NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for April 22, 2021

Posted on: April 21, 2021 April 21, 2021
Author: ncngaweekly

April 22nd, 2021

News | About | Legislative | Benefits | Contact

IN THIS EDITION:

NC emergency management director set to retire in August WWAY3
Equal Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay for National Guard EANGUS
OPERATION VETCARE EANGUS
EANGUS Scholarship Program EANGUS
Apply for the $5,000 Scholarship NGAUS
DNI: Cyber Is The Common Weapon Among Top Adversaries AFMag
North Carolina National Guard support for Second Harvest Food Bank ends after year of pandemic help WXII
Weather Whether Flight or Fight DVIDS
This Week in NCNG History NCNG Museum
April 22nd — Today in Guard History National Guard

NC emergency management director set to retire in August WWAY3

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks announced on Friday the planned retirement of Michael Sprayberry, executive director of the N.C. Division of Emergency Management (NCEM) and the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR).

Since his appointment in February 2013, Director Sprayberry has served as the division’s seventh director, and will retire Aug. 1 with more than 42 years of state service.

“Mike Sprayberry has served our state with distinction, keeping North Carolinians safe through unprecedented natural disasters and a global pandemic,” Governor Roy Cooper said. “Director Sprayberry has worked to make our state more resilient and prepared than ever to withstand future storms and emergencies and overcome challenges. He has set a high bar, leading North Carolina Emergency Management with his daily refrain of ‘One team, one mission, one family,’ and I deeply appreciate his service.”

As the state’s longest serving emergency management director, Sprayberry was charged with leading efforts to ensure the state’s preparedness and with coordinating needed staff and resources to support local responses to and recovery from all hazards and threats. During his tenure as director, he successfully led the State Emergency Response Team in its response and recovery efforts for 19 state declared disasters and 11 federally declared disasters, to include Hurricane Florence, now known as North Carolina’s “Storm of Record.” In 2015, he briefed President Obama at the National Hurricane Center on the state’s hurricane readiness.

“Over the last four years we have faced major hurricanes, winter storms, earthquakes, and a global pandemic, yet Director Sprayberry has been steadfast in his passion for the people of North Carolina and his commitment to strong partnerships across all communities and levels of government,” Secretary Hooks stated.

The military has many hazardous jobs, and the men and women in these positions qualify for special incentive pay. According to DoDI 1340.09, Hazard Pay Program states, “HDIP provides a monetary incentive to servicemembers who volunteer to perform a duty designated as hazardous, based upon the inherent dangers of the duty and risks of physical injury.” Members of the military who volunteer for these precarious positions include pilots, SEALs, divers, parachutists, and more. The Navy offers special pay for being onboard submarines and working with nuclear energy plants. Jobs that qualify for hazardous duty are deemed more dangerous than others.

To compensate U.S. servicemembers assigned these high-risk duties, the Armed Forces allow for a special payment that starts at $150 per month, known as Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay.

National Guard servicemembers DO NOT receive equal pay when it comes to performing these duties. Although requirements are the same for a National Guard servicemember, they are only paid 1/30th of what their active-duty counterparts receive.

EANGUS is urging the 117th Congress to ensure National Guard servicemembers receive equal Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay (HDIP) at the same rate as their active-duty counterparts because they are required to meet the same monthly standards for performance of duty (Title 37 U.S.C § 301)

OPERATION VETCARE EANGUS

Operation VetCare was established in 2017 by EANGUS as a program designed to assist Military Service Members, Veterans, and their families who faced special issues or challenges associated with military service. This program has continued to grow over the last several years. Assistance provided through this program may vary based on the limited funds available but may assist by providing support in the form of gift cards for food, clothing, and other necessary items during a service-related crisis. Through this program, EANGUS has been able to assist hundreds of people during a time of significant need. Click button for more information on how to can support this initiative through donations or to request assistance.

Operation Vetcare

EANGUS Scholarship Program EANGUS

Looking for money for college for yourself, your spouse, or dependent child? The EANGUS Scholarship program offers over $400,000 in full-ride and cash scholarships every year. We have partnerships with major colleges and universities who are offering FULL-TUITION academic Undergraduate, Graduate, and Doctorate degrees, to include their online degree programs. These scholarships are EXCLUSIVE to our EANGUS members, their spouses and their dependent children! Not a member? JOIN today – the deadline to apply for the EANGUS Scholarship Program is 1 May 2021. Don’t delay – Apply today!

Scholarship Information & Application

Apply for the $5,000 Scholarship NCNGA

AFBA/NGAUS Scholarship

Now accepting applications

NGAUS Active Life Members and their dependents are eligible to apply for the AFBA (Armed Forces Benefit Association)/NGAUS scholarship, awarding two applicants, each with a $5,000 scholarship.

Now accepting applications through June 1, 2021.

Apply Now

Not a NGAUS Active Life Member? Become one today.

Please feel free to contact membership@ngaus.org with any questions you may have about the NGAUS and AFBA Scholarship or NGAUS Life Membership.

DNI: Cyber Is The Common Weapon Among Top Adversaries AFMag

China aims to displace the U.S. as the world’s pre-eminent superpower; Russia is “pushing back” against the U.S., sometimes with force; Iran is a “regional menace” and North Korea is a “disruptive player,” and will be for years to come, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said in the U.S. intelligence community’s annual assessment of top threats facing the U.S.

Released April 9 amid Chinese saber-rattling against Taiwan and as Russian troops massed on the border with Ukraine, the 31-page unclassified threat assessment calls China the “pacing threat” for the U.S.—militarily, politically, and economically—noting that the other three nations remain active, potent adversaries, particularly in cyber warfare.

President Joe Biden on April 15 announced new sanctions on Russia stemming from the Solar Winds hack and Russia’s interference in the 2020 U.S. election. The sanctions target 32 individuals and organizations, and Biden also expelled 10 Russian diplomats. Biden called the move “proportionate,” saying his intent is not to “kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia.” The Solar Winds attack gave cyber criminals access to more than 18,000 computer networks, both government and private. Biden said Russia needs to be held to account for attempting to “undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections” in the U.S. and other Western nations.

Moscow said it would come up with “a decisive response.”

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —
After providing more than a year of support to Second Harvest Food Bank during the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina National Guard is moving out of Winston-Salem.

Citing an increase of alternative labor and logistics sources, North Carolina National Guard soldiers and airmen ceased their food bank operations Thursday after assisting the program’s mission to feed citizens in need during the pandemic.

The operations’ height saw over 300 Guard men and women embedded with food bank workers in Winston-Salem and across North Carolina, aiding with warehouse operations, food sorting and preparation, transportation of food and the school feeding program.

“We are so proud of the dedication and hard work hundreds of NC Guardsmen accomplished working at food banks over the past year. This will be a shining chapter in the history of our domestic operations,” said Brig. Gen. Jeff Copeland, NCNG’s Director of Joint Staff and Dual-Status Commander overseeing military support at FEMA’s Community Vaccination Center in Greensboro.

Weather Whether Flight or Fight DVIDS

Practice makes perfect! Ten members of the 156th Weather Flight conduct a portion of their annual position qualification training in both weather skills and Army warrior skills while at their regional training site, April 11, 2021.

The 156th Weather Flight, while supporting the North Carolina Air National Guard through natural disasters and the like, mainly support five Army Units: three Brigades, one of which is from New Jersey, and 2 Battalions (one in North Carolina, one in Georgia). They have also been tasked to support the 169th Fighter Wing with the South Carolina Air National Guard.

“The training we are doing is a small portion of our position qualification recertification,” states 156 Weather Flight Meteorological Technician, Master Sgt. Jennifer Powell, “Each year we have to maintain proficiency in both Army Warrior Skills, (such as driving a HMMWV or being a member of a convoy, operating a radio, or performing Land Navigation) and Weather skills recertification (setting up our tactical meteorological observation equipment, creating a tactical visibility chart for an airfield, and selecting a field operations location that’s suitable for a weather team to operate) that’s just naming a few tasks of the many we accomplish!

The training for the 156th Weather Flight is conducted a few times a year to ready the members for their qualification and keep them in a heightened and ready state of response.

“There are two teams, so one team will be providing ground weather support, such as would be provided to an infantry brigade, and the other team will be the aviation support unit – such as what is provided to a helicopter battalion,” states Powell. “We will be setting up equipment, performing observations, creating tactical visibility charts that help gauge when precipitation or obscurations like fog reduce visibility, and creating weather products such as verbal or written forecasts.”

Ten may not seem like a large number but small can be mighty and impactful.

This Week in NCNG History NCNG Museum

If you know of anything significant to the NCNG that occurred on any of these dates, and would like it added to our records, please email 1LT Dearie at kory.k.dearie.mil@mail.mil

April 22nd — Today in Guard History National Guard

April 24th 1775
Boston, MA – As more militia units, many from colonies other than Massachusetts, gather to strengthen the siege lines around the city in an attempt to compel the British forces to leave, several future patriot leaders begin to make their influence felt. Among these was Dr./Colonel Joseph Warren who in the days prior to the start of the war had been the chairman of the Committee of Safety tasked with the arming and training of the militia. It was he who on the night of April 18th dispatched William Dawes and Paul Revere to warn of the British march to Concord. He was wounded in action while directing patriot forces firing at the British retreating back to Boston after Lexington and Concord. In June he will be appointed a major general of the Massachusetts militia and later that month killed by a bullet to the head at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Another notable leader at this time was an old French and Indian War veteran from Connecticut, General Israel Putnam. During that war he had served as an officer in the famed “Rogers Rangers” and later rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Connecticut militia. Once he arrived at Boston he was promoted to major general. He gained immortal fame during the Battle of Bunker Hill when, as the British troops advanced in a steady pace toward the American lines, he encouraged his non-battle tested men by shouting “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes!” He was one of the first men appointed by Congress to the rank of major general of the new Continental Army. He served in a variety of capacities until felled by a stroke in 1779.

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