NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for February 21, 2019

Posted on: February 20, 2019 February 21, 2019
Author: ncngaweekly

February 21, 2019

IN THIS EDITION:

Convention and Combined Ball Update! NCNGA
Career Support: North Carolina National Guard and Patriots Path NCNGA
NCNGA Educational Foundation Reverse Drawing NCNGA
Where are all those running loggies and their friends? NCNGA
Educational Foundation Now Accepting Scholarship Applications NCNGA
Military One Source Consultants Offer Local Support NCNGA
The Minuteman Muster 5K & 8K NCNGA
TACP Annual 24 Hour Challenge! TACP
A Star Legacy for 37 Years DVIDS
NC National Guardsmen to Return Home from Overseas WWAY3
Morehead armory set to close CarolinaCoastOnline
Champion of Marines, Congressman Walter Jones has died Connecting Vets
Welcoming ceremony planned for WNC National Guard unit back from Cuba WLOS
4,839 Miles In His Shoes DVIDS
Get 20% off a Treetop Adventure GoApe, courtesy of the NCNG! NCNG
February 21st — Today in Guard History National Guard
Help Wanted! NCNGA Looking for Part-Time Editor Volunteer NCNGA

Convention and Combined Ball Update! NCNGA

On time registration extended until the 23rd of February. You are not going to want to miss this great event. Highlights on the 16th of March include the following:

Member Showcase Panelists:
SGM (R) Danielle Hodges: For her extensive volunteer efforts
CSM (R) Lloyd Payne: For his service as the city manager of Concord
SSG (R) James Pierce: Purple Heart veteran and military service organizations
MAJ Danny Britt: A currently serving member of the North Carolina State Senate
MAJ W. Fred Gore: Currently serving as a district Judge
SMsgt Eric Greene: A senior leader with a focus on developing Airmen.

Keynote Speaker: Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veteran’s Affairs, Secretary Larry Hall
Combined Ball emcee: Gerald Owens, WRAL Channel 5 Raleigh New Anchor and Reporter.
Read More…

Career Support: North Carolina National Guard and Patriots Path NCNGA

Are you or your spouse in transition from the military, seeking meaningful employment or thinking about a new career? The North Carolina National Guard Association (NCNGA) can help. In an effort to improve career opportunities for its members the NCNGA is looking for 8-10 Soldiers, Airmen, or Spouses to participate in a five part career support course conducted by Patriots Path. In this course you will define new career goals, map out job search strategies, identify opportunities, create personal marketing approaches and connect within the community to peers, mentors and coaches for continued networking and support. Each of the five in-classroom, interactive workshops are held in corporate boardrooms or training facilities offering students added connectivity to employers who are committed to supporting the. In addition to the five group classes, student also participate in one-on-one breakout sessions with assigned mentors and coaches to cover more personalized resume writing, mock-interviews and job shadowing.

If you are interested in participating in this program please contact Larry Coleman at larry@ncnga.org or 984-664-0308. Possible Course Locations included the Triangle and Triad area and there is no cost to association members and spouses for this course.

NCNGA Educational Foundation Reverse Drawing NCNGA

You could win $5000.00!!!. Join the NCNGA Educational Foundation on Friday, March 15th (before the start of the Annual Convention) at 6:00 pm at the Claude T Bowers Building at JFHQ for their annual Reverse Drawing! Tickets are only $50.00 and include dinner for 2. Each 25th ticket drawn wins $50.00 and there will be sideboard drawings for $100.00 and $200.00 as well as a raffle for a ticket GUARANTEED to be in the final 10 of the drawing. Loads of fun and camaraderie! Only 300 tickets are sold so get yours soon! To purchase your ticket, contact Ken Tyndall at the NCNGAEF office at (919)-815-3390 ext. 5. Cash, checks, or charge cards accepted. Come and join us. All funds are used for scholarships that benefit the NCNG and their family. NCNGAEF is a non-profit 501(c)3.

Where are all those running loggies and their friends? NCNGA

Register for the Inaugural 113th Special Troops Battalion 5K Fun Run/Walk to be held at Jamestown Park on the 7th of April. Walk or run for fun! Event proceeds will go to help fund the 4th Annual 113th Sustainment Brigade’s Logistics Ball. All participants will receive a t-shirt, racing bib, and the fastest male and female will receive a medal. There will be food and drinks available on site (cash only). Full details and registration can be found here!

Educational Foundation Now Accepting Scholarship Applications NCNGA

Each year, the Educational Foundation awards scholarships based on available funds. The scholarships range in value from $400 for Community College attendees, to $10,000 scholarship we award in partnership with the State Employees Credit Union. Most Community College scholarships are $400, while the typical four-year college recipient is awarded $1,000.

The Educational Foundation raises funds and accepts donations for several General Scholarships. In addition, the Educational Foundation awards a number of scholarships that honor and memorialize prior members of the National Guard and their families.

There are two applications: Regular and Academic Excellence, which are described below. Completed applications can be mailed to the office at: NCNGA Educational Foundation/ 7410 Chapel Hill Road/ Raleigh, NC 27607. Applications must be completed in full and include the required income information, school transcripts, etc.

Need to connect with financial, health, employment or other services in your local community? Military OneSource’s state consultants bring help directly to you, offering outreach services to support members of the military community when and where they need it most. While many Military OneSource services are easily accessed with just a phone call or a click, state consultants can help if you need more in-depth information or support in your own backyard. To learn more visit Military OneSource.

The Minuteman Muster 5K & 8K NCNGA

The Minuteman Muster 5K & 8K is part of an open house event at the NC National Guard Military Center (near the NC Fairgrounds). The event includes includes USATF Certified 5K & 8K Races, a National Guard & Emergency Services open house, and fun activities for everyone. Presented by Celito.net Take the Challenge and run BOTH the 5K & 8K races. This year teams of 4 high school runners can compete in the 5K for FREE!

Runners and spectators will enjoy an open house featuring military, emergency management, and law enforcement equipment displays, a rock climbing wall, and other fun activities.

Enjoy the premium race experience provided by Precision Race with state of the art Jaguar timing, real-time race results, and automated finish line photography. The Minuteman Muster 5K & 8K races are part of the Triangle Race Series.

This year the registration price is lower than ever, but the race shirt is available as a $15 option. It will be the same design and type running shirt, but a different color.

TACP Annual 24 Hour Challenge! TACP

On Thursday, 28-29 March 2019 the Tactical Air Control Party Association will host a 24-Hour Challenge the YMCA Park in Albemarle, NC. This annual event raises money for the Families of fallen heroes. You can show your support by running, walking or just hanging out. This can be done as a team or individual. Registration is available now!

A Star Legacy for 37 Years DVIDS

02/10/2019 – CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nothing, but smiles filled the hanger as Brig. Gen. Clarence Ervin rendered a final salute during his retirement ceremony at the North Carolina Air National Guard base in Charlotte, NC. Family, friends and guard members gathered to celebrate the retirement of Brig. Gen. Clarence Ervin, Chief of Staff for the North Carolina Air National Guard, after serving in the military for 37 years.

“I am so happy! I feel I achieved what I needed to do and that was to serve,” said Brig. Gen. Clarence Ervin with a smile when asked how he felt about retiring.

South Carolina is Gen. Ervin’s home state and his military journey began when he enlisted in the Unites States Air Force in 1979 as a fuels specialist. It wasn’t long before he left active duty for the North Carolina Air National Guard in 1985 and later received his officer commissioning in 1988 through the Academy of Military Science. Gen. Ervin was the first African American general officer in the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 70-year history. He has also served in multiple roles throughout his career from being the Military Equal Opportunity Officer and Vice Commander of the 145th Airlift Wing in Charlotte, N.C. to Director of Staff, Assistant Adjutant General, and to his current role as Chief of Staff at Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, N.C.

GASTONIA, NC (AP) — More than 100 North Carolina National Guardsmen are returning home after serving in Kuwait, Iraq and Syria.

The National Guard said in a news release that members of the 878th Engineer Company will return home Friday at Bethlehem Church in Gastonia.

The company provided command and control of five engineer platoons that provided specific engineering support to U.S. and allied forces in the three countries. The company constructed base camps and internment facilities and also repaired and maintained other infrastructures.

The unit also has responded to national disasters, including the severe flooding in Georgetown and Columbia, South Carolina, in 2015.

Morehead armory set to close
CarolinaCoastOnline

MOREHEAD CITY — The National Guard armory on Bridges Street is slated to shutter its doors within the next couple of years and be consolidated with a unit in Jacksonville as part of a statewide effort to reduce the total number of armories in North Carolina.

N.C. National Guard public affairs officer Lt. Col. Matthew Devivo confirmed Friday the Morehead City armory, at 3413 Bridges St., is one of several across the state expected to close in the next few years. However, he said, there is no firm timeframe for when that should happen, and it could be anywhere from one to two years or longer.

“It definitely won’t be within the year,” he said Friday. “…It could even be up to two years from now or longer, just depending on a number of factors.”

North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones, a strong supporter of the U.S. military and whose district included Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, died Sunday as the result of an undisclosed illness. He was 76.

“Congressman Jones was a man of the people,” a statement from his office in Greenville announcing his death Feb. 10 read. “He was a champion for our men and women in uniform and their families, always mindful of their service and sacrifice.”

First elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, Jones served 12 consecutive terms in Congress and was a strong advocate for the Marine Corps, veterans, and their families.

“I had the honor of working with my fellow North Carolinian and friend Walter Jones for 30 years,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement “His love for the men and women who wore the uniform knew no bounds. He was a public servant of uncommon humility and decency. “

One mountain National Guard unit is back home after a nearly year-long deployment to Cuba. The community will have the chance soon to officially welcome them, and say thank you.

A ceremony will take place Saturday afternoon to show appreciation for their service in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Thomas Herman recently finished the 10-month deployment to Cuba, along with 150 other members of North Carolina’s 210th Military Police Co., based near Sylva in Jackson County. Most came home in October.

“This is the first time the whole unit has come back together as a whole,” Herman said.

Herman said from then to now provided a chance for soldiers to debrief with their families under the military’s Yellow Ribbon program. But now, come Saturday, there will be a unified welcoming celebration, and a chance for the community to say thanks for their security and enforcement operations at Guantanamo Bay.

Herman said it was one of the better deployments.

4,839 Miles In His Shoes DVIDS

During a drizzly Super Drill at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, January 13, 2019, the familiar taps echoed on the floor as U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Francis Strother rounded the corner into his office where Tech. Sgt. Nathan Clark and I eagerly awaited to hear his story unfold; his 4,839 mile journey from Liberia to The United States of America and how he became an ambassador for the North Carolina Air National Guard.

Born in 1974, Monrovia, Liberia, Tech. Sgt. Strother grew up as a pastor’s son with his cares and needs met. He and his family lived with modern comforts including a driver, and a cook. In 1989, a civil war broke out, lasting 8 years, and claiming more than 200,000 lives. At the age of 14, he became the provider for he and his two brothers as they separated from their father.

“One day, I was arrested by a soldier who thought I was a rebel, and before my dad left, he told the soldier I was not a rebel,” said Tech. Sgt. Strother. “I was wearing jeans and, in Liberia, there is a stigma that if you wear jeans you are a rebel. A woman who lived nearby, and spoke the same language as the soldier, told the soldier I was not a rebel and she tried to give him money to let me go. He told her they were going to kill me. They tied me up and took me to the beach-side barracks in Monrovia. My brothers and father were crying. The tied me up so hard my chest was popping out and I just felt like my spirit was leaving my body. My dad went to his store, grabbed all the money out of the register, and gave it to the man. They let me go and I told my dad that it would be better if we split up because if they [soldiers or rebels] found a house full of men like us, they would think we are against them. We stayed with a lady and her children that lived nearby and was a friend of my father; we had nothing, no food.”

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1887 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Company A of the Washington Cadets Corps from Washington, DC, arrives in this city today to take part in the annual Washington’s Birthday Parade held on February 22nd. Despite the name “Cadet Corps” in fact this unit is an African American battalion of the District’s Guard. They are hosted by Philadelphia’s “Grey Invincibles” the only remaining black unit in the Pennsylvania Guard. Both units, like many Guard organizations of the day, have distinctive dress uniforms that are paid for by the men themselves.

Help Wanted! NCNGA Looking for Part-Time Editor Volunteer NCNGA

The Association is looking for a volunteer for about six hours a month. The Association is seeking a part-time editor to work on the Tarheel Gaurdsman. If you or someone you know is experienced in InDesign or similar software please contact Katie at 919-851-3390, extension 2 or by email: Katie@ncnga.org.

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