OXFORD — Members of American Legion Post 112 will dedicate the American Legion Concerts in the Park series in memory of Rep. Ted Heidrich on Tuesday evening, July 28. Tuesday is the first concert of the 2015 summer series. The concerts will be renamed The Ted Heidrich Memorial Concerts, “to honor the man who started […]
National Guard
Posted inObituaries, sj-web
Orean ‘Champ’ Champagne
1929 – 2015 LEWISTON — Orean Joseph “Champ” Champagne, 86, a resident of Lewiston, passed away at home on Wednesday, July 1, following a yearlong battle with cancer, with his loving wife by his side. He was born Jan. 2, 1929, in Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, the son of Yvonne Arsenault and Eugene Champagne. He was […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine National Guard restructuring may be revealed this week
AUGUSTA — Maine Army National Guard leaders may soon learn the fate of a controversial plan to turn the state’s 133rd Engineer Battalion into an infantry regiment, the revelation of which earlier this year cost the former state guard leader his job. The U.S. Army’s command plan for fiscal year 2017, which is expected to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage cites jobs for women in Maine National Guard fight
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage is opposing a plan to convert a key component of the Maine National Guard from engineers to infantry in order to maintain construction capability if there is a disaster and preserve military jobs for women. The governor’s office explained LePage’s stance after a tumultuous week in which he abruptly […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, sj-web
Maine National Guard cancels 136th’s deployment to Kuwait
AUGUSTA — A scheduled deployment to Kuwait in the spring of 2016 for members of the Maine National Guard’s 136th Engineer Company has been canceled, according to Brig. Gen. Gerard Bolduc, the interim adjutant general of Maine. The cancellation is a direct result of a planned change in troop management that this week cost former […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
National Guard getting new headquarters in Maine
AUGUSTA — The Maine National Guard is getting $32 million in federal funding for a new headquarters in north Augusta. Construction on the 100,000-square-foot, two-story building and 230-space parking lot could begin as soon as this summer. About 200 people who presently work at Camp Keyes would work in the building. Capt. Norman Stickney, spokesman […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
National Guard plans to transform Maine engineer battalion into infantry to save jobs
AUGUSTA — The Army National Guard is planning to change the role of Maine’s oldest and largest military force in order to save as many jobs as possible amid federal defense belt-tightening, according to officials. Under the plan, the 133rd Engineer Battalion and other units would become the 1st Battalion, 103rd Infantry Regiment. The plan […]
Posted inMaine
‘We need to do everything we can’: In culture shift, Maine Guard opens up about suicide prevention
There are 54 identification tags displayed on the Battlefield Cross Memorial in the Maine State House. Their chains are draped on the pistol grip of a soldier’s rifle, the dog tags themselves dangling just above a pair of combat boots. A helmet atop the rifle completes the cross. The dog tags are from all the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
National Guard cancels Afghanistan deployment for Maine unit
AUGUSTA — The Westbrook-based 262nd Engineering Company of the Maine Army National Guard, heavy equipment operators who have been training and preparing for months to deploy to Afghanistan this December, learned Wednesday their deployment is canceled. “We have been aware for some time that there was a possibility that the 262nd Engineer Company would not […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Members of National Guard receive awards for their service
LEWISTON — “You make us very proud,” said Gov. Paul LePage to Maine’s citizen soldiers of the 133rd Engineer Battalion and the 1035th Survey and Design Team at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée on Sunday morning. Those words also summed up the sentiments of several dignitaries, who received heartfelt expressions of appreciation during a “Freedom Salute.” The event […]