October 15, 2020

 

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 IN THIS EDITION:

The latest edition of the Tarheel Guardsman is now available AFA 
Save the Date! Tarheel Homecoming is on the calendar for December 11th NCNGA 
Apply for the S.A.R.G.E. Grant EANGUS-WCFA 
DARNG at AUSA: This is the ‘Year of the Guard’ NGAUS 
China Conducts Test Of Massive Suicide Drone Swarm Launched From A Box On A Truck The Drive 
Six months after the disappearance and death of Vanessa Guillén, Army changes how missing soldiers are reported Task & Purpose 
NGAUS 143rd General Conference & Exhibition is coming to Charlotte NCNGA 
October 15th — Today in Guard History National Guard 

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The latest edition of the Tarheel Guardsman is now available AFA 

The latest edition of the Tarheel Guardsman with a Q&A from MG Hunt and a gubernatorial candidate forum is now available on-line.

Save the Date! Tarheel Homecoming is on the calendar for December 11th NCNGA 

While we don’t have the full details we have begun planning, and we are working through the impact of our current situation. We already know that no money will be collected in advance, just wanted to let you know of the date and to watch out for updates.

Apply for the S.A.R.G.E. Grant EANGUS-WCFA 

WCFA offers an opportunity to a current or former enlisted National Guard member who is in good standing and is an EANGUS dues paying member (Life or Annual) who has experienced a catastrophic financial hardship and/or personal property loss to apply for a Soldier & Airman Relief Grant for Emergencies (hereafter referred to as “SARGE”). Grants may be used for financial hardships related to events such as mobilization, natural disasters, fires and other catastrophic losses. The grants are intended for otherwise non-reimbursable expenses (i.e., not covered by insurance) due to these events and include medical bills, utility bills, rent or mortgage payments, groceries, relocation, shelter due to loss of residence and funeral expenses. Other expenses, not listed here, may be deemed appropriate and approved by the committee. Grants are typically $500 and are transmitted to the individual usually within 5 days after receipt of completed application.

Click here to Read More and Apply

DARNG at AUSA: This is the ‘Year of the Guard’ NGAUS 

An unprecedented year has meant unprecedented missions and unprecedented attention for the Army National Guard, which has served at the forefront of efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide civil unrest, hurricanes, wildfires and more.

At the year’s peak, more than 99,000 Army Guardsmen were on duty in response to the pandemic, unrest, natural disasters, southwestern border support, election security or overseas missions, said Lt. Gen. Jon Jensen, director of the Army Guard.

“There’s no doubt that this year has been the Year of the Guard,” he said.

Jensen led the Guard seminar at this year’s Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting & Exposition, which was held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.

The seminar, which highlighted a very busy year for the Guard force, also included leaders from California, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Wisconsin.

Like many states, New York has seen its fair share of disaster response missions, including notable responses to Hurricane Sandy and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said Maj. Gen. Raymond Shields Jr., the state’s adjutant general.

But Sheilds said the coronavirus was a unique mission, both for how wide-ranging it was and for the force protection requirements it involved.

Read more…

China Conducts Test Of Massive Suicide Drone Swarm Launched From A Box On A Truck The Drive 

China recently conducted a test involving a swarm of loitering munitions, also often referred to as suicide drones, deployed from a box-like array of tubular launchers on a light tactical vehicle and from helicopters. This underscores how the drone swarm threat, broadly, is becoming ever-more real and will present increasingly serious challenges for military forces around the world in future conflicts.

The China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology (CAEIT) reportedly carried out the test in September. CAEIT is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), which carried out a record-breaking drone swarm experiment in June 2017, involving nearly 120 small fixed-wing unmanned aircraft. Four months later, CAEIT conducted its own larger experiment with 200 fixed-wing drones. Chinese companies have also demonstrated impressive swarms using quad-copter-type drones for large public displays.

Read more…

Six months after the disappearance and death of Vanessa Guillén, Army changes how missing soldiers are reported Task & Purpose 

After a summer of seemingly-never-ending bad news regarding missing soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, the Army is changing its policies for how missing soldiers are reported.

In a new action plan sent out to Army leaders on Tuesday — which was obtained by Task & Purpose and details the service’s path forward on its new number one priority, people — Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Chief of Staff Gen. James McCVonille, and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston say that new guidance on reporting missing soldiers will be released in “the coming weeks.”

“In the coming weeks, [the Department of the Army] will publish guidance on absent soldiers to clarify that when one of our teammates fails to report for duty, we will consider them missing and take immediate action to find them,” the action plan says.

In his opening address on Tuesday at the (virtual) Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference, McCarthy said Army leaders were “shocked to our conscience” by the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood. Guillén went missing in April, resulting in a painstaking search that lasted over two months.

“She was murdered by another soldier and because of this, we know Vanessa’s name for the wrong reasons,” McCarthy said, according to a copy of his speech. “Her loss has been felt in our formations and across the nation at large. But through this sort of reckoning, we realized that some of the same barriers and threats still exist within our formation.”

Read more…

NGAUS 143rd General Conference & Exhibition is coming to Charlotte NCNGA 

The NGAUS 143rd General Conference & Exhibition is coming to Charlotte in 2021, There are a number of opportunities for volunteering that include our Host Couple program, these individuals serve as ambassadors and provide guest information in each hotel during the event. If you are interested in volunteering for these positions are would like to learn more about how you can be involved please send us an email at Larry@ncnga.org.

Check out the video –

October 15th — Today in Guard History National Guard 

1918
Landres-et-St. Georges, Meuse-Argonne, France – Lieutenant Colonel William “Wild Bill” Donovan earned the Medal of Honor while leading his regiment, the 165th Infantry (formerly the 69th New York, the “Fighting 69th” of Civil War fame), 42nd “Rainbow” Division, in an attack to capture a German strongpoint. By acts of personal courage such as rallying platoons of soldiers decimated and about to break from enemy fire, he again led them forward. Though seriously wounded he refused to be evacuated and continued to command his men from a bomb crater. Eventually the Americans did have to withdraw after suffering devastating losses. Donovan started his Guard service by organizing his own cavalry troop which then commanded during its tour of duty on the Mexican border in 1916. He then joined the 69th New York just prior to the mobilization for World War I. Even before earning the Medal of Honor, in July 1918, he displayed extreme courage while leading a battalion in its attack on German positions in the Oureq River (called by the Irish of the 69th as the “O’Rourke River”) sector. For this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (the Army’s second highest medal for valor). In World War II Donovan organized and commanded the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of today’s CIA.

Read More…