WASHINGTON – Former Phoenix residents Tyler O’Connor and Enrique Garcia took different paths to the Army.

O’Connor knew at age 7 that he wanted to be a soldier and spent four years in Army ROTC at Arizona State University to earn a commission in the infantry. Garcia decided much later to enlist, about a year after high school. O’Connor wound up serving in Afghanistan, Garcia was deployed twice to Iraq.

But their paths converged in Alpha Company of the Army’s 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, where both say they are now engaged in the highest duty a soldier can perform – rendering honors for fallen veterans and heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.

“There is no greater honor,” 1st Lt. O’Connor said.

The unit is “the face of the Army,” marching in parades, performing in ceremonial functions in Washington and carrying out “memorial affairs” at Arlington National Cemetery. It is a job that takes hours of practice and training, with attention to the tiniest detail as they present the “thanks of a grateful nation” to survivors.

For Staff Sgt. Garcia, that includes such seemingly minor details as folding the flag that traditionally drapes the casket and later is presented to the family. It is just one element of the ceremony that requires hours of practice “to make sure our movements match,” Garcia said.

The goal, he said, is to fold the flag into a precise triangle with one star at the apex to represent one nation, three stars in the middle for the branches of government and five stars along the bottom to signify the military branches.

“Everything has to be perfect,” he said.

These exacting standards extend to everything the unit does, from marching to maintaining their uniforms, which include both modern and colonial versions, O’Connor said. Soldiers in the unit even re-dye the leather soles of their shoes before every ceremony, whether or not people will notice.

“It’s important, it’s part of the uniform,” he said.

The regiment, also known as the Old Guard, is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army and its official ceremonial unit. Modeled after Gen. George Washington’s personal guard, Alpha Company – also known as the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard – “maintains ceremonial and tactical proficiency in the weaponry and tactics of the 18th century,” according to its website.

The unit is present at everything from inaugurations to retirements, from performances for the public to events welcoming foreign dignitaries.

O’Connor arrived at the Old Guard in August and is still being certified to lead the platoon that escorts the caisson into Arlington National Cemetery for burials.

He said the months-long certification process involves rigorous attention to detail of uniforms, movements and drill commands, but it begins with a test that requires soldiers to stand motionless at attention – legs together, arms straight at the side, chest out and head up – for 70 minutes.

“That is ceremonial composure, do not move for 70 minutes,” he said.

All of this necessary in a unit that sees itself as the face of the Army. But O’Connor said most people don’t realize the soldiers of the Old Guard are responsible for maintaining their proficiency as infantry soldiers as well.

“By trade, these are infantrymen,” he said. “So in addition to the ceremonial stuff and memorial affairs … we also do conduct marksmanship training and keeping up with the infantry skills.”

A self-proclaimed “adrenaline junky,” O’Connor said he was motivated to join the Army in part by a desire for adventure and in part by patriotism.

After serving in Afghanistan and having what he called the best experience of his career repelling a three-pronged enemy attack on a remote Army observation post, it was hard for him to leave his former unit for the Old Guard. But he said the memorial affairs mission swayed him.

“That was really important to me,” O’Connor said. “Giving those guys the honor and dignity they deserve for their final resting place.”

Garcia said he came to the Old Guard more than two years ago because he saw it as a rare opportunity. He is now preparing to leave the unit for his next assignment, where he hopes to have a position training younger soldiers and making the Army better.

He joined the Army because he wanted a job where he could constantly strive to be his best, he said, referencing the old recruiting slogan, “Be all you can be.”

“It lived up to its motto,” Garcia said.

The post Arizonans in ‘Old Guard’ say honoring the fallen is the greatest service first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.

Congressman Ron Barber plans to address mental health needs for veterans at a Tucson summit.

Barber says he’ll also visit the University of Arizona on Wednesday to discuss increased job opportunities in the state.

The congressman will first speak at the Veterans’ Mental Health Summit at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. The event is being organized to address the need for enhanced access to mental health services for veterans and their families in southern Arizona.

Later in the day, Barber is expected to tour the UA College of Optical Sciences. 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The post Barber to speak in Tucson about veterans, jobs first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.

NOGALES – Twenty-five people watch as author Cathy Hufault projects black-and-white pictures of six Boy Scouts onto a screen at the Pimeria Alta Historical Society.

These boys set out on an 80 degree day in November 1958 to climb Mount Wrightson, tallest of the mountains around Tucson. The group included one boy determined to celebrate his birthday at the summit, she explains.

The next photos show bundled-up cowboys on horses, ready to search for the three scouts who didn’t turn around before a sudden storm dropped 7 feet of snow. Searchers found their bodies 19 days later, and the enormity of the challenge led to the formation of the Southern Arizona Rescue Association.

It isn’t the happiest fare, but to Teresa Leal, the historical society’s curator, the book Hufault wrote about tragedy was the perfect “climate” topic for a Centennial Speaker Series focusing on Arizona’s “Five Cs.”

“We had to deliver something that’s popular, something that’s identifiable with people,” Leal said. “It can create an educational component for people who are new or old.”

For many, Arizona’s centennial was over Feb. 14, but Nogales and other communities around the state are using the opportunity to teach Arizona’s history and ponder its future throughout 2012.

The goals vary, but Julie Yoder, chairwoman of the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission’s Centennial Programs Committee, said most efforts recognize the importance of remembering the past.

“We really want to get communities involved, to understand a little more about their history and where they live and how what they’re doing relates to the history of the state and to other people,” she said.

For Springerville and Eagar, the centennial advances a celebration the communities have had every Fourth of July for 100 years: the Apache County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo. Its centennial, along with Arizona’s, will turn the normally two-day event into a weeklong occasion.

“We have a lot of history here, and we don’t want to forget that,” said Becki Christensen, director of the Springerville-Eagar Chamber of Commerce. “Different things have happened that are very dear to the hearts of the people, and it’s important to celebrate our history. People in Arizona tend to be independent thinkers, and we’re proud of who we are and what we have.”

Springerville and Eagar also combined to make the Round Valley Arizona Centennial newspaper, 32 pages of decades-old stories highlighting Apache County’s achievements as well as founding families, ranchers and gangsters from the Old West.

The Prescott Victorian Society went beyond 100 years with the Prescott Territorial Governors Statehood Ball in March. Current leaders, including Secretary of State Ken Bennett and Prescott Mayor Marlin Kuykendall, dressed as governors who served before Arizona was a state.

“We try to bring a rich history to life,” said Bonnie Russell, president of the Prescott Victorian Society. “We want to involve the community and teach them something in a fun and positive way.”

That’s exactly what the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission’s Centennial Programs Committee hoped communities would do, Yoder said. Plans that followed specific guidelines, including producing “an enduring product that will live on after 2012,” are designated Official Legacy Projects.

“Our goal is to not just celebrate 100 years that have passed but to build a foundation for the next 100 years,” she said.

Leal, with the historical society in Nogales, hopes that the next centennial includes collaboration among communities to share ideas.

“This manifestation of being people and communities and neighbors has been around for a long time,” she said. “Working together, doing things together, will eventually be that tapestry of history that we all need.”

The post Some communities make Arizona’s centennial a year-long event first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.

Amie Oetter said she teaches her two sons, ages 10 and 12, more than the education staples of math, science and reading.

For example, Oetter has been teaching them Greek, Latin and Spanish since they were each in first grade, she said.

“Home schooling gives the opportunity and flexibility to prioritize the things that traditional schools don’t have the resources or mandate to teach,” Oetter said.

She and dozens of others descended on the statehouse Tuesday for Homeschool Day, at which Gov. Jan Brewer and several lawmakers told the group it’s important that parents have the ability to home-school their children.

“I have always supported school choice because I have always supported a parent’s choice to determine what their children need,” Brewer said.

Colene Lewis, former president of Arizona Families for Homeschool Education, said the day provided lawmakers with the opportunity to put a face on their community of families.

“It was a great way to expose the kids to the Capitol and government,” she said.

Lewis taught all three of her daughters until they went to Arizona State University. Bethany, one of Lewis’s daughters, wrote a law that makes home-schooled students eligible for public university scholarships based on their SAT and ACT scores rather than class rank.

“Home schooling is important because children should be raised by parents, and that includes their education,” Lewis said. “We provided what they needed in terms of relationships and family ties.”

Sen. John Huppenthal is sponsoring a bill that would require Arizona colleges and universities to make the criteria for merit-based scholarships easily accessible to all applicants regardless of whether they were home-schooled or attended public, private or charter schools.

S1280 was retained March 2 on calendar of the Senate Committee of the Whole.

Carol Shippy, president and legislative liaison of Arizona Families for Home Education, said parents take on their children’s education as their own responsibility and should have equal access to all merit scholarships.

“SB 1280 is trying to address that parents are not finding that information on scholarships and that it is not very accessible,” she said. “We want them to establish a criteria for scholarships and establish transparency to see how many of their students are getting scholarships.”

Greg Fahey, the University of Arizona’s associate vice president for government relations, registered as neutral on the bill before the Senate Committee on Education Accountability and Reform. He said the criteria for merit scholarships varies from year to year with the money that’s available.

The post Brewer, proponents tout home schooling at State Capitol event first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.

Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker, who has been touted by Republican strategists as a future leader of the Republican Party, will headline the upcoming Republican Professionals networking event June 10.

Parker, Paradise Valley’s first African-American mayor, will share his vision for the city and the future of the Republican Party. Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio will also be on hand to discuss his campaign to retain his seat and his thoughts on leading the city of Phoenix.

Organizers expect more than 200 guests for the event and request anyone interested in attending to RSVP to Beth Hoel at beth@republicanprofessionals.org.

The event is scheduled to run from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Bistro 24, located at the Esplanade on the southeast corner of Camelback and 24^th Street.

Republican Professionals, a networking group for Republicans to volunteer, organize, communicate and further party ideals, was founded in the fall of 2007.

The post GOP networking group to meet June 10 first appeared on Arizona Capitol Times.