NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for July 2, 2020

July 2, 2020

 

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 IN THIS EDITION:

The 2020 NCNG Biennial Survey is now available NCNGA 
COVID-19 Patient Transportation System Ready for Operation AF Mag 
Guard Border Mission Extended Through Fiscal 2021 NGAUS 
NC DMVA Veterans Treatment Court Virtual Round Table NCNGA 
NC National Guard deploys cybersecurity response force USArmy 
NCARNG Help Feed the Hungry During COVID-19 DVIDS 
July 2nd — Today in Guard History National Guard 
Virtual Mini 4-H Youth Futures College Within Reach Conference NCNGA 


The 2020 NCNG Biennial Survey is now available NCNGA 

This survey is a tool for senior leaders to review and gain a sense of the overall climate within the North Carolina National Guard by assessing various critical areas that impact our organization. Your individual responses are vital to the health of our organization as we strive to be the most Ready, Reliable, Responsive, and Relevant military force for our State and Nation. The survey remains open through 15 September 2020.

Click here to take the survey!

COVID-19 Patient Transportation System Ready for Operation AF Mag 

The first Negatively Pressurized Conex ready for service landed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on June 24.

The NPC is a steel shipping container adapted so air will always flow into the capsule. It can be loaded onto C-17 Globemaster IIIs and C-5M Super Galaxies, and it can transport up to 23 COVID-19 patients without risk of contaminating the crew, according to a USAF release.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Air Force increased training on the Transport Isolation System—a chamber developed during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. However, the TIS can only carry two to four patients at a time. The NPC increases patient transportation capacity sixfold.

A smaller variation, the Negatively Pressurized Conex-Lite, can be used on C-130 Hercules aircraft.

In early April, Air Mobility Command and Air Force Materiel Command leaders started looking for ways to move large numbers of COVID-19 patients, should the need arise.

“In less than 30 days, the NPC went from an idea on a napkin to a proven concept, … and only 88 days from that idea to the delivery of an operational system,” said Lt. Col. Paul Hendrickson, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense material leader.

Read More…

Guard Border Mission Extended Through Fiscal 2021 NGAUS 

Defense Secretary Mark Esper has approved the military mission on the southwest border for another year, albeit with some changes, the Defense Department announced last week.

The extension of the mission honors a request from the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Beginning in October 2020, the number of troops will go from roughly 5,000 to 4,000, and most of them will come from the National Guard. Only about half of the personnel now on the border are Guard soldiers and airmen.

But in a change from recent border missions, Guard soldiers and airmen will serve as part of units on a rotational basis in a Title 10 status.

Currently, most Guardsmen on the border are volunteers serving in a Title 32 status under the governor of the state in which they serve.

The change may reduce the politics of the border mission. Guardsmen have served on the border off and on since 2006 when then-President Bush called 6,000 Guard soldiers and airmen under Title 32 to assist authorities and bolster border facilities.

NC DMVA Veterans Treatment Court Virtual Round Table NCNGA 

You are cordially invited to attend the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Virtual Round Table on July 9, 2020 starting at 1100hrs via the WebEx video conferencing platform. This round table will be comprised of officials from Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Administrative Office of the Courts, Department of Health and Human Services, Veterans Treatment Court Directors and Local Re-entry Coordinators. We will also have the honor of having Representative Grier Martin of House District 34 on our panel to discuss House Bill 804.

The purpose of this round table is to show our veteran community that the DMVA and the NC court system are still actively involved in the pursuit of their well-being. We will discuss best business practices, lessons learned and the path forward while taking the necessary precautions during this Covid-19 pandemic.

The attached flyer contains the details needed to call into this virtual roundtable.

Please feel free to share this information.

NC National Guard deploys cybersecurity response force USArmy 

RALEIGH, N.C. – More than two dozen North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) Soldiers and Airmen deployed in June across North Carolina to help local and state agencies with cyber operations.

They are part of the NCNG Cyber Security Response Force (CSRF), a team of full-time NCNG personnel and Soldiers and Airmen who leave their civilian jobs and deploy as needed for the state and nation.

“We (the NCNG and state and local agencies) have been working together for some time,” said Mark Brighter, information technology security compliance specialist with North Carolina Emergency Management. Other partners include the North Carolina Department of Information Technology and the North Carolina Board of Elections.

Ongoing missions range from repairing local government computer software to protecting digital infrastructure for state elections.

North Carolina Army National Guard (NCARNG) Spc. Carlos Cirano brings civilian skills and education, military training and more than a dozen real-world state active duty deployments to the mission. He worked at local government facilities in Person County and the city of Roxboro to help restore city and county computer networks after a cyber-attack in late May.

It was an active environment as he collaborated with local computer technicians to bring the damaged systems back online.

“You are here to help. You never know what to expect,” said Cirano.

Read More…

NCARNG Help Feed the Hungry During COVID-19 DVIDS 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – North Carolina Army National Guard Soldiers of the 875th Engineer Company and the 883rd Engineer Company help sort, prepare and distribute food at the Mountain Area Nutritional Needs Alliance (MANNA) Foodbank, June 25-26, 2020.

MANNA is a non-profit organization that works with more than 200 agencies to distribute food and basic necessities to sixteen counties across Western N.C.

“Our mission is to get food out to anyone who needs it across these sixteen counties reaching even the most remote areas of our region,” said Mary Nesbitt, the chief development officer for MANNA.

A group of eight Soldiers from the Tar Heel state joined together in the mountainous terrain of Asheville to support MANNA’s mission and provide emergency relief to families struggling during COVID-19.

“The National Guard stepped in almost immediately to help us,” Nesbitt said.

The Guardsmen have been working for more than 60 days to help process donated products, conduct inventory, sort and prepare produce, and distribute it to partnered agencies and local families. The donated products include fresh produce, canned and bagged goods, and basic necessities such as cleaning products and hygiene products.

“It’s more than just food,” said NCARNG Sgt. Jonathan Greene, assigned to the 883rd Engineer Company and the non-commissioned officer in charge for the Asheville emergency relief team. “It’s a joy and a privilege. We’re making a difference…we’re helping a community.”

The Soldiers’ daily efforts also include serving packaged meals during food drives as well as serving local schools such as the Johnston Elementary School, to help feed the children of Buncombe County. They work closely with cafeteria workers and administrators to help package and distribute meals.

“We are operating beyond maximum capacity through this crisis so had it not been for the National Guard… we would not have been able to do what we have been able to do,” Nesbitt said.

The pandemic brought an astronomical hardship particularly to the Asheville community. The MANNA Food Helpline experienced a 73% increase in calls compared to the pre-pandemic weekly average.

“When COVID hit hard in mid March with the necessary closing of non-essential businesses we saw the need across our region skyrocket nearly overnight with so many people plunged into economic crisis,” Nesbitt said.

Read More…

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.

July 2nd — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1863
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania – On the second day of this titanic struggle unknown places names enter the history books for the ferocity of the combat they witnessed. Places like “Culp’s Hill,” the “Wheat Field,” “Little Round Top” and “Devil’s Den” have been immortalized. Despite Confederate General Robert E Lee’s various attempts and gallant efforts of his soldiers to achieve a breakthrough to exploit, none was achieved. For instance, the after an all-day battle costing over a thousand dead and three times as many wounded the Confederates fail to wrestle Culp’s Hill away from almost fanatical Union troops some of whom were from Pennsylvania and thus fighting on their home soil. On the opposite side of the field on Cemetery Ridge the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry arrives just in time to plug a gap left by retreating federal forces. Despite repeated Confederate attacks the Minnesotans stood their ground, suffering one of the highest casualty rates of the war, out of 262 men entering action that morning only 47 remained uninjured by day’s end.

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.

 

 

The Weekly Guardsman


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