INDIANAPOLIS – Freedom Salute Campaign is scheduled to begin for the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team February 7, 2009. There will be ceremonies held for each unit at various locations and times throughout Indiana.
During the ceremony, leadership from the brigade and battalion headquarters will present Freedom Salute items. Selected members will also be receiving Purple Heart Medals, Bronze Star Medals, Meritorious Service Medals, Combat Infantryman Badges, Combat Action Badges, and other end of tour medals.
Each eligible Soldier will receive an encased American Flag, a sequentially numbered commemorative coin, a “Defender of Freedom” certificate signed by Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer Poyas M. Haynes, Command Chief Warrant Officer, and Command Sergeant Major John Gipe, 8th Command Sergeant Major, Army National Guard, and a lapel insignia.
The Soldier’s spouse will receive a lapel insignia while the Soldier’s children will be recognized and presented with a Future Soldier Footlocker Kit comprised of Guard-related items designed to entertain and educate young people.
Each eligible Soldier will be able to recognize one center of influence for outstanding support during the Soldier’s mobilization. This recognition will be in the form of a commemorative lapel insignia and a medallion with ribbon. Examples of COI’s include, but are not limited to, a supervisor, clergy, or college guidance counselor.
The COI may also be a representative of an organization that supported the Soldier such as a church, a charitable organization, a business, the Soldier’s employer or school. New to the Freedom Salute Campaign is the Freedom Ring, recognizing Soldiers who have been mobilized for multiple tours of duty. Two additional levels of recognition will be presented to the unit’s choice of a person or organization deserving of the Outstanding COI and Distinguished COI honors.
The Outstanding COI is an individual or organization that stood out as most helpful to the Soldiers during mobilization and will receive a framed mosaic American Flag print. The Distinguished COI is an individual or organization which the unit felt was most helpful to its Soldiers and their families during mobilization and will receive a 17-inch minuteman statuette.
Freedom Salute Ceremonies will be held this weekend at the following locations: Saturday, February 7: Company B, 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment 8:00 a.m. Grand Wayne Center, 120 W. Jefferson, Fort Wayne, Ind., 46802
Company C, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment 8:00 a.m. 38th Infantry Division Armory, 3912 W. Minnesota Street, Indianapolis, Ind. 46241
Company B, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment 1:00 p.m. Martinsville Armory, 1900 Hospital Rd., Martinsville Ind. 46151
Company B, 76th Special Troops Battalion 2:00 p.m. Sheraton Hotel, 31 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis, Ind., 46204
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 139th Field Artillery 5:00 p.m. Recreation Center, Boy’s and Girl’s Club, 1001 Whitlock Ave., Crawfordsville, Ind. 47933
Troop B, 1st Battalion, 152nd Cavalry 6:00 p.m. AMVET Post 11, 1413 N. Eastern Ave., Connersville, Ind. 47331
Headquarters, 76th Special Troops Battalion 7:00 p.m. French Lick Resort, 8670 W. State Road 56, French Lick, Ind. 47432
Sunday, February 8: Company C, 1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry Regiment 8:00 a.m., February 8 Grand Wayne Center, 120 W. Jefferson, Fort Wayne, Ind., 46802
1638th Transportation Company 1:00 p.m. Brandywine Best Western, 728 S. 6th St., Monticello, Ind. 47960
Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 150th Field Artillery 1:00 p.m. Bloomington North High School, 3901 N. Kinser Pike, Bloomington, Ind. 47404
Media are invited to attend the event for their local unit.
