November 23, 2017

 

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Support the NCNGA with one click over the holidays… NCNGA 

A couple years ago, we began a program with a company named FlipCause which partners with some of the nation’s top businesses. This opportunity is where you can do all your shopping with over 150 top businesses and the NCNGA will receive a donation percentage on each purchase back to us. Partners include Amazon, Target, Expedia, Fed Ex, Gamestop, Nordstrom, HP, Microsoft, Pet Food Direct, Shoes.com and Hurley to name a few. You don’t have to do anything different other than click through the link here or the link on our website. This link is also listed on our website on the right hand side column as “Shop Your Favorite Stores to Support NCNGA”. You will be directed to these merchant’s main websites and have access to all their promotions and sales as usual. This small step can make a huge impact with everyone doing holiday shopping. We hope you will use and share this opportunity with your family and friends to use as well. Support NCNGA Today…

Tarheel Retiree Homecoming

On behalf of the North Carolina National Guard and the North Carolina National Guard Association, we are proud to support this year’s Tarheel Retiree Homecoming. The event will be held at Joint Force Headquarters on December 15, 2017. This annual event is one of our largest events for Retirees held throughout the year. We will be hosting various vendors, a briefing from JFHQ leadership and our annual lunch. Space is limited to 300 participants and we sell out early every year. We appreciate your service and look forward to your attendance. Please click here for the Registration Form. Also available is online registration here

North Carolina Sending More Help to Puerto Rico WWAY3
A group of North Carolina emergency managers left to Puerto Rico Friday morning to assist with recovery efforts after Hurricane Maria.
A six-person team gathered at the state Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh after 5 a.m. ahead of their flight. Right now, three teams from North Carolina are assisting with emergency operations in Puerto Rico. A team of 10 is helping at the main emergency operations center in San Juan. Two 6-person teams are staffing emergency operations centers in mountainous regions, hard hit by the storm. Read More…

How business leaders can support North Carolina’s military service members Charlotte Business Journal
Less than one percent of our nation volunteers to serve and protect the freedoms of the other 99 percent. Even after 16 years of continuous war and operations in 160 countries across the globe, our service members and their families still need our support. Military children are still saying goodbye to their moms and dads as they head off overseas for long deployments. Service members are still coming home and making adjustments as they adapt to life back in the states. Families are still transitioning from the military to civilian life. What many people may not realize is that the business community has an important role in supporting our service members, from the time that they put on the uniform through their transition to veteran status. Charlotte’s businesses can make a positive impact in supporting those service members and their families as they return home, adjust to new normal, transition to civilian life. Read More…

Veteran, employee surprises students during ceremony Morganton News Herald
Students and staff at the North Carolina School for the Deaf were in for a big surprise on Friday when one of their own veterans came home from deployment just in time for Veterans Day. Edmund Long, environmental services manager at NCSD is also a Sgt. 1st Class in the Army Reserves. He was deployed overseas more than a year ago. “Only a few people knew I was coming,” Long said. Students were gathering in the school’s auditorium for a special Veterans Day ceremony to recognize all those who have served within the school, but they were unaware who was hiding behind the mainstage curtain. Read More…

145th Logistics Readiness Squadron Assists Disaster Relief in the U.S. Virgin Islands DVIDS
When it comes to a Hurricane, the disaster continues long after the wind has settled, this is why the Logistics Readiness Squadron of the North Carolina Air National Guard recently sent fifteen Airmen to the U.S. Virgin Islands, a region devastated back in September by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. “The biggest thing was that we were there to aid and help and support the island of St. Thomas,” explained Senior Master Sgt. Raymond Graves III., Air Transportation Superintendent with the Logistics Readiness Squadron. “I definitely think that we did that.” Read More…

Family of veterans recalls Christmases spent apart Dubois County Herald
Steve and Darlene Merkley and their son, Tom, aren’t strangers to military deployments over the holidays. Steve and Darlene spent the first Christmas of their marriage apart during the Vietnam War. Then, after 9/11, the family spent three Christmases apart during Darlene and Tom’s deployments. The St. Anthony family shared their experiences Thursday evening during the opening of the Dubois County Museum’s Festival of Trees, an annual exhibit of Christmas trees decorated by local families and organizations. The trees will be on display at the museum through December. This year’s festival theme is “Christmas With Our Veterans.” Ray Larkin shared about his experience in the Korean War, and Rafe Schaefer read his poem “Christmas Trees.” Thursday’s opening served as a tribute to Dubois County’s many soldiers, past and present. Read More…

Sandy Branch Baptist Church honors service members of the Armed Forces Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald
Sandy Branch Missionary Baptist Church, located at 4318 Governors Road, sponsored its salute, “Proudly, They Served …”, to veterans and military service members on Oct. 29. Minister Ashley S. Bradley of Cedar Landing Baptist Church presided over the service of nearly 100 individuals from various Armed Forces being honored. The Northampton County Honor Guard gave the presentation of colors. The occasion, lighting of memorial candles, roll call of deceased service members, and a presentation of certificates were delivered by church members and servicemen. Music was provided by the United Women of Praise of Elizabeth City. The 86 member choir is comprised of female singers from 23 counties within North Carolina. Read More…

New Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army invested – Pascoe Army.mil
The newest Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) was invested during a ceremony conducted November 7th at the Pentagon. Richard W. Pascoe was selected by the Acting Secretary of the Army, Ryan D. McCarthy, to represent California (South). “I am honored to be given this unique opportunity to continue my service to our country as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army.” Pascoe said. “I look forward to working with the Secretary, and my fellow Civilian Aides, to support our military and civilian communities throughout Southern California.” CASAs are a vital part of the Army, promoting good relationships between the Army and the public and advising the Secretary about regional issues. Read More…

Veterans young and old have a bond, but very different experiences Interior Journal
Whether they are 17 or 97, and any age in between, veterans have a strong bond. Sgt. Michael Huffman, 27, of Stanford who served a tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan and now works as a recruiter at the Army National Guard in Danville, said that’s the part that he enjoys most. “I like being a part of the few. Just walking out in the uniform and having people thanking you for your service, but they don’t even know where you’ve been. That’s the kind of stuff I enjoy.” Huffman said he joined the Army at 17, and right after graduating from Lincoln County High School in 2009, he completed basic training and was on active duty until 2013 with the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. While on active duty, Huffman spent seven months in Iraq. He said Iraq was really built up and was more like being in a town. Read More…

November — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1804 Hillsboro, New Hampshire – Fourteenth President of the United States Franklin Pierce is born. The son of a Revolutionary War hero, Pierce practiced law and served in the New Hampshire legislature before entering Congress in 1832. Simultaneously he was appointed aide-de-camp to the governor of New Hampshire with the rank of colonel in the state militia. He left Congress in 1842 and returned to his law practice. When America declared war against Mexico in 1846, Pierce was commissioned a brigadier general of volunteers and commanded a portion of the Army under General Winfield Scott on its march to and capture of Mexico City. During this campaign he had a bullet shot through his cap but was unhurt. In 1852 he was elected as the 14th President, serving until 1857. Though in poor health during the Civil War he again volunteered his military services to the Union, but was found to be too infirm for field command. He died in 1869. Read More…

The Pentagon’s hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico is nearly over, but these missions remain Washington Post 

The majority of active-duty U.S. troops involved in hurricane relief in Puerto Rico will return home this week, but power restoration and a few other missions are ongoing, said a U.S. general overseeing the effort. Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan said in an interview Tuesday that charter flights will take troops home to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Benning in Georgia, Joint Base San Antonio in Texas and Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state on Wednesday. As of Monday, there were about 2,200 active-duty and reserve troops, but many are Puerto Ricans who are part of reserve units based on the island, he said. Read More…