​The United States Military Academy Preparatory school was formally established in 1946. The US Military Academy Preparatory school has several names: USMAPS, the Prep School, or West Point Prep. In 1916, Congress enacted legislation to authorize Soldier appointments to West Point. The prep school prepares Soldiers to attend the United States Military Academy and be successful. USMAPS accepts students and Soldiers from all walks of life. Students or Cadet Candidates are high school graduates or enlisted personnel from the Active, Reserve or National Guard force. The school challenges the students to meet and exceed West Point’s rigorous admission standards. The training is ten months. The first day the cadets arrive, military training referred to as Cadet Candidate Basic Training starts. It is a four-week training program. The focus of training is Basic Rifle Marksmanship, Land Navigation, Medical Readiness Training and Crew Served Weapon Familiarization Fire. The Academic Program establishes the intellectual foundation for service as a highly educated commissioned officer, and develop the knowledge and skills necessary for service and continued growth.
This week we salute Larry Kautzman. Larry served in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967.  He went to Basic Training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Gordon (now called Ft. Eisenhower) GA and airborne school (jump school) at Ft. Benning, GA. His military occupational specialty was 11B, Infantryman. After graduation from jump school, he was assigned to the 1-8th Air Mobile Cav-1st Cav. Instead of deploying to Vietnam with his unit, Larry was selected to attend the West Point Preparatory School. After several months of training, he changed his career path and asked to be reassigned. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne as the company clerk. Although no formal military training as a clerk typist, Larry excelled and was moved up to the Battalion Headquarters S1. During his military time, Larry did 37 jumps (out of a perfectly good airplane). He retired after 21 years working at the plant in Colstrip. His family moved to Rosebud county in 1963, and he has lived here ever since. He is married with two sons and one daughter. 

​The Iron Triangle
During both the French war in Vietnam and throughout the American involvement in the Vietnam war, one of the strongholds for Viet Minh activity was in the Iron Triangle. It was a 120 square mile area located in the Binh Duong Province of Vietnam. The Iron Triangle was between the Saigon River in the west and the Tinh River on the east, bordering Route 13 for 25 miles north of Saigon. The southern apex was 7 miles from Phu Cuong, the capital of Binh Duong province. An elaborate network of tunnels and hidden fortifications were built in the region as early as the 1880s to resist French occupation. During the French war, the tunnels were expanded. Underground operations against first the Ngo Dinh Diern government and then later US-backed South Vietnamese government were built. The last decisive attack against Saigon came from the Iron Triangle region. In April 1975, General Van Tien Dung, political bureau members Pham Hung and Le Duc Tho, and the southern Viet Cong military commander Tran Van Tra joined together to organize the decisive attack.
This week we salute Jack Bradley. Jack was in the U.S. Army from March 1968 to March 1970. He was drafted and sent to Basic training at Fort Lewis Washington. He went to Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Four months and two weeks later, Jack found himself in Vietnam with the 20th Engineer Brigade. Jack’s military occupational specialty was Combat Engineer. He was assigned to the prefab yard, where he learned a trade. Several Vietnamese worked with him and his partner in construction. Every day he had to go into the village and pick up the workers.  When asked what memory stays with him from his tour in Vietnam, he stated it was the poverty of the people. In 2016, he returned to a different Vietnam where the people appeared to have a better life. After his stint in Vietnam, Jack returned to the states and was stationed at Fort Rucker (renamed Novosel) Alabama where he worked as a vehicle mechanic. He is a fourth generation Rosebud county resident. His grandmother came to Rosebud county in 1882. Jack is married to Glenda, and they have 2 adult children.

​Why are there U.S. military forces stationed in Germany? After World War II, the Occupation Statute was signed to allow France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to keep occupational forces in West Germany. After WWII, the United States, Britain, and France (Allies) drew up the statute to give the Federal Republic of Germany conditional sovereignty and admit it into the Marshal Plan organization as an equal partner. The statute allowed the Allies to retain rights to keep occupational forces in the country. The Occupation Statute was followed by the Convention on the Presence of Foreign Forces in the Federal Republic of Germany and signed in 1954. Eight NATO members were allowed to have a permanent military presence in German, and the U.S. was one of the countries. In the late 1950s there were more than 400,000 U.S. troops deployed to West Germany and allied countries. Currently, there are about 35,000 U.S. troops in Germany. The U.S. military’s unified Europe Command headquarters is in Stuttgart. The U.S. Air Force’s European operations are headquartered at Ramstein Air Base.
This week, we salute Richard Thompson. Richard served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965. He went to basic at Fort Ord California and training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He trained as a helicopter mechanic. Richard was stationed outside of Munich, Germany. He enjoyed living in Germany. In fact, he and his buddies had an idea to open outdoor theaters in Germany. Unfortunately, he was discharged from the Army before that idea could come to fruition. He has lived in Rosebud county all his life. He is married and has 2 adult children. 

​What was the Iron Curtain? After World War II, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, made a speech to urge England to develop a close relationship with the United States to deter the expansion policies of the Soviet Union. He also describes the division between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. Churchill was the first to use the term, Iron Curtain, or barrier to describe a political, military, and ideological wall built by the Soviet Union. The wall was built after World War II to isolate the Soviet people and their dependent eastern and central European allies inside their territory and to keep Western ideology out.  The building of the Iron Curtain was the beginning of the Cold War which lasted from 1946 to when the wall came down in Eastern Germany in 1991. After WWII, the Soviet Union had annexed the following countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The Soviet annexed territories also included Eastern Poland, parts of eastern Finland, Northern Romania, Kaliningrad Oblast (the northern half of East Prussia) and parts of eastern Czechoslovakia. The purpose of the border from the Soviet perspective was to keep Czechoslovakia citizens from escaping to the West. The border was guarded by a single strand of barbed wire fence until 1968 when it was changed to a double wire mesh fence. There were a few towers and landmines laid out in certain places. The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution took place in Czechoslovakia on November 1989.  The Velvet Revolution was the non-violent transition of power from a one-party rule to a parliamentary republic. The barbed wire barrier was removed on December 5th, 1989.
This week we salute Bob Mogen. Bob served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962. He went to basic training at Fort Carson, Colorado and Fort Riley, Kansas. Bob trained as a Radar technician at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. After receiving training, Bob was assigned to a Radar unit in Mannheim Germany, later transferring to Nuremberg, Germany. He worked on a mobile radar team positioned on the Czechoslovakian border (Iron Curtain). The mobile radar team was responsible for monitoring the border against Soviet incursion. His most memorable experience was his and Ingrid’s honeymoon trip to Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France. He left service as a Sergeant. Bob is a native of Rosebud county. He and Ingrid have been married for 62 years and have 3 adult children. 

The U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy jointly formed the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF), a substantial part of the brown-water navy. The brown-water navy is a naval force capable of operations in littoral zone (close to shore) waters. The term originated during the American Civil War. The Navy had barracks ships and barrage barges to house both Army and Navy personnel. The purpose of the riverine forces was to take advantage of the inland waterways. As there were several distributaries of the Mekong River, it was difficult for the South Vietnamese to adequately protect the waterways. The intent of the U.S. Mobile Riverine Force was to seize the initiative from the communist Viet Cong. The Viet Cong used the distributaries to move and resupply their forces. The Mobile Riverine Forces’ permanent base was Dong Tam, near My Tho. Eleven umbrella operations in the Mekong Delta were launched by the Mobile Riverine Force. This occurred from June 1967 to March 1968. Due to the remarkable cooperation between the Army and Navy, the Mobile Riverine Force was able to transform the Mekong Delta from terra incognita (uncharted land) to chartered and American controlled area. 
This week we salute Cliff Locke. Cliff served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in South Vietnam from January 1967 to 1968. Cliff was a deckhand, a 3rd Bosum mate. Bosun’s mates are responsible for training and supervision of all deck crew in matters related to deck maintenance, watch standing, and deck operations. He was part of a mobile river group who lived on a barge patrolling the rivers of Vietnam. He retired in 2004 from Burlington railroad. Although not a native Montanan, he stayed in Rosebud county after retirement. 

​In my experience, the Non-commissioned officers (NCO) are the backbone of the Army. They are assigned with the responsibility of leading and training enlisted soldiers and junior officers. Command Sergeant Major Jim Champagne noted having a backbone is defined as having the strength of character and fortitude to lead. In the U.S. Army, the senior ranking NCO is the Sergeant Major (SGM). In the enlisted ranks, only the Command Sergeant Major and Sergeant Major of the Army outrank an SGM. The U.S. Army’s Sergeants Major Academy is located at Fort Bliss, Texas and is a 10-month long course. It was formed on July 1, 1972, and started instructional training on January 8, 1973. For 50 years, the academy has been training the future SGM’s through Distance Learning (DL) and Residency courses. Only 720 Master Sergeants and Sergeant Majors are chosen to attend residency training each year. The Sergeants Major Course (SMC) is the capstone of the Army’s Non-commissioned Officers Professional Development System (NCOPDS). The purpose of the academy is to prepare the master Sergeants and sergeants majors to think beyond the tactical level to an operational and strategic viewpoint. Ultimately, the SGM academy’s goal is to provide the Army with “agile and adaptive senior enlisted leaders.”
This week we salute Lloyd Nelson. Lloyd served in the Army National Guard from 1980 to 2017. His military occupational specialty was as a Combat Engineer. From November 2004 to April 2006, Lloyd was mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). He was reclassed as a Military Policeman (MP), stationed at Fort Riley Kansas. His most memorable experience during military service was having the honor of being selected to attend the resident course of the Sergeant Majors Academy in 2007. During his training, he met many VIPs to include the Secretary of the Army. Lloyd is from North Dakota, but his employment with the railroad brought him to Forsyth, Montana. He is married to the lovely Kim Nelson, and they have four adult children.

​During World War II, the United States Army had four Airborne Divisions. Today, only the 11th Airborne Division, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska and the 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Liberty, (Ft. Bragg) North Carolina are active. The 101st Airborne Division of Fort Campbell, Kentucky is an Air Assault unit. The 82nd Infantry Division, nicknamed the “All Americans” in 1918 by General Eben Swift. He chose “All American” to reflect the soldiers from all 48 states in the Union. Alaska and Hawaii had not yet been ratified. In May 1918, the division joined the American Expeditionary Forces commanded by General John Pershing. The division participated in several major battles during World War I. August 15, 1942, the 82nd Infantry Division was redesignated as the 82nd Airborne Division. Under the command of Major General Ridgway, the 82nd paratroopers sailed into North Africa. The plan was to invade Sicily. The division had two combat operations on September 13, 1943, with the parachute assault into Sicily. The next combat operation would be the amphibious assault into Normandy where the unit gained its first Medal of Honor. The fourth and final combat jump occurred on September 17th, 1944, capturing objectives between Grave and Nijmegen. Upon the divisions return to the U.S., they found their permanent home at Fort Liberty (Ft. Bragg) in November 1948.
This week we salute Leo “Dick” DeCock. Dick served in the U.S. Army from December 1959 to September 1962. He was assigned to the Signal Corp and went to Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Eisenhower (FT Gordon) and trained as a pole lineman. While at FT Eisenhower, Dick attended the crypto signal course. He went to Ft Bragg to attend jump school. Dick was an airborne paratrooper with the 82nd and had over thirty jumps. While with the 82nd, Dick’s unit trained in field maneuvers at Elgin, Air Force Base in Florida. He’s jumped from C19s, C123, C130 and a few helicopters. One memorable event happened when President John F. Kennedy visited his unit in 1961. Dick stated his unit spent three weeks preparing for the visit. For a while, Dick worked as the unit clerk, seeing a lot of soldiers go AWOL (absent without leave). He left service in September 1962 as a Sergeant, Dick grew up in Rosebud county, is a rancher and married with three adult children. 

In December 2023 it will be 51 years since the United States conducted a strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. Operation Linebacker II was the final major military operation carried out by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. It was also the largest bombing campaign since World War II. The U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and the North Vietnamese Politburo member Le Duc Tho met in Paris, France to discuss peace between South Vietnam, (the Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam) and North Vietnam. Unfortunately, the South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu had not attended the talks. He rejected the agreement. President Nixon gave North Vietnam a deadline of December 16th, to go back to the peace talks. Two days after the deadline, the U.S. began bombing Hanoi. The bombers approached Hanoi in the same pattern based on MiG threat tactics, which the Strategic Air Command (SAC) expected.   Due to the repetitive nature of the strikes on day one and two, the North Vietnamese were able to get 34 missiles in the area to strike back at the U.S. planes. Additionally, the Electronic Warfare (EW) systems were degraded and had limited jamming capability. The U.S. learned from their mistake and quickly changed tactics, and finally the bomber missions began to make a significant impact, hitting surface-to-air-missile (SAM) sites and other high value targets. Of the 741 B-52 sorties dispatched to bomb North Vietnam, 729 completed their mission. Over 15,237 tons of ordnance on 18 industrial and 14 military targets (8 were SAM sites) were dropped. The loss of U.S. service members included 33 B-52 crew members either killed or missing in action, 33 were taken prisoners of war.  Nixon suspended bombing operations on December 30th after the North Vietnamese assured the president, they would return to the peace talks. The North Vietnamese denied the bombings were their motivation.
This week we salute Al Krebs. Al served in the U.S. Air Force from March 1969 to September 1993 retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.  LTC Krebs was an Electronic Warfare officer. LTC Krebs had a very interesting career. He had 11 years of flight time. He spent six years at Carswell, Fort Worth, Texas, with over 600 days away on Temporary Duty (TDY). On December 18, 1972, he was in the briefing room with 40 crew members when their higher command briefed the Linebacker II mission. His military service included combat crew instruction, the Air Force College, liaison with Douglas on the KC10’s, Combat Evaluation group and finally as the Commander of the U.S. Air Force 1st Combat Evaluation Group, Detachment 18. Al is married and has two adult children.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.

The largest training facility of the United States located in Europe is Grafenwoehr Training Area (GTA). If you were ever stationed in Germany, you probably heard about GTA or Graf. It is 90 square miles and includes live fire training areas. Located in eastern Bavaria, Germany, it was created to train the III Royal Bavarian Corps soldiers. In 1907, approximately 58 small villages (37 square miles) were cleared to establish the training area. Over 3,500 people were evicted in 1938 for the Germans to claim 52 more square miles for training. During World War II, the Nazi unified armed forces practiced blitzkrieg tactics. After World War II, the U.S. Army occupied the area. Today, the lie fire and maneuver ranges support U.S., NATO, and partner nation live fire qualifications from small arms to tanks, artillery, aerial gunnery and close air support.
This week we salute Charles Roepke. Charles served in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1989. His military occupational specialty was 63T, a Bradley Fighting Vehicle Systems mechanic. The mechanic’s duties are to perform maintenance on the improved tow vehicles, infantry fighting vehicle, cavalry fighting vehicle, fire support vehicle, multiple launch rocket system, and the family of light armored vehicles.  He was assigned to 1/ 11 Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) based at the Fulda Gap, Germany. The ACR utilized GTA for their field maneuvers. Charles ensured his until had a 100% pass rate and received several letters of commendation. After leaving the Army, Charles purchased land at Wild Horse Ranch and upon his retirement from his civilian job, he and his wife and son moved to Forsyth in 2019. He is married to the lovely Luz, and they have 4 children. Asked what he is most proud of and he will tell you it was maxing the Physical Training (PT) tests and performing 200 push ups in 2 minutes.
Have a story to share? Email or call me [email protected] Phone: 406-351-9775
Dr. Irene Dickerson has a doctorate in Business Administration and is a retired Army Colonel living her best life in Big Sky Country.