NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for December 21, 2017

December 21, 2017

 

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NCNG’s Senior Army Advisor Helps Maintain Readiness DVIDS
Every two years, the office tucked away near the stairs on the third floor at the North Carolina National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ) receives a new occupant. The current Soldier who fills the office is Col. Chuck Freeman, with 1st Army, and he is the Senior Army Advisor to the North Carolina National Guard (SRAAG). Every State and Territory has a SRAAG and their mission is to advise and assist NC Army National Guard commanders on organization, operations, training and readiness. “As units come down on notification for deployment, there’s a myriad of things you have to do to get ready,” said Freeman, who became NC’s Senior Army Advisor in June 2017. “I’ll work with JFHQ staff and the unit to answer questions and help if you need advice.” Freeman said his goal at the end of his two-year stay as the SRAAG is that the N.C. Guard has maintained their readiness in preparations for deployments. Read More…

USO event draws 150 to Triad; Good Friends event nets $100K Triad Business Journal 

USO hosts event for National Guard soldiers – Nearly 150 National Guard soldiers from the North Carolina National Guard Recruiting Command were scheduled to attend a Warrior Reset program in Greensboro on Dec. 7 and 8 hosted by USO of North Carolina. The event was the first to be hosted in Greensboro and was expected to be the largest Warrior Reset program to date. The event, designed to help service member adjust to a “new normal” following their deployments, featured sessions on wellness, mindfulness, conflict resolution and alternative therapies such as horticulture and story-sharing. Read More…

NC Guard Begins Construction of State of Art Readiness Center DVIDS
Dirt flew as local, state and North Carolina National Guard leaders made it official with a turn of the shovel at the groundbreaking ceremony at North Carolina Army National Guard’s 1st-120th Infantry Regiment Headquarters in Wilmington, Dec. 12, 2017, to celebrate the beginning of a $16 million construction project. The over 50-year old, antiquated “Cold War Era” armory, located on 41 acres just south of the Wilmington International Airport, will be demolished to make way for a state-of-the-art 50,150 square foot Readiness Center. The facility first belonged to the Air Force and was turned over to the N.C. Guard in 1984. “Improving facilities is a challenge we have to address and it takes long term effort to fill this need,” said the NCNG’s commander, Army Maj. Gen. Greg Lusk, the adjutant general of North Carolina. Read More…

Get your Unit and Family NCNGA merchandise in time for Christmas!
Our online store features various unit shirts with more products being added soon. These shirts have great quality embroidery produced locally. Visit www.ncnga-store.com to get your orders in time for Christmas…

Army mission command network upgrading to meet challenges Army.mil
“We have a very limited amount of time to do this, so kicking the can down the road is not an option.” Those words, emphasized at a recent conference, reveal the impact of a plan to update mission command network software and hardware across all Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard units by the end of 2019. In May 2017, the Army’s G-3/5/7 (Operations, Plans and Training) issued an Army-wide directive for more than 400 tactical units to consolidate to a single software baseline for mission command applications. To execute the order, elements from Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical mobilized to support fielding approximately 290 units in FY18 and the remainder of the Army next fiscal year. Read More…

Mass exodus of Soldiers in training go home for holidays Army.mil
Thousands of Soldiers and their Families are traveling home for the holidays, including about 44,000 trainees and cadre from initial-entry training centers. The Soldiers are participating in a two-week Holiday Block Leave beginning Dec. 18, said Michael Brown, a training analyst at the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training’s Initial Entry Division. These Soldiers are in various training sites across the U.S., going through Basic Combat Training, One Station Unit Training, Advanced Individual Training, the Basic Officer Leadership Course and Warrant Officer Basic Course, he said. Normally, about 3 to 5 percent of these Soldiers choose to remain at their installation and not travel home, he added. For those who stay behind, units coordinate several Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities for them, including attending professional sporting events. Read More…

Proposed Fire Training Facility Kindles Community Relationships for the NCANG DVIDS
The N.C. Air National Guard has partnered with the Office of State Fire Marshal to build the N.C. Emergency Training Center, a facility at the Stanly County Airport that would provide specialized training for emergency responders statewide while sparking economic growth to the region. For many years, the firefighters of the N.C. Air National Guard utilized the school and facility at Good Fellow Air Force Base in Texas. The new training center in Stanly County will reduce the need for Airmen to travel out of state, while providing a center for local non-military first responders to utilize as well. “It’s really a critical area and when you look at it from the training perspective there’s nothing that we do that’s more important than being trained and ready for virtually any type of event,” said Chief Master Sgt. Daryl Cook, Fire Emergency Services Chief for the 145th Airlift Wing. Read More…

December — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1620 Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts – 102 English colonist, men, women and children, generally referred to as the “Pilgrims” arrive here aboard the Mayflower. Prior to landing 41 male members of this party sign the “Mayflower Compact” agreeing to adopt laws to protect the group and to insure freedom of worship. It was this latter matter which compelled them to leave England seeking religious freedom. Among those signing the Compact was Captain Miles Standish, a professional soldier hired to train the colonist to defend themselves in the New World. He instructed them on the proper handling of muskets and other arms, helping to make them a more effective defensive force.

Read More…

57th Annual NCNGA Convention and NCNG Combined Ball Registration is NOW OPEN NCNGA 

Our North Carolina National Guard Association and Convention Committee are proud to announce that this year’s 57th Annual Convention will be hosted at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville, NC between March 17-18. Asheville is one of our States top destinations with wonderful scenery, amazing attractions and great food and shopping. It has been a number of years since we have been to Asheville and the mountains, so we are happy to bring it back by popular demand. With the great accommodations and amenities at the resort, we believe this year will surpass previous years’ attendance. This year we are also collaborating with the NCNG and hosting the Combined Event/Ball. We encourage you to book early to reserve your room. Again, this year we will host our Membership Session on a Saturday and Sunday timeframe to minimize conflicts with those on a typical Monday-Friday work schedule and maximize attendance. Our goal this year is to offer a Kid’s Night Out (includes dinner) coordinated by Family Services during our Saturday Evening Event. With so many young families and retirees with grandchildren, we thought this addition would be great for everyone. Our intent is to make it a very enjoyable time for the kids with games, fun and movies to keep them entertained. We are currently wrapping up items like our agenda, entertainment and Convention theme. Once we have these locked in, we will post it on our Facebook page, Weekly Guardsman online newsletter, and on our website. You can signup for these resources on our homepage. We appreciate your support and encourage you to take full advantage of our Early Bird prices. Register Now…

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…

The Weekly Guardsman


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