Page 2 - Fort Irwin High Desert Warrior, September 2020

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Community
High Desert Warrior September 2020
www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin
WHO WE ARE
Brig. Gen. David Lesperance
Commanding General
Command Sgt. Maj. William Justice
Post CSM
Col. Jeanette Martin
Garrison Commander
Command Sgt. Maj. Paul Fedorisin
Garrison CSM
Darryl Darden
Public Affairs Director
High Desert Warrior Staff
Janell J. Lewis Ford, Editor (760) 380-3450
Jason Miller, Staff Writer/Photographer (760) 380-3073
Renita Wickes, Staff Writer/Photographer (760) 380-3078
David Dupree, Staff Writer/Photographer (760) 380-8917
Casey Slusser, Staff Writer/Photographer (760) 380-3076
Aerotech News Emma Uribe, Graphic Designer
HIGH DESERT WARRIOR
High Desert Warrior, a civilian enterprise newspaper, is an authorized publication for members of the United States Army and Fort Irwin community. Contents of this newspaper are not necessarily official view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or Fort Irwin and the National Training Center. High Desert Warrior is prepared weekly by the Public Affairs Office, National Training Center and Fort Irwin, P.O. Box 105067, Fort Irwin, CA, 92310-5067. Telephone: 380-4511 or DSN 470-4511. FAX: 380-3075.
High Desert Warrior is a digital publication, distributed monthly on Facebook, www.facebook.com/HighDesertWarrior/ as well as emailed to base personnel It is produced at Aerotech News and Review, 220 East Avenue K-4 Suite 7, Lancaster, CA 93535, (661) 945-5634.
Aerotech News and Review is a private firm in no way connected with the Department of the Army and is responsible for the commercial advertising found in this publication. Everything advertised in this publication will be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national orientation, age, marital status, physical handicap or political affiliation of the purchaser, user or patron. A confirmed violation of this policy of equal opportunity by an advertiser will result in refusal to print advertising from that source. The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of the Army of the products or services advertised.
Printed by Aerotech News and Review, Inc. (877) 247-9288, www.aerotechnews.com.
NEWSPAPER AWARDS
2nd Place, 2017 U.S. Army IMCOM
Newspaper Competition — Feature Photograph
Honorable Mention, 2009 U.S. Army IMCOM-West
Newspaper Competition — Tabloid category
3rd Place, 2008 Dept. of the Army
Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Newspaper Competition — Tabloid Category
SEND US FEEDBACK
Send your questions, suggestions, or problems to: 1. Your chain of command
2. ICE (Interactive Customer Evaluation)
3. CG’s Hotline: 380-5463
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @ntcfortirwin Facebook (NTC/Ft Irwin): @ntcFortIrwin Facebook (Public Affairs): @FtIrwin Twitter: @NTC_Update
Teachers, students and parents adapt
to virtual kick-off to school year
By Janell J. Lewis Ford
NTC/Fort Irwin Garrison Public Affairs
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Now that Silver Valley Unified School District stu- dents and teachers have experienced the first month of their new grade in a COVID-19 environment, some say they’ve had a smooth process.
“Having a great experience so far in kindergarten thanks to Mrs. Hurley and my daughter absolutely loves Mr. C’s music in- struction,” Lauren Banks said on the district’s Facebook page.
Others thanked the teachers for their patience and guidance and Kristina Huffman said, “I agree, my son’s 3rd grade teacher has been so sweet and patient and is able to talk my son through on how to get somewhere. My daughter’s 7th grade teachers have been super helpful and even one of them reached out and talked to her when she noticed she was crying because she made a mistake and couldn’t figure out how to fix it.”
The district expected some to have techni- cal issues and were prepared for the calls and emails from parents and students. Those in need of technology support, can email sup- port@svusdk12.net.
Due to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s
Executive Order, Silver Valley Schools, along with the county of San Bernardino opened under a distance learning model on Aug. 6.
District superintendent, Jesse Najera, thanked administrators, teachers, staff and the community for all of the hard work, flexibility and patience.
“Every school put together learning materials, textbooks, technology and ma- nipulatives to help our students learn from home,” he said. “This took a lot of hard work and coordination and we’re excited to have accomplished our goal of making sure every student was ready for the first day of school.”
This year SVUSD launched a one-to-one chromebook and laptop initiative for all 3rd – 12th grade students. The district has also provided wireless services for families without internet.
Also, on Aug. 24, the district began pro- viding breakfast and lunch by delivery in the morning to several locations.
On Aug. 14, Fort Irwin Middle School announced their library is open and has gone virtual for distance learning. Students are able to access the catalogue through a link in their English teacher’s Google classroom. This is also available to Calvert online Middle School students.
Najera emphasized that this 2020-2021 distance learning model will be stricter than the soft launch of the online schooling this past spring.
“There will be much more accountability in daily, live instruction, daily attendance, grading and independent work that needs to be completed for credit.”
In-person instruction is not permitted until the county is off the watchlist for a period of 14, consecutive days.
“We are closely monitoring the watchlist so we can bring our kids back to school, in a hybrid model, as soon as it’s safe to do so,” Najera said.
Remember you can get updates on the SVUSD on their website, svusdk12.net, as well as their Facebook page, Facebook.com/ SilverValleyUSD.
September’s Gold Star Family Day
By Renita Wickes
NTC/Fort Irwin Public Affairs
FORT IRWIN, Calif. — For families who have lost a loved one who wore the uniform, whether in combat or by other circumstances, they all have something in common— they’ve felt the pain of losing a loved one who served this country, but will never come back home.
Since June 23, 1936, after the passage of
a joint congressional resolution, our nation has recognized the last Sunday of September as Gold Star Mother’s Day. Amended in 2011, President Barack Obama included the recognition of all Gold Star family members on this day.
In 1947, Congress approved the use of the Gold Star Lapel Button to recognize the families of service members who lose their lives while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States. In 1977, the Army approved issue of the Lapel Button for the Next of Kin of Deceased Personnel to honor those who lose their lives while serving on active duty or while assigned in a Reserve or National Guard unit in a drill status.
For Kenesha Mitchell, that moment came on June 11, 2016, in Harker Heights, Texas. Her husband was taking an unusually long time to come home from physical training with his unit. Moments later, there was a knock at the door by her husband’s leadership. They informed Mitchell that her husband, Sgt. Dougal Mitchell, had been killed in a traffic collision. They had also saved her the painful process of going to the morgue to do the identification.
“I felt like I was drowning,” said Mitchell. “My husband took care of everything related to the military.”
The couple had always lived off the installation during their seven and a half years of marriage, so she really didn’t feel like she was a part of the military family.
“We didn’t talk a lot about his work and had a code word for when he felt uncomfortable talking
about deployments,” she said.
Eventually, Mitchell was connected to the Army’s Survivors Out-
reach Services coordinator, Lori Picard, who gave her the much-needed help on navigating through the processes regarding her husband’s death. It was through SOS that she was given the opportunity to attend a box tour at the National Training Center and Fort Irwin
“Being on the tour gave me an insight on what my husband did in the military and I finally felt the connection,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell is now serving the country in her own way as a 911 dispatcher. She took the worse moment in her life and turned it in to something positive by wanting to help others.
This year, the Senate has approved a resolution designating Sept. 20-26, 2020, as “Gold Star Families Remembrance Week” to honor the families of fallen service members. Introduced by Sen. Cindy Hyde- Smith, R-Miss., Gold Star Families Remembrance Week precedes Gold Star Mother’s Day, which is observed on the last Sunday of September. Check out our coverage of “Gold Star Families Remembrance Week” on our Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FTirwin.
For more information go to home.army.mil/irwin