North Georgia cadets join the war on terror

Originally published March 2003

	Lynnette Johnson, Paul Tremblay and Sarah Day

By Joshua Preston

DAHLONEGA – Paul Tremblay Jr. was sitting in an English class in Dunlap Hall on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center towers. Tremblay left class and went back to his room in Gaillard Hall to check his answering machine for any calls from his National Guard unit. Tremblay had joined the military less than 18 months earlier, but he knew the very real possibility of being deployed for a mission. 

The phone call didn’t come for another two months. It gave Tremblay time to squeeze in his final exams before heading to Fort McPherson with his unit. By January, 2002, the 20-year-old college student was in Kabul, Afghanistan, with the Georgia Army National Guard’s 122nd Rear Operations Center.

Tremblay was part of America’s war on terror, deployed to the Middle East for six months. 

“I ‘grew up’ while I was over there,” said Tremblay back at North Georgia, settling into campus life. “I appreciated soldiers before, but until you see what they can do when they are asked by their country, you never get a full understanding.”

 Tremblay was an intelligence sergeant for the National Guard’s Coalition Joint Civil-Military Operation Task Force in Afghanistan through June 2002. He collected and analyzed data that the task force’s leadership used to help plan operations and safely move troops.

Tremblay, from Saratoga, N.Y., plans to use what he’s learned to benefit his peers at school.

“I became a better leader...until your life is in danger, you never grasp the understanding of just how important it is to be serious and pay attention to detail,” Tremblay said. He was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for fulfilling his duties overseas and was promoted to sergeant.

A criminal justice major, Tremblay plans to finish his degree at North Georgia and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the National Guard.

While Tremblay was in Kabul, about 1,200 miles southwest of that location, another 20-year-old North Georgia criminal justice major was fulfilling her duties with the 122nd Rear Operations Center. Lynnette Johnson was stationed in Doha, Kuwait, as part of a liaison cell separate from the taskforce.

Johnson, from Savannah, Ga., spent much of six months overseas managing military intelligence data that came through the U.S. military camp. She summarized intelligence reports from different parts of Afghanistan so her superior officers could make informed decisions about operations in the country.

Johnson, finishing her first semester at the university when she shipped overseas, did not leave all her loved ones “stateside” as most soldiers did. Her father, Master Sgt. Leroy Johnson, was stationed with his active duty unit in Kuwait when his daughter arrived in January.

“It was pretty neat to have my dad in Kuwait with me,” said Johnson. “We didn’t work directly together, but as soldiers in the ‘big picture’ we were both there to support Operation Enduring Freedom.”

The father and daughter were at different military installations in Kuwait, but they were able to see each other on occasion.

“People were amazed we were there at the same time,” said the younger Johnson. “With the size of the Army and the different places soldiers are stationed, it was a rare coincidence.”

Johnson finished the last two months of her duty in Kuwait without dad. She came back to the United States and took the summer break to relax, starting school again in August.

Like fellow soldier Tremblay, Johnson has a deeper appreciation of military service.

“I got to see how the real military works and what goes on day to day,” Johnson said. “I have a greater respect for soldiers, and it helps me look forward to commissioning.”

Johnson plans to be a National Guard lieutenant when she graduates. Both she and Tremblay receive the Georgia Military Scholarship, a state scholarship that the legislature funds each year for 39 North Georgia cadets who commit to serve in the Georgia Army National Guard. 

Johnson says she wishes every cadet could get some type of experience like she did, not necessarily on the front lines, but an opportunity to become a better person and leader.

This page last modified on: Saturday, 04 November 2006 03:17:48 -0500 by University Relations    

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