KENAI, Alaska - From the sandy deserts of Kuwait to the mountainous last frontier of Alaska, two National Guardsmen reunited at the Kenai National Guard armory during the Alaska National Guard's Vigilant Guard 2010 exercise, held April 26-May 1, 2010.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Tann, Joint Task Force-Tarheel assistant supply sergeant, North Carolina Army National Guard, and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Albert Burns, Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 297th Cavalry Regiment troop supply sergeant, Alaska Army National Guard, paths crossed more than three years ago in Kuwait during a year-long deployment.
Tann, a 29-year veteran of the North Carolina Army National Guard, deployed as the lead logistics and container management non-commissioned officer to Camp Virginia, Kuwait, June 2006 with the 730th Quartermaster Battalion, NCARNG.
Several months later Burns, a newly trained supply sergeant, arrived at the same camp with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 297th Infantry (Scout), AKARNG.
Burns stated when he deployed he was inexperienced with the standard operating procedures of a company supply sergeant, yet eager to learn. He said, Tann greeted him with a friendly smile, a helping hand and a wealth of knowledge.
"Sgt. Tann was really easy to work with and very informative," said Burns. "When I asked him questions he had no problem pulling things out to teach me and showing me the regulations."
Burns said, after many years in the military Tann was one of the few leaders who took the time to explain and to teach him.
He said, "I look back and I can say that he was one of the few people who were truly a mentor."
"I like to meet new people and visit new places," said Tann as he described seeing Burns for the first time since their deployment. "But it was good to see someone that I had deployed with."
Burns said, during a deployment service members form a unique bond that words can't describe.
"It's like a brotherhood, a band of brothers," said Burns. It doesn't matter time or distance, it still exists."
Burns said that the mission comes first but that he hoped the JTF-Tarheel Guardsmen would enjoy their stay in Kenai and get a chance to experience some Alaskan culture. "Every state has something unique and that's what people want to experience."
At the conclusion of the exercise a festive meal is slated to celebrate the completion of the mission. JTF-Tarheel Guardsmen will be cooking a North Carolina pig and the Alaska Guardsmen will prepare Alaskan salmon and halibut.
Approximately 60 North Carolina Guardsmen with JTF-Tarheel were mobilized to Kenai, Alaska, in support of AKNG-VG 10. The exercise is a component of a state-wide exercise that simulates a large-scale earthquake and is designed to test state and local civil authorities capabilities.
JTF-Tarheel is composed of service members from the Joint Forces Headquarter-North Carolina, 263rd Combat Communications Squadron (North Carolina Air National Guard), and 60th Troop Command and members of subordinate units.