August 1st, 2019

 

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 IN THIS EDITION:

Free Food and Budgeting Advice. Establishing Good Financial Habits: Family Budgeting NCNGA 
Tarheel Retiree Homecoming 2019 NCNGA 
Are you in the market for new military gear or hunting clothing? NCNGA 
NCNGA Education Foundation: $1 / Month Campaign NCNGA 
The Soldiers and Airmen Fund-NC announced their 8th annual “Fairway to Honor” charity golf tournament will by played at Bentwinds Golf and Country Club, Sep. 19 NCNGA 
Announcing Registration for the 4th Annual Sustainment Ball on the 5th of October in Greensboro NCNGA
Join NGAUS and EANGUS! Your membership in our national level partner association is critical.
US, Botswana forces complete final training exercise USAF 
Pentagon identifies 2 soldiers killed in Afghanistan WTHR 
An Airman’s journey from Nicaragua to the 24th World Scout Jamboree DVIDS 
Hindsight is 20/20 Career Pathways Institute 
August 1st — Today in Guard History National Guard 

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Free Food and Budgeting Advice. Establishing Good Financial Habits: Family Budgeting NCNGA 

The Association is excited to partner with BB&T to provide you a roadmap to establishing good financial habits. The first course will be hosted on the 10th of September in Charlotte, within a 10 minute drive of the airport area. Registration is free but required for space and food ordering purposes only. Register through the NCNGA here.

Tarheel Retiree Homecoming 2019 NCNGA 

FOR: Army and Air National Guard Retirees

DATE: Friday, December 13, 2019

EVENT REGISTRATION: 0900-1000 HRS

LOCATION: Joint Force Headquarters, 1636 Gold Star Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607

$15 Registration includes Mission updates, benefits seminar, various information stations, luncheon, social time, and a celebration of the National Guard’s 383rd Birthday. For registration information click here.

Are you in the market for new military gear or hunting clothing? NCNGA 

Are you in the market for new military gear or hunting clothing? Get 50% off at XGO. Email us at info@ncnga.org for your online discount code.

NCNGA Educational Foundation: $1/Month Campaign NCNGA 

You are aware of the NCNGA Educational Foundation’s fundraising efforts through the years. You’ve enjoyed our Reverse Drawings, Golf tournaments, Raffle tickets, and of course the Little Red Wagon!!

Your contributions are what makes the Educational Foundation successful. The Board of Directors would like to thank all of you for your support over the years. We recently celebrated our 50th year of operations, and since we started we have paid out almost $1.5 million in scholarships to members of the NC National Guard and their families. You can help us continue for the next 50 years with just one dollar a month!

Each year it becomes more difficult to conduct large-scale events to provide the funds necessary to operate. While our Board members participate on a 100% volunteer basis, we still have certain minimal costs to operate our office and process our annual scholarship applications and to award payments. We are asking for your assistance in sustaining our Educational Foundation.

As active or retired members of the NC National Guard Air and Army, we are asking you to consider donating just $1 each month to the NCNGA Educational Foundation. There are several ways you can donate – the easiest is to simply make a monthly commitment via our WEB site at edfoundationofncnga.org. You can also mail a check for $12 to our offices at 7410 Chapel Hill Rd/ Raleigh, NC 27607. Visit our website at www.edfoundationofncnga.org for more information.

Again, Thank you for supporting the NCNGA Educational Foundation, a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization.

The Soldiers and Airmen Fund-NC announced their 8th annual “Fairway to Honor” charity golf tournament will by played at Bentwinds Golf and Country Club, Sep. 19 NCNGA 

The rate is $90.00 per person. This includes golf cart, 18 holes of golf, practice facility, range balls, beverages, lunch, magic ball putting contest, $5,000.00 individual putting contest, two mulligans and a raffle ticket for the $500.00 grand prize drawing, 3 par 3s – $5,000.00 hole-in-one on each one, longest drive and closest- to- the pin holes on all par 3’s. Cash awards for 1st and 2nd place teams.

See full details and registration…

US, Botswana forces complete final training exercise USAF 

GABORONE, Botswana (AFNS) — More than 170 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from North Carolina, Alabama, and New Jersey traveled to Botswana to partner with approximately 300 Botswana Defense Force service members at Thebaphatswa Air Base, July 9-18, as part of Operation Upward Minuteman 2019.

Upward Minuteman 2019 was a U.S. Africa Command exercise promoting the U.S. National Guard’s State Partnership Program on the African Continent.

This was the first iteration of Upward Minuteman, an exercise established to strengthen security institutions, promote multilateral sharing of information and develop interoperability among partner nations. It is currently planned as a five-year program involving National Guard units from other states and their African partner countries.

“The exercise was designed to advance relationships between Botswana Defense Forces and the United States Forces, to foster trust and partner capacity, and exchange military best practices while maintaining critical skills,” said Maj. Gen. Innocent S. Phatshwane, the Botswana Defense Force Air Arm commander, during the exercise’s closing ceremony. “This will enable our Defense Force to continue to play an increasingly important role in our nation through the lessons learned from this exercise.”

The exercise matched U.S. National Guard and Botswana Defense Force firefighters, military police, special forces, musicians, engineers, medical personnel and leadership together for a week of training before a two-day training exercise meant to test how well the BDF absorbed the training.

During the final event, the BDF conducted security searches at their gate, reacted to a mock riot, responded to a simulated car crash with two victims and culminated with a scenario involving a hijacked aircraft and fire.

Read More…

Pentagon identifies 2 soldiers killed in Afghanistan WTHR 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has announced the names of two U.S. soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan on Monday.

The Defense Department says 20-year-old Pfc. Brandon Jay Kreischer of Stryker, Ohio, and 24-year-old Spc. Michael Isaiah Nance of Chicago died “as a result of wounds sustained in a combat related incident” in Tarin Kowt, in southern Afghanistan.

Pentagon spokesperson Jessica R. Maxwell says the incident is under investigation.

Both soldiers were assigned to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

U.S. officials said Monday that an Afghan soldier had shot and killed two American service members in Afghanistan. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the record about details that had not yet been made public.

According to officials Monday, the Afghan soldier was wounded and is in custody.

The U.S. formally ended its Afghan combat mission in 2014 but still provides extensive air and other support to local forces battling both the Taliban and an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Read More…

An Airman’s journey from Nicaragua to the 24th World Scout Jamboree DVIDS 

Master Sgt. Alan Romero is the Airfield Manager for the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, W.Va, and is serving in the West Virginia National Guard Public Affairs section at the World Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, W.Va.

Over a thousand military members, just like Romero, are serving at the WSJ, so what makes his story any different from the rest?

Romero lived most of his early life in the city of Masaya, Nicaragua. He was an only child, and at the age of seven, his father was killed in action in the 1979 Nicaraguan Civil War.

At the age of 10, he took up scouting at Troop Nine in San Jeronimo. There, he found a desire to succeed and serve the community. He rose through the ranks quickly, and achieved the rank of Caballero Scout – the equivalent to an American Eagle Scout, at the age of 15. He was also awarded the “Scout Diriangen”, one of the highest awards a scout in Nicaragua could receive.

In Nicaragua, the scouts of Romero’s time also served in a role similar to first responders and were trained in many different functions. His skills were put to the test on Jan. 10, 1987 when tragedy struck in a small farming area near his hometown.

A passenger train had derailed, and shortly after a 15 year old Romero was on the scene and was using his skills to assist the local fire department in any way he could.

Read More…

Hindsight is 20/20 Career Pathways Institute 

Hindsight is 20/20. North Carolina National Guard members are eligible for up to $2000 per year for tuition assistance (TA) funding in career and professional development courses. Use yours now for a successful 2020. Choose your course HERE.

This month’s featured course is Professional Certification in Digital and Social Selling. Overall employment of Digital and Social Selling agents is expected to increase by 10 percent by 2026. In this course, students will acquire a hands-on learning experience that will enable you to devise and execute an advanced digital selling strategy.

August 1st — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1943 – Ploesti, Rumania – On this date the American Eighth Air Force began staging a series of heavy bomber air raids against the oil fields and refineries around Ploesti. These fields furnished about 80% of the Nazis’ petroleum requirements and were a key military target. Known as Operation TIDAL WAVE one element of this first attack force, the 93rd Bombardment Group, was commanded by former Ohio Guardsman Lieutenant Colonel Addison Baker. Baker had started his military career in the late 1930s as a pilot in Ohio’s 112th Observation Squadron, 37th Division. When the unit was mobilized in 1940 he was a major and the 112th’s executive officer. Like many experienced Guard pilots, he was soon transferred to a newly organized formation; in his case the 93rd Bomb Group. After training in the states for over a year the 93rd moved to Libya, North Africa where it started low-level bomb practice to prepare for the raid. Part of the crew’s mission training called for the raiders to follow on their leader, in this case Baker’s B-24 bomber nicknamed “Hell’s Wench,” to the target. As the raid unfolded Baker’s plane was severely damaged by enemy ground fire. Despite flying over many flat, open fields on which he could have set it down, thus saving himself and his crew, he choose insteadto continue on toward the target, knowing that the rest of his Group was counting on his lead. He managed to keep his plane in the air and on target, which he bombed with “devastating effect.” The surviving planes of his Group followed on and, as planned, destroyed large parts of the oil production facilities. After dropping his bombs, Baker tried unsuccessfully to gain enough altitude so he and his crew could bail out but the plane was too badly damaged and soon crashed, killing all on board. For his determined leadership and devotion to accomplishing his mission, even knowing he and his men might die in the process, he was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor, one of seven awarded for this raid.

Read More…