Maryland

Maryland Air Guard hosts civic leaders

Published

1 year ago

April 2, 2023

Maryland Air Guard Hosts Civic Leaders
By Grasp Sgt. Christopher Scheppers, a hundred and seventy fifth Wing

The Maryland Air Nationwide Guard hosted a bunch of civic leaders at Martin State Air Nationwide Guard Base
in Center River, Maryland, March 31, 2023, to share info concerning the way forward for the Maryland’s
a hundred and seventy fifth Wing and the bottom it calls residence.
In the course of the engagement, leaders from the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard, Maryland Aviation
Administration, and Martin State Airport briefed native leaders on the standing of the Martin State Airport
runway renovation, a hundred and seventy fifth Wing’s efforts to safe a future fighter mission, and our on-line world and
intelligence operations enlargement.
Earlier than the briefings, civic leaders had the chance to community and study an A-10C Thunderbolt II
plane. Visitors had been in a position to communicate with pilots and consider the cockpit whereas studying in regards to the Maryland
Air Nationwide Guard and the A-10 mission.
After the networking hour, Maryland Air Nationwide Guard Brig. Gen. Drew Dougherty, assistant adjutant
common – air, kicked off the briefings by welcoming the group to Martin State Airport, outlining the
matters that may be mentioned through the occasion, and emphasised that the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard
and its members are a cornerstone in the neighborhood.
“I wish to begin off by saying ‘thanks’ for coming right here tonight to study in regards to the Maryland Air
Nationwide Guard and what the long run seems like for us,” stated Dougherty. “There are a whole lot of issues which are
occurring which are impacting the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard and the Maryland Aviation
Administration, and we needed to speak to you about what we predict is in one of the best curiosity of each
organizations.”
Dougherty mentioned the Air Pressure’s choice to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II from the Air Pressure
stock and the way that will have an effect on the wing. The Air Pressure will divest 42 A-10s within the coming 12 months,
though none of these plane will come from Maryland. However because the A-10 pressure continues to attract down,
its affect will start to be felt inside the state over the subsequent 5 to seven years, with the chance that
the a hundred and seventy fifth Wing may very well be compelled to transform to a non-flying mission and transfer out of Martin State Airport.
“We’re going to lose our A-10s, so we must be able to compete for future fighters, whether or not
it’s F-35s, F-15EXs, or maybe F-16s as a stopgap till extra superior plane turn out to be out there,” he
stated. “I’ll inform you that the ACC commander, Gen. Mark Kelly, has stated the Air Pressure – which is the
lively responsibility, Guard, and reserve – wants 60 fighter squadrons to deal with steady-state operations and
proper now the Air Pressure has 57.”
Dougherty added that the present pattern is for the Air Pressure to drop to even decrease – to 45 fighter
squadrons – over the subsequent decade.
“What we try to do now could be place ourselves in order that we could be in a spot to tackle future
fighters,” Dougherty stated. “It’s not solely necessary for us, however it’s necessary for our nation and our
homeland protection.”

Following `Dougherty, Maryland Air Nationwide Guard Brig. Gen. Jori Robinson, the a hundred and seventy fifth Wing
commander, defined the steps the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard, in partnership with the Maryland
Aviation Administration and Martin State Airport, should take to provide the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard the
greatest shot at retaining a flying mission.
“After we came upon the A-10s had been going to be divested, we had been additionally conscious that we had a runway
downside that wanted to fastened,” stated Robinson. “We will’t safe a future flying mission if we don’t have
a correct runway, so we went to our associates at MAA and Lockheed Martin to mud off the runway
renovation plans from 1991, and in 2018 we began pushing closely to safe funds to repair our runway so
that we might be within the dialog for a follow-on mission.”
Robinson continued by explaining the distinctive functionality the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard brings to the
subsequent era of air dominance by means of its mixture of combat-experienced pilots and seasoned
cyber and intelligence operators.
“There’s a very distinctive alternative right here for the Air Pressure due to the capabilities that we convey to
bear in Maryland,” stated Robinson, referring to the frequent joint operations and workouts involving each
A-10s and our cyber and intelligence operators. “The long run as laid out by the secretary of the Air Pressure
is the air dominance thought course of – a system of methods, weapon methods that won’t solely require
fight pilots but additionally cyber operators and intelligence operators all working collectively.”
Robinson emphasised that the long run envisioned by the secretary of the Air Pressure is current-day actuality
on the a hundred and seventy fifth Wing. However she additionally voiced concern that that synergy may very well be misplaced if the wing is unable to
safe a follow-on flying mission.
“We’re doing that proper now. We’re main the best way, we now have the Airmen which are educated to do that,
to marry these capabilities of cyber, intel, and fight flying operations,” she stated. “My greatest concern
is that we may miss a golden alternative if we don’t discover a hole flying mission for Martin State so we
don’t lose that beautiful functionality. As a result of if we lose a flying mission there actually received’t be any coming
again to it sooner or later.”
The engagement ended with briefings from Mr. Paul Shank, Maryland Aviation Administration planning
and engineering chief, and Mr. Harold Fowler, Martin State Airport operations and upkeep chief,
on the partnership between their organizations and the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard and the work that
they’ve put in towards securing a future flying mission for the a hundred and seventy fifth Wing.
“We’re working with one of the best consultants that we now have within the planning and engineering division and
our CEO has given us the inexperienced gentle for this venture [runway renovation]. Our objective is to have the venture
able to go this 12 months,” stated Mr. Shank. “If it wasn’t for the Air Nationwide Guard and the Division of
Protection funds, the rehabilitation of the runway would have taken ten years of incremental grant
funding. So this can be a phenomenal strategic partnership and we wouldn’t have been in a position to get this
venture shifting ahead with out it.”
Following questions from the visiting dignitaries, Dougherty wrapped up the occasion by reiterating the
significance of partnerships whereas shifting the Maryland Air Nationwide Guard towards a future fighter
mission.

“In my 15 years right here I’ve by no means seen this degree of cooperation with everybody in lockstep and everybody
understanding what we try to do,” stated Dougherty. “I imagine we now have plan and good
strategic initiatives and definitely suppose if we get to the place we wish to be we are able to help the place the Air
Pressure goes.”

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Maryland

Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland

Published

6 hours ago

September 6, 2024

Press Room

Partial victory in effort to preserve historic Black cemetery in Maryland – NBC4 Washington

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Maryland

Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News

Published

13 hours ago

September 5, 2024

Press Room

Maryland issues a new suicide prevention action plan for schools, families – WTOP News

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Maryland. That’s according to a new suicide prevention action plan produced through the state’s Department of Health.

Scott Poland, the director of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention at Nova Southeastern University College of Psychology, talked to WTOP about the action plan he authored with his wife, Donna, who is a career educator.

The “Maryland Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in K-12 Schools” serves as a reference guide to school administrators and the community, and was developed in cooperation with the state health department’s Office of Suicide Prevention.

Poland said one thing that surprises people is that children as young as 8 years old may consider taking their own lives.

“I hear from school personnel all around the country (asking if they) have to take it seriously (if a fourth or fifth grader is talking about suicide). And the answer is absolutely yes,” Poland said.

Among the data points in the action plan is a survey of students in the “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey of 2021/2022.” According to that survey, 21% of high school students “seriously considered suicide” in the past year, and 27% of middle schoolers considered suicide at some point in their lives.

Poland said it’s important to talk about suicide with young people, and that the idea that talking about it might encourage a young person to consider suicide is a “myth.”

“When we actually bring it up, it gives someone a chance to unburden themselves, to realize that they’re not alone, that there are alternatives and that there is help available,” Poland said.

But he said young people are most susceptible to imitating suicidal behavior: “It is important that we not glorify the suicide victim.”

Instead, Poland said, the emphasis after a suicide should be on healing those affected and helping them find appropriate ways to deal with their emotions and mental health.

The plan released this week includes providing intervention action plans for a young person who may be considering suicide.

“Part of that, of course, is removing lethal means and developing a written safety plan with them,” he said.

Poland said that can include helping people understand “the importance of calling 988, doing things that can calm themselves down,” and reaching out to the nearest trusted adult.

People can reach the national resource for crisis response services and suicide prevention by dialing 988.

Poland said social media is “wreaking havoc” on children’s emotional well-being, often making them feel “not smart enough, not rich enough, not good enough.” Poland said he’s currently working with the state of South Dakota on developing tools to help “young people be a little more mindful and make better decisions about their screen time.”

Poland said parents can help — when it comes to the hours and hours that many people spend online — by modeling healthy amounts of screen time themselves. And he said adults need to think about how they introduce technology to their kids.

“We’re in too (much of) a hurry to give kids smartphones and 24-hour internet access,” Poland said.

“I really have to compliment Maryland,” Poland said, on coming up with the new plan.

Poland said Maryland does not have an especially high rate of suicide, but “I think we all recognize that losing one young person to suicide is one too many.”

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Maryland

Getting to know Michigan State football’s Week 2 opponent: Maryland

Published

20 hours ago

September 5, 2024

Press Room

Getting to know Michigan State football’s Week 2 opponent: Maryland

Game two is coming up for Michigan State football as the Spartans hit the road for an early season Big Ten matchup against Maryland. The Terps have had MSU’s number in recent years, but the Spartans’ new-look team is ready to change that narrative this weekend.

Jonathan Smith and his staff have a lot to work on this week after a lackluster 16-10 win over Florida Atlantic, but we’ve become more than used to slow starts for MSU in their first game so it’s not time to panic just yet.

While the team wraps up their preparations for Maryland, let’s take a quick look at the Terps and see what we can learn about them before the big game on Saturday.

Maryland is off and running in their 2024 campaign and had an absolutely dominant week one performance. The Terps took on UConn at home and came away with an impressive 50-7 win. Sure UConn is an awful football program, but we saw how poorly Michigan State just did against a similar opponent.

Not only was the final score lopsided, but ever major statistical category was as well. Maryland doubled UConn in first downs and rushing yards, threw for nearly 400 passing yards and even won the turnover battle 3-0. The Terps also only had five penalties for 45 yards which is significantly better than MSU’s 12 for 140 yards against FAU.

Sure all of this took place against UConn, but it appears that Maryland is in a very good spot heading into this big week two matchup.

One thing that I thought would be a positive for Michigan State in this game is that Maryland is breaking in a new quarterback as well. The Terps’ quarterback, Billy Edwards Jr., went off against UConn and completed 20-of-27 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He also is a capable runner and added 39 yards on the ground, so Michigan State will have its hands full on Saturday slowing him down.

The Terps don’t have one standout running back in the backfield, so that does benefit MSU. They do however have two solid backs in Roman Hemby and Nolan Ray who both ran for over 60 yards and one score each.

The one player however that Michigan State needs to pay the most attention to is wide receiver Tai Felton. He had one of the best Week 1 performances in the country as he recorded seven receptions for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Thankfully MSU’s defense and secondary looked much improved against FAU, so hopefully that carries over into this weekend’s matchup.

The opportunity in front of MSU on Saturday is massive. The Spartans are big underdogs in this matchup which they probably deserve, but a win would do wonders not just for the overall perception of the team but for their confidence moving forward.

I’ve got a strange feeling that we’re going to be very happy around 7 p.m. ET Saturday night.

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