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Joint Forces Headquarters Indiana National Guard Office of Public Affairs 2002 South Holt Road Indianapolis, Indiana  46241 317-247-3222   MEDIA ADVISORY For Immediate Release: January 5, 2007   For additional information contact:  For additional information contact: LTC Deedra Thombleson,  Public Affairs Officer: 317-247-3105 or 317-247-3222 or go to our Indiana National Guard Public Website: http://www.inarng.org/ Release #01052007 - 1 SPC Heather Holden receives Purple Heart INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, the Adjutant General, would like to announce the presentation of the Purple Heart to Spc. Heather Holden, Company A, 138th Signal Battalion. Spc. Holden was injured on April 16, 2006 during a mortar attack in Ramadi, Iraq. Spc. Heather Holden was in the Node Center Operation Area at Forward Operating Base Al Taqaddum Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom when her unit received indirect fire. On April 16, 2006, a car with insurgents pulled off the side of the road and fired a series of 12 mortar shells at the Node Center Area and sped away. Spc. Holden served with 2nd Battalion, 28th Brigade Combat Team as a Switch Systems Operator Maintainer. While receiving indirect fire, one of the mortars directly impacted the wooden communications shelter which housed the telephone and communications processing system. The round impacted on the shack directly above Spc. Holden. The mortar detonated between the roof and the ceiling of the shack. The concussion of the blast threw Spc. Holden against the wall and she received shrapnel wounds both from the round and the ceiling. As a Switch Systems Operator Maintainer, Spc. Holden assisted in installing, operating and maintaining telephone systems on Forward Operating Base Al Taqaddum Iraq during her deployment. As a testament to the professionalism and determination of the soldiers, the communication systems were repaired with minimum down time. Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger commented, “Our female Soldiers are serving this country selflessly, bestowing their unique strengths on an organization remarkable for its diversity. In this asymmetrical war they are called upon to put themselves in harm’s way without hesitation or question, each and every day. They are providing leadership without an historical frame of reference, and without the security of precedent. We applaud their constancy, their compassion, and their intensity of purpose. Our National Guard would not be what it is today without these great citizen Soldiers. I am extremely proud of SPC Holden and of her dedicated and loyal service to the State and the Nation.” Spc. Holden will be presented her Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge during a ceremony Saturday, January 6, 2007 at the Greenfield Armory in Greenfield, Indiana. The ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. The media is invited to attend this presentation. Please contact Mrs. Susan Hawver at 317-247-3222 if you plan on attending.   Deedra E. Thombleson Public Affairs Officer Joint Forces Headquarters Indiana National Guard CML:  317-247-3222 DSN:  369-2222 FAX:  317-247-3146 floretta.sultzer@in.ngb.army.mil

General Information Phone Number 317-247-3222 LTC Deedra Thombleson   Public Affairs Officer   (317) 247-3105 Send an Email     Sgt Michael Krieg   Photographer   (317) 247-3300 ext: 3186 Send an Email   Indiana Guardsman Issue #1 2005 Indiana Guardsman Issue #2 2005 Indiana Guardsman Issue #3 2005 Indiana Guardsman Issue #4 2005       The U.S. Department of Labor has chosen The Military Department of Indiana as a "Blueprint" for the new Apprenticeship Program.