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PORTLAND, Oregon – Oregon Air National Guard Col. Donna M. Prigmore was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in a ceremony, August 5, 2018, at the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown officiated the oath of office, as Prigmore became the first woman in the Oregon Air National Guard to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general and the first female in the Oregon National Guard to become a general officer as a traditional, part-time Guardsman.

Prigmore follows in the footsteps of Oregon Army National Guard Maj. Gen. Julie A. Bentz, who was the first woman in the Oregon National Guard to become a general officer. Bentz is currently serving on active duty as vice director of the Joint Improvised-threat Defeat Organization (JIDO).

With the promotion to general officer, Prigmore will serve as the Oregon National Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General - Air, which commands and ensures the readiness for both of Oregon’s flying F-15 Eagle units located in Portland and Klamath Falls.

She most recently served as Director of Strategic Plans and Programs for the Oregon Air National Guard. She has more than 35 years of military service since beginning her Air Force career in 1982 on active duty before transitioning to the Air National Guard four years later. She served as the vice commander for both the142nd and 173rd Fighter Wings, and has more than 12 years of command level experience. In previous assignments, she was the 142nd Fighter Wing Mission Support commander and deputy commander, services flight commander, wing inspector general, cost analysis officer, chief of public affairs and the division chief of Strategic Vision and Communications at the Pentagon. She also served one year as the executive officer for the vice chief of staff National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C. In her civilian career, she is the senior manager, Passenger Terminal Experience at the Port of Portland.

In addition to graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Prigmore has earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma State University. She has completed military training at the Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson Air Base, in Tennessee, and the Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College and Air War College through the distance learning programs at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

PHOTO CAPTIONS:
180805-Z-CH590-066: Oregon Air National Guard Col. Donna Prigmore has her new brigadier general stars pinned to her uniform by her sons, Nathan and Brian Prigmore, during her formal promotion ceremony at the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon, Aug. 5, 2018. With the promotion to brigadier general, Prigmore became the first woman in the Oregon Air National Guard to become a general officer. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. John Hughel, 142nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs)

180805-Z-CH590-123: Oregon Governor Kate Brown (left) administers the oath of office to newly promoted Brig. Gen. Donna Prigmore (right) as her father Mr. Gerard Houde (center) holds the family bible during her formal promotion ceremony, Aug. 5, 2018, at the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon. With the promotion to brigadier general, Prigmore became the first woman in the Oregon Air National Guard to become a general officer. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. John Hughel, 142nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs)

180805-Z-CH590-026: Oregon Governor Kate Brown delivers her formal remarks for those in attendance during the promotion to brigadier general for Col. Donna Prigmore, Aug. 5, 2018, at the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon. With the promotion to brigadier general, Prigmore became the first woman in the Oregon Air National Guard to become a general officer. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. John Hughel, 142nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs)

180805-Z-CH590-495: Newly promoted Brig. Gen. Donna Prigmore delivers her formal remarks to family, friends and coworkers attending her promotion ceremony at the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Oregon, Aug. 5, 2018. With the promotion to brigadier general, Prigmore became the first woman in the Oregon Air National Guard to become a general officer. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. John Hughel, 142nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs)

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CLACKAMAS, Oregon – The Oregon Army National Guard welcomed a new Land Component Commander as Brig. Gen. William J. Prendergast IV replaced Brig. Gen. William J. Edwards during a change of command ceremony, August 4, 2018, at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon.

The Oregon National Guard’s Land Component Command oversees all Army operations for the State of Oregon and is responsible for more than 6,000 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers. The Land Component has oversight over the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the 82nd Brigade (Troop Command) and a number of other tenant units from other commands located in Oregon.

Prendergast most recently served simultaneously as the Deputy Commander and Army Reserve Component Integration Advisor for U.S. Army Africa and Southern European Task Force, as well as the Assistant Adjutant General - Army for Joint Force Headquarters, Oregon National Guard in Salem, Oregon.

In his civilian career, Prendergast works at Nike IHM Inc. as the director of manufacturing logistics and planning. He began his career with Nike in January 1989 in Freeport, Maine. 

Prendergast graduated from Wilson High School in Portland, Oregon, in 1986. In 1990, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. He graduated from the resident U.S. Army War College with a Masters in Strategic Studies in 2011. 

He first joined the Oregon Army National Guard in 1992 as a combat engineer with the 162nd Engineer Company in Portland. He attended State Officer Candidate School at the Oregon Military Academy and received his commission in 1994. 

Throughout his career in the Oregon Army National Guard, he has served as a mortar and infantry platoon leader for C Company (Roseburg) 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment; commander of D Company (Grants Pass) 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment; and commander of E Troop (Woodburn) 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry Regiment. He was the operations officer for 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment (Forest Grove) and deployed with the battalion in 2003 in support of the Global War on Terrorism. 

In 2005, he was assigned as the executive officer for the adjutant general at Joint Force Headquarters in Salem. In 2006, he became the executive officer for 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry Regiment (Bend) and took command of that squadron in 2007. He deployed the squadron to Iraq with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2009. 

In 2011, he assumed command of the 82nd Rear Operations Center in Clackamas, Oregon. In October 2012, he took command of the 249th Regional Training Institute in Monmouth, Oregon, where he led the RTI's move to Camp Umatilla near Boardman, Oregon. In 2014, he became the commander of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon, before becoming the Assistant Adjutant General – Army in 2017.

Brig. Gen. William J. Edwards will transition to his next assignment as the Commander for Joint Domestic Operations Command (Assistant Adjutant General). He served as the Land Component Commander since April 2016, supporting successful deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, as well as state missions here at home. He remains dual-hatted as Deputy Commanding General – Operations, for all training, certification and validation of Army National Guard and Reserve Forces as the personal representative of the Commanding General, First United States Army Training Support Division (West).

Bios are available at the following links:
Brig. Gen. William J. Prendergast IV http://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/NGB-GOMO/bio-show/2989/

Brig. Gen. William J. Edwards http://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/NGB-GOMO/bio-show/2891/

PHOTO CAPTIONS:
180804-Z-OT568-004: Brig. Gen. William J. Edwards (left), outgoing Land Component Commander, and Brig. Gen. William J. Prendergast, incoming Land Component Commander, listen to remarks from the Adjutant General, Oregon, during a change of command ceremony, August 4, 2018, at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon. Edwards served as the Land Component Commander for the Oregon Army National Guard since April 2016 and relinquished command to Prendergast during the ceremony. The Land Component Command oversees all Army operations for the State of Oregon and is responsible for more than 6,000 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

180804-Z-OT568-006: Maj. Gen. Michael E. Stencel (left), Adjutant General, Oregon, presents Brig. Gen. William J. Edwards, outgoing Land Component Commander, with the Oregon Distinguished Service Award during a change of command ceremony, August 4, 2018, at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon. Edwards was honored for his service as the Land Component Commander for the Oregon Army National Guard since April 2016. The Land Component Command oversees all Army operations for the State of Oregon and is responsible for more than 6,000 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

180804-Z-OT568-010: Brig. Gen. William J. Edwards (right), outgoing Land Component Commander, gives a final salute to Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel, Adjutant General, Oregon, as he relinquishes command of the Oregon Army National Guard during a change of command ceremony, August 4, 2018, at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon. Edwards served as the Land Component Commander for the Oregon Army National Guard since April 2016 and relinquished command to Brig. Gen. William J. Prendergast during the ceremony. The Land Component Command oversees all Army operations for the State of Oregon and is responsible for more than 6,000 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
 
180804-Z-OT568-012: Brig. Gen. William J. Prendergast (right), incoming Land Component Commander, salutes Maj. Gen. Michael E. Stencel (left), Adjutant General, Oregon, as he assumes command of the Oregon Army National Guard in a ceremony, August 4, 2018, at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon. The Land Component Command oversees all Army operations for the State of Oregon and is responsible for more than 6,000 Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

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PORTLAND, Oregon – The Oregon Air National Guard will recognize significant leadership advancements during two distinct ceremonies, August 5, 2018, at the Portland Air National Guard Base in the Rosenbaum Hangar, Building 310, Portland, Oregon. 

Oregon Air National Guard Col. Donna M. Prigmore is scheduled to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general, as Oregon Governor Kate Brown will officiate the oath of office in a ceremony at 11:00 am. In a separate ceremony at 2:00 p.m., the 142nd Fighter Wing will welcome a new commander, as Col. Adam R. Sitler will replace Col. Duke A. Pirak. Media is invited to attend both ceremonies.

Prigmore will become the first female in the Oregon National Guard to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general as a traditional part-time Guardsman. She follows in the footsteps of Maj. Gen. Julie A. Bentz, who was the first woman in the Oregon National Guard to become a general officer. Bentz is currently serving on active duty as vice director of the Joint Improvised-threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) and also previously served as the director, Strategic Capabilities Policy on the National Security Staff within the Executive Office of the President.

With the promotion to general officer, Prigmore will serve as the Oregon National Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General - Air, which commands and ensures the readiness for both of Oregon’s flying F-15 Eagle units located in Portland and Klamath Falls.

She is currently assigned as Director of Strategic Plans and Programs for the Oregon Air National Guard. She has more than 35 years of military service since beginning her Air Force career in 1982 on active duty before transitioning to the Air National Guard four years later. She served as the vice commander for both the142nd and 173rd Fighter Wings, and has more than 12 years of command level experience. In previous assignments, she was the 142nd Fighter Wing Mission Support commander and deputy commander, services flight commander, wing inspector general, cost analysis officer, chief of public affairs and the division chief of Strategic Vision and Communications at the Pentagon. Most recently, she served one year as the executive officer for the vice chief of staff National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C. In her civilian career, she is the senior manager, Passenger Terminal Experience at the Port of Portland.

In addition to graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Prigmore has earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma State University. She has completed military training at the Academy of Military Science, McGhee Tyson Air Base, in Tennessee, and the Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College and Air War College through the distance learning programs at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Colonel Adam Sitler will become the new 142nd Fighter Wing commander, with more than 22 years of military experience. He began his military career after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1996 at Colorado Springs, Colorado. After completing undergraduate pilot and F-15 Eagle training, he spent more than 10 years on active duty with assignments at Lakenheath, United Kingdom, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, and finally at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, where he served as the chief of F-15 Projects. He is a command-rated pilot with more than 3,300 flight hours with more than 290 combat hours. 

In January of 2007, Sitler left active duty and joined the Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing serving as squadron and wing weapons officer, flight commander, squadron operations officer, 123rd Fighter Squadron commander, 142nd Operations Group commander and most recently as the Wing’s vice commander. 

Col. Duke Pirak, who commanded the 142nd Fighter Wing since November 2016, transitions to begin his next assignment as the Director, Chief National Guard Bureau Action Group in Washington, D.C.

PORTLAND, Oregon – The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Fighter Wing will host a three-day Aerospace Control Alert CrossTell live-fly training exercise, July 24-26, 2018, alongside aircrews and associated support personnel from across the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region’s air defense enterprise.

Representatives from Air National Guard fighter wings, U.S. Coast Guard rotary-wing air intercept units, and Civil Air Patrol will conduct daily live-fly sorties to hone their skills with tactical level air intercept procedures.

During the exercise, Air National Guard F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft and U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 helicopters will conduct intercept operations of Civil Air Patrol C-182 aircraft. 

The training scenarios will replicate airborne intercepts of aircraft that fly into airspace the Federal Aviation Administration has established as “temporarily flight restricted airspace.”

About the 142nd Fighter Wing

The Portland Air National Guard Base employs 1,500 Airmen who provide an economic impact of nearly $500 million to the region. The 142nd Fighter Wing defends our homeland with F-15 Eagle fighter jets, guarding the Pacific Northwest skies from northern California to the Canadian border, on 24 hour Aerospace Control Alert as part of Air Combat Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Their mission is to provide unequalled, mission ready units to sustain combat aerospace superiority and peacetime tasking any time, any place in service to our nation, state and community.

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SALEM, Oregon – The 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, is scheduled to conduct a large-scale training exercise, July 21-August 12, 2018, at Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett, California. The 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team is scheduled to conduct convoy operations to California to participate in this training.  

The exercise is an instrumented brigade field training exercise known as eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) designed to certify platoon proficiency across the brigade in coordination with First Army. The XCTC program brings full training resource packages to National Guard and active duty bases around the country, allowing units to train on their schedule, closer to home, minimizing cost and time away from civilian jobs.

The training exercise prepares the brigade for supporting federal mobilizations. Units will be exercising tactical, operational, communications, and decision-making skills while focusing on problem analysis.

“This exercise keeps our units trained and ready for federal missions and builds upon the brigade’s training from last year’s Warfighter Exercise,” said Col. Eric Riley, commander of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team. “Improving our Soldiers’ skills, relationships and communications within our units is the ultimate goal of this event.”

There are approximately 3,000 personnel with more than 10 units from multiple states and other supporting elements scheduled to participate:
• Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 41st IBCT, Oregon
• 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, Oregon
• 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment, New Mexico
• 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment, Washington
• 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, Oregon
• 2nd Battalion, 218th Field Artillery Regiment, Oregon
• 741st Brigade Engineer Battalion, Oregon
• 141st Brigade Support Battalion, Oregon
• 189th Combined Arms Training Brigade (CATB), Washington
• 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, California

“It will improve our ability to work in a realistic joint training environment while building key relationships not only here in Oregon, but across multiple units throughout the region,” said Riley. “The 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team has a long history of success and this exercise will assist in advancing and strengthening that record.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers of the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team prepare for travel to California to conduct a large-scale training exercise known as eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC), July 21-August 12, 2018, at Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett. (Photo by Maj. W. Chris Clyne, 41st IBCT Public Affairs)

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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The 173rd Fighter Wing will conduct night flying operations next week beginning, Monday, July 23 and continue through Wednesday, July 25.  Operations will take place approximately 4:00 p.m. through 10:00 p.m. 

Night flying is one part of the course curriculum for F-15C student pilots at Kingsley Field, the premiere F-15C schoolhouse for the United States Air Force.

“Night flying is an essential skill our F-15 student pilots need to learn,” said Col. Jeff Smith, commander of the173rd FW.  “We are grateful for the exceptional support the 173rd Fighter Wing receives from the local community and try our best to minimize the noise impact.” 

The majority of the training will occur in the military operating airspace to the east of Lakeview where the pilots can fly without lights.  However, the local community will most likely hear the jets during take-offs and approaches to and from Kingsley Field.  Take-offs will occur after sundown and the jets will return approximately an hour-and-a-half later.

“Whether defending the homeland or deployed in contingency operations, F-15 pilots must be proficient at night flying,” said Col. Jeff Edwards, 173rd FW Vice Commander.   “Night flying training includes the full spectrum of skills needed to be a combat-ready F-15 pilot.”

Community members may contact the wing’s public affairs office at 541-885-6677 to express any concerns they have during this time. 

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Photo Caption:

171026-Z-NJ935-0047 - A U..S. Air Force F-15 Eagle aircraft from the 173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard, taxi to the runway during night flying operations at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Ore.  The 173rd FW is home to the sole F-15C training schoolhouse for the U.S. Air Force.  (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Jefferson Thompson)

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SALEM, Oregon - The Oregon National Guard (ONG) has been activated to assist the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) with wildfire suppression efforts following Governor Kate Brown’s statewide wildfire emergency declaration on July 18, 2018.

At the request of ODF, aviation assets will be made available to wildfire crews in Oregon. The Oregon Army National Guard will provide two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and two HH-60M Black Hawk helicopters equipped with Bambi water buckets. Other air assets include an additional HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter to be on standby for medical evacuations and a UH-72 Lakota helicopter to assist with aerial spotting.

Other ONG assets and personnel could be activated if needed, including teams of service members to provide traffic assistance points and firefighting ground crews. Oregon National Guard ground troops have not yet been requested but are available if wildfire conditions worsen. 

Two teams (each with approximately 125 Soldiers and Airmen) have already been trained and are “Red Card” certified in preparation for wildfire season with an additional 125-person team scheduled to be certified by August 10. The teams are comprised of Citizen-Airmen and Citizen-Soldiers from Oregon Air and Army National Guard units across the state.

The ONG has an ongoing agreement with ODF known as Operation Plan Smokey, which stipulates the details of how ONG members and assets may be utilized to assist in annual firefighting efforts. This agreement is reviewed annually by leadership of both agencies.

PHOTO CAPTION: Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment, land a CH-47 Chinook helicopter equipped with a 2,000-gallon capacity Bambi Bucket at Davis helibase near Gates, Oregon, in support of firefighting efforts at the Whitewater Fire in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness Area, August 7, 2017. The Oregon National Guard has been activated to assist the Oregon Department of Forestry with wildfire suppression efforts again this year following Governor Kate Brown’s emergency declaration. (Oregon Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Anita VanderMolen, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)