Courtesy Photo | Col. Rufus Smith, commander, 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Ohio Army National...... read more read more
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By 1st Lt. Luke Fedlam
174th ADA Brigade Public Affairs Office
CAMP GRAYLING, Mich.—Many Soldiers of the Ohio Army National Guard had a long trip to get to Camp Grayling, Mich. for Annual Training 2008, but no one had a longer trip than Foreman of Signals Paul Corrie.
All the way from Liverpool, England, FOS Corrie is the equivalent of a chief warrant officer 2. With 30 years of service in the British Army, he is currently serving in the 33rd Signal Regiment of the British Territorial Army, which is similar to our National Guard.
Hosted by the OHARNG's 174th Air Defense Artillery Brigade during AT, Corrie was excited by the opportunity to serve with his American counterparts.
"I wanted to see how the American Army operates and manages their signal corps, but on a larger scale, experience real American culture as part of the U.S. Army," Corrie said.
This is Corrie's second trip to the United States. His first was in 2005 when he traversed the Grand Canyon for adventure training with the British Army. When asked to compare the British Territorial Army with the U.S. National Guard, Corrie said the most common ground was professionalism, pride and dedication.
"You can see the professionalism of the U.S. National Guard and hopefully, we can reciprocate and show how the Territorial Army (the British equivalent to the National Guard) is an asset to our full-time force, as well," Corrie said.
While presenting Corrie with a plaque of appreciation, Col. Rufus Smith, 174th ADA Brigade commander, said "there is a longstanding relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and we are honored to host you as part of the officer exchange program."
According to Corrie's host, Maj. Thomas Moore, assistant brigade S3, Corrie immediately made himself part of the 174th Brigade team.
"FOS Corrie has an understanding of operations that exemplifies the current operational environment, that includes combined armies in the full spectrum of warfare, Moore said. "He brings to our brigade a unique insight into the military operations of one of our oldest allies."
Corrie worked with the 174th Brigade staff as well as attend training events with subordinate units throughout Annual Training 2008.
"This experience gives our staff an interoperability baseline that would be invaluable to any future multinational or coalition deployment involving Her Majesty's forces," Moore said.
While briefing the 174th Brigade staff, Corrie talked about how the Territorial Army is managing retention issues.
"The soldier's family is priority one, their primary career is priority two and the army is priority three," he said. "It is important for us to recognize that in order to keep the soldier happy, priority three has to have a positive impact on both priorities one and two."
Corrie said some of the cultural differences he has noticed since being in the United States include one of the most obvious—how Americans drive on the right side of the road, while the British drive on the left. Also, American light switches turn on in one direction, but in England they are reversed. Even with some cultural differences, however, Corrie was very clear on the similarities.
"In both the National Guard and the Territorial Army, we fight to protect our country, to serve our citizens, and to prevent and eliminate global terrorism," Corrie said.
This officer exchange program is yet another building block in the longtime relationship between friends and allies.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2008 22:20 |
| Story ID: | 20373 |
| Location: | CAMP GRAYLING, US |
| Web Views: | 344 |
| Downloads: | 172 |
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