom.
During the ceremony, Stone's two sons, Alex and Joshua, listened from a front row of seats to guest speakers including: U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, who was governor of Idaho at the time of Stone€™s death; Lt. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, director of the Air National Guard; and Col. Christopher Swadener, who worked with Stone in the CAT.
McKinley talked about the sacrifices made in war to defend the nation and offered condolences and thanks to both boys for their father's sacrifice. "We are here today to honor your father. We are here today to honor his memory and to say that we won't forget the sacrifices that he made," he said.
Swadener described Stone as a "solid Citizen-Airman that knew all the issues needed to serve as the CAT's executive officer."
"There are a lot of things that we do for this country that operate out of that room," said Swadener. "Not only do we do the fight abroad, but we assist other government agencies and people in our communities in need."
The newly named Stone Room was first manned in 2005. Officials said it faced its true test during the Air Guard's Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
For the last couple of years, the CAT has sustained 24/7 operations in support of the 54 states and territories, including support to the Guard's southwest border missions during Operation Jump Start (OJS). At its peak, nearly 60 Airmen supported OJS from the CAT.
Eighteen Airmen currently operate the CAT.
During his three-month tour as executive officer, Stone coordinated all CAT communications. The team formed just after 9/11, and Stone searched the nation to find qualified Air Guard members to staff it. At the time, the team was operating out of temporary housing near the ANGRC.
Today, the new, high-tech Stone Room inside the readiness center is custom designed with an angled floor, like a movie theater, that allows Guardmembers to see and communicate with other functional areas. Six screens relay video teleconferences as well as live news broadcasts. The room's technical capabilities include secure network communications and data links that receive, manage and communicate information for the Guard's top leadership as well as any parties involved in a crisis.
During a crisis, the CAT can have nearly 140 Airmen operating around the clock in various positions to support federal agencies and local civilian responders.
"To get Stone's name for it is so key because it represents what a Citizen-Airman is all about," Swadener said. "Greg was a tremendous example of that."