NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for September 26, 2019

September 19th, 2019

 

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 IN THIS EDITION:

Your Benefit, are you using it? NCNGA 
Still time to register for the 4th Annual Sustainment Ball on the 5th of October in Greensboro NCNGA
New NGAUS Rates! NCNGA 
Take a look at our new website! NCNGA 
Do you have an event at your unit or with your Family Support Group and need some help raising funds? NCNGA 
Tarheel Retiree Homecoming 2019 NCNGA
Guard 2 Beach 2019 NCNGA 
Army National Guard team conducts Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise US Army 
North Carolina Air National Guard Embarks on Life-Saving Mission Amidst Conversion DVIDS 
Old Hickory vets celebrate 75th anniversary of liberation SRC3 
September 26th — Today in Guard History National Guard 


Your Benefit, are you using it? NCNGA 

One of the many roles your Association performs on your behalf is the administration of the congressionally sanctioned State Sponsored Life Insurance (SSLI) benefit program. This locally managed program is available to all currently serving North Carolina National Guard Soldiers and Airmen. This is a benefit you can keep even after you take off the uniform after 6 years or 30 years of service. The price will remain the same until age 60. In addition to Servicemember coverage you can obtain coverage for your spouse and dependents. The low-cost premiums are directly deducted from your LES through DFAS.

This is a separate benefit from the nationally managed Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program which converts to a more expensive Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI) program upon separation.

If you believe you are enrolled you can utilize our new benefit portal at www.ncnga.org, just click on sign-in link on the upper right of the page. You can also send us an email at info@ncnga.org to learn more about enrollment.

New NGAUS Rates! NCNGA 

At the NGAUS Conference in Denver, there was a majority vote that our dues structure would be reduced from 15 different price points to three. This rate change will be going into effect on October 1, 2019 for the 2020 membership year.

  • Company Grade – $40
  • Field Grade – $80
  • Flag Grade – $130

You can renew or join for the year 2020 here.

Take a look at our new website! NCNGA 

We are excited about our new interactive website. You can now create a user profile that will give you access to view your State Sponsored Life Insurance (SSLI) benefits, NGAUS and EANGUS membership, current and past copies of the Tarheel Guardsman, benefit codes and more information to come.

Do you have an event at your unit or with your Family Support Group and need some help raising funds? NCNGA 

Do you have an event at your unit or with your Family Support Group and need some help raising funds? Let your Associations’ Tarheel Minuteman Foundation, a 501 (C)(3), assist with you efforts. Contact the Association at info@ncnga.org for more information.

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.

Guard 2 Beach 2019 NCNGA 

It is that time of year again for the Guard 2 Beach ride. Take a look at the flyer for this year’s event and sign up to help make this the biggest and best ride yet. We have been putting in a lot of effort to organize another great ride and would like to see all past riders come out and ride with us again. Please note that the registration fee will increase on October 1st, so sign up now. We only have a limited number of slots so don’t delay. If you can’t make it, please spread the word so we can make this weekend an awesome time of riding and funding a great cause.

Register Today!

Army National Guard team conducts Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise US Army 

FORT BLISS, Texas – “It demonstrates the firepower, precision, and lethality of an Armored Brigade Combat Team,” said U.S. Army Col. Robert Bumgardner, commander, 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina Army National Guard, when describing the Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise (CALFX).

Delta-Troop, 1-150th Cavalry Regiment, 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, participated in the CALFX in the vicinity of Fort Bliss, Texas, Sept. 20, 2019. Crews operating the M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, mortars, and M109 Paladins were able to exercise their weapons’ capabilities on one of the largest military training ranges in the United States.

“We had a tank company in the fight, with mortars and a field artillery battery in support,” said Bumgardner. “The scenario included a passage of lines through the Scout platoons, moving forward to destroy the enemy.”

The CALFX was the culminating event for the unit, as they are mobilized to support Operation Spartan Shield in the Middle East. The tank crews had to meet the table gunnery requirements before advancing to the complexities of the live-fire.

Read More…

North Carolina Air National Guard Embarks on Life-Saving Mission Amidst Conversion DVIDS 

As the North Carolina Air National Guard has oriented its mission with C-17 Globemaster III aircraft over the past two years, the 145th Airlift Wing and 156th Airlift Squadron have gained a real-world mission that positively impacts those in need across the globe.

Members of the North Carolina Air National Guard prepare and work diligently in their first real-world mission while converting to C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, towards assisting other Air Force Active Duty, Reserve, and Guard units as they take part in the Aeromedical Evacuation Patient Distribution Channel; a mission that is constantly in force moving patients, and casualties of war inflicted wounds, in need of transport from one medical facility to another across the world.

“Typically there are two (C-17 Globemaster III aircraft) in rotation. While one is finishing up its mission bringing patients from downrange to Germany to Joint Base Andrews, the other one is picking up mission critical aeromedical evacuation assets (equipment) from Joint Base Andrews to take back to Germany,” stated 775th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight Commander, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Shawn Suber. “All Aeromedical Evacuation Crew Members are trained to operate on C-17s, in which the airframe is faster, bigger, and configured for a better and more comfortable flight for patients and crew.”

The mission for the Aeromedical Evacuation Crew Members is to provide time-sensitive en-route care for casualties between medical facilities globally with medically trained air crew. With such a mission, there are many moving parts and units helping to make sure everything runs smoothly. An integral group to this mission includes aircraft maintenance personnel who ensure the airframes are fit for each run to and from various locations.

Read More…

Old Hickory vets celebrate 75th anniversary of liberation SRC3 

MAASTRICHT, Netherlands — North Carolina National Guard Soldiers escorted four WWII veterans and their families to 75th-anniversary liberation celebrations September 11-17.

The veterans served in the 30th Infantry Division, known as Old Hickory, and helped to liberate Belgium and the Netherlands from German occupation in September 1944.

Throughout the week, the Old Hickory veterans were honored with ceremonies, dinners, hugs and a parade through Maastricht in the Limburg Province.

The Soldiers and WWII veterans enjoyed the festivities, as well as the smaller, more personal moments.

“The most emotional part for me was when George Ham visited the spot where his battle buddy was killed,” said Maj. Kevin Hinton, deputy commander for the NCNG’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion. “George served in Charlie Company, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, and that’s who I served with in Iraq in 2004.”

Hinton, vice president of the 30th Infantry Division Association, said he felt a connection to what the WWII veteran was going through.

“Part of George’s emotion is that he was supposed to be that guy, but he switched positions,” Hinton said. “There’s probably some survivor’s guilt on his part, and I’ve been there. I understand that feeling.”

Read More…

September 26th — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1918
Meuse-Argonne, France – The American Army launches its final and largest offensive of World War I against the German “Hindenburg Line.” Among the units involved are eight Guard divisions plus numerous non-divisional units, including a number of former Guardsmen serving in aerial squadrons flying over the front. By early November so much territory will be taken and so many enemy soldiers killed or captured that Germany will seek peace. Among the tens of thousands of American soldiers taking part in this offensive was a future president of the United States. Captain Harry S. Truman first enlisted in the 1st Missouri Field Artillery in 1905 but left due to job requirements in 1908. In 1917, soon after America declared war against Germany, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in Missouri’s 129th Field Artillery, an element of the newly organized 35th Division. During the 129th’s training Truman’s able leadership and excellent organizational skills proved so effective he was promoted to First Lieutenant and assigned to Battery D, commonly known by the rest of the regiment for having a lack of discipline and lackluster expertise in handling of their guns. Truman was given the task of getting the battery into shape, which he did with a combination of tough discipline and fair guidance. By the time the 129th entered combat as part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Truman had become Battery D’s commander with the rank of captain. In fact, men within the regiment started referring to his unit as “Captain Harry’s Battery”, as a sign of respect. After the war Truman stayed in the Guard into the early 1930’s, rising to lieutenant colonel before transferring to the Organized Reserves, where he finished his military career as a colonel. During this time he had became involved in politics, being elected first to the House of Representatives and, by the eve of World War II, the Senate. In fact, after the attack on Pearl Harbor he volunteered for active duty but was refused by Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, who told him he could provide a more valuable service by staying in Congress (where he was on several important defense-related committees) then just being “another colonel looking for a job.” Truman stayed in the Senate, was selected as President Franklin Roosevelt’s running mate in the 1944 election, becoming Vice President just a month before Roosevelt’s death in April 1945.

Read More…

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