June 11, 2020

 

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 IN THIS EDITION:

Presumptive Next Chief of Staff Talks About His Own Experiences With Racism AFMagazine 
Army Expects All BCTs to Have Women by Year End NGAUS 
Legislative Call to Action! Military Pension Tax Exemption. NCNGA 
NC Military Outreach College Within Reach College Admissions Resources: Week of 6/3/20 NCNGA 
Mortgage confidently with Quicken Loans® NCNGA 
The May/June Edition of the Tarheel Guardsman is Now Available NCNGA 
EANGUS Providing Emergency Relief to Current or Former Guard Soldiers & Airmen EANGUS 
June 11th — Today in Guard History National Guard 
Virtual Mini 4-H Youth Futures College Within Reach Conference NCNGA 

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Presumptive Next Chief of Staff Talks About His Own Experiences With Racism AFMagazine 

Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the Air Force’s presumptive next Chief of Staff, talked about what’s on his mind as Congress considers his historic nomination to be the first black leader of any military service while racial tensions flare across the country following the Memorial Day death of a black man at the hands of white police officers.

“I’m thinking about how full I am with emotion, not just for George Floyd, but the many African Americans who have suffered the same fate as George Floyd. I’m thinking about protests in my country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty. The equality expressed in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that I’ve sworn my adult life to protect and defend,” said Brown, in the emotional and powerful Facebook video. “I’m thinking about a history of racial issues, and my own experiences that didn’t always sing of liberty and equality. I’m thinking about living in two worlds, each with their own perspectives and views.”

Read More…

Army Expects All BCTs to Have Women by Year End NGAUS 

The Army believes it will have female soldiers in all of its infantry and armor brigade combat teams by the end of 2020.

That expectation is being shared as officials lift a service-wide policy that required female leaders in combat units before those units could accept female junior enlisted soldiers into their ranks.

“We’ve had women in the infantry and armor occupations now for three years,” said Maj. Melissa Comiskey, the chief of command policy for Army G-1.

Integrating women into those units has “changed the culture,” she added.

“It’s not as different as it was three years ago when the Army first implemented the integration plan,” Comiskey said.

Under new guidelines, Guard armor and infantry battalions can forego the leaders first policy as long as they have “successfully integrated junior enlisted women into at least one of their companies for 12-15 months.”

Currently, about 2% of all armor and infantry soldiers are female, with 568 in armor units and another 601 in infantry units.

Officials said one reason for a slower pace of integration has been the relatively low number of female soldiers and leaders choosing infantry and armor career fields. But that is expected to change as more female soldiers move up the ranks and assume company commander positions.

Read More…

Legislative Call to Action! Military Pension Tax Exemption. NCNGA 

In past issues your Association asked you to contact your state Senator and Representative. Early in this session it appeared all items would be COVID-19 related. However, other legislation is moving through this session and SB 188 and HB 650 are eligible for consideration.

Bill 188 and House Bill 650 provide state tax exemption for all federal military pensions and military retiree survivor benefits.

To find you NC Representative and Senator visit https://www.ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators and enter your address. When you click on the name of your NC Representative or Senator, you will see their email, mailing address, and phone number. You can use the attached example for an email, written letter, or phone script when you contact your legislator.

While this legislation being approved during this session is not guaranteed, what is guaranteed is that it will not get approved if the legislators do not hear directly from their constituents. This is not only the sentiment of the Association, but also the direct statement of a number of elected officials who support this legislation.

Your Association is working closely with other organizations in this effort. However, it is your individual voice that will make the difference in this effort.

Click the links below to download the letters for your House Representative and your Senator:
Tax Exemption Form email House
Tax Exemption Form email Senate

Feel free to contact me at Larry@ncnga.org if you have any questions.

Video: National Guard Troops On North Carolina Streets During Protests MilitaryTimes 

College Search Tools
10 Free Search Tools to Find Your Dream School
College Board BIG Future College Search

Coronavirus Resources:
CDC.gov: Coronavirus Updates
John Hopkins University: Coronavirus Resource Updates

Coronavirus and College Admission:
UNC System Schools Minimum Admissions Requirements.
College Entrance Requirements in NC

At-Home Activities:
Creative Stay at Home Activities for Families

If you have a high school student you would like to enroll in this program or have an interest in becoming a mentor, click here.

Mortgage confidently with Quicken Loans® NCNGA 

Right now, as we all think of ways to save money, Quicken Loans is with you. On top of historically low mortgage rates, as a member of the National Guard Association of North Carolina, you receive up to $1,000 in a closing cost credit and $500 cash back when you purchase or refinance your home.1 The dedicated VIP team at Quicken Loans will guide you through the mortgage process, so you can be confident that you’re making the best decision for yourself and your family. If you think that now is the right time to refinance your mortgage, our home loan experts are available to help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Visit VIP.QuickenLoans.com/NGANorthCarolina anytime, anywhere on your mobile device or call (800) 434-9055 to get started.

The May/June Edition of the Tarheel Guardsman is Now Available NCNGA 

The May/June edition of the Tarheel Guardsman is now available at www.ncnga.org, if you have built your online account you can view this and past editions under the news section.

EANGUS Providing Emergency Relief to Current or Former Guard Soldiers & Airmen EANGUS 

The Enlisted Association of the United States (EANGUS), through its We Care Foundation will be establishing grants to provide emergency relief to current of former National Guard Soldiers or Airmen. These grants are for those experiencing financial hardship due to a loss of income or an increased financial burden due to COVID-19.

Full details can be found here.

June 11th — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1990
Washington, DC – The Supreme Court unanimously rules to deny the appeal of Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich in the case of Perpich vs. the Department of Defense.In 1986 several governors opposed to President Reagan’s policies in Central America refused to allow their Guard units to participate in exercises there. That fall, Congress, led by Mississippi Congressmen and longtime Guard ally G V “Sonny” Montgomery, passed an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act which prevented governors from withholding units from federal training in the future. Governor Rudy Perpich of Minnesota took the lead in challenging the new law, but after losing several appeals, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the law’s constitutionality in 1990. The Montgomery Amendment essentially ended any power a governor might have to veto peacetime federal training for their Guard units, barring a civil emergency that required the active use of those troops in the state.

Read More…

Virtual Mini 4-H Youth Futures College Within Reach Conference NCNGA 

The conference is June 22-24 beginning at 11:00 am each day. You can choose what sessions you attend. You can find a schedule of events in the attached flyer.

Schedule Overview:

June 22 – Preparing For Your Future
11:00-12:00 – What is 4-H Youth Futures? Donna Garcia
Ice Breaker Trivia– Isha Williams and Gus Robinson
12:00-1:00 – Interview Skills by Polly Matteson – Missouri Career Pathways Regional Consultant Career Advisor/Truman State

June 23 – College Student Finances
11:00-12:00 – College Student Panel on how they handle finances while in college Melissa Scheer moderator, college students
12:00-1:00 – Handling College Finances – Graham McCauley, Andrew Zumwalt, and Marco Pantoja – MU, HES Financial Planning

June 24 – Are You Ready?
11:00-12:00 – College Preparedness by Dr. Alan Byrd – Vice Provost for Enrollment Management/UMSL
12:00-1:00 – The Reality of It Is… MU Missouri College Advising Corps Panel
1:00-2:00 – College 101 by MU Admissions

If you are interested in joining, please send an email to cmrutled@ncsu.edu with who in your family will be attending. They will then follow up with a link to the conference.