NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for July 8, 2021

Posted on: July 7, 2021 July 7, 2021
Author: ncngaweekly

July 8th, 2021

News | About | Legislative | Benefits | Contact

IN THIS EDITION:

Spectrum News Seeking Interviewees for 9/11 Anniversary Coverage NCNGA
Are You Or Someone You Know Looking For A Meaningful Paid Internship? NCNGA
Nonprofit aims to help kids of deployed service members WRAL
Call to the EANGUS 50th Anniversary Conference EANGUS
Help Tell the Story of the “Heroes of Old Hickory” with a donation as small as $10 NCNGA
Contact Congress And Encourage Them To Act on Zero-Cost TRICARE NCNGA
The 2021 National Guard Almanac & Education Guide EANGUS
July 8th — Today in Guard History National Guard

Spectrum News Seeking Interviewees for 9/11 Anniversary Coverage NCNGA

Ladies and Gentlemen, Spectrum News is planning out their coverage of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. If you fit any of the categories below and would like to be interviewed in your home, please send an email to Larry@NCNGA.org. They would like to do the interviews between now and the end of August. Items of interest would include any photos you might have and any particular work/deployments you did directly related to the 9/11 response.

Were stationed at the Pentagon or were in NYC at the time of the attacks,
Were on active duty at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune or Seymour Johnson AFB at the time of the attacks,
Were activated for domestic security missions immediately following the attacks (NYC, DC, airport security, etc.), and/or
Joined or rejoined the armed forces as a direct result of the attacks?

Thank you,

Larry Coleman
Executive Director
North Carolina National Guard Association

Are You Or Someone You Know Looking For A Meaningful Paid Internship? NCNGA

Are you or someone you know a college student and looking for a meaningful paid internship? If so we are in the search for the upcoming school year. See the advertisement for details and application instructions.

Nonprofit aims to help kids of deployed service members WRAL

North Carolina is a state with a large military presence. But, sometimes when thinking of those who serve, military family members are forgotten.

Studies show two thirds of kids in military families suffer from stress when their parents are deployed. That’s where the nonprofit, “Our Military Kids” comes in.

16-year-old Ella Forehand is a third-degree black belt and grant recipient of an Our Military Kids grant.

“Taekwondo has been a big part of my life,” she said.

It’s also a big stress reliever for her when her dad, Brad, was deployed with the National Guard.

“It’s really nice that they do that, especially since one of your parents is gone and that’s usually hard,” she added.

Hard emotionally and sometimes even financially, which is where Our Military Kids steps in. The organization provides $300 for extracurricular activities to any child of deployed National Guard and reservists and kids of severely-injured veterans from any branch of military.

Having been deployed three times over the past 24 years in his military career, Brad Forehand wanted to make sure his family was happy and taken care of at home. And he got that with the help of the grant.

“11 years ago I don’t think we were in a financial position to be able to afford something like Taekwondo,” he said.

Call to the EANGUS 50th Anniversary Conference EANGUS

The 50th General Conference of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS) will convene at the Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 2nd Street NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico on Sunday, August 8, 2021 and will run through August 11, 2021.

Please refer to the “Call to the Conference” memo which contains detailed information on Lodging, Registration, Travel/Ground Transportation, and Attire. It also includes information on this year’s Elections, Conference Deadlines, Committee Assignments, and the Host State Golf Tournament and Motorcycle Ride. The most up-to-date information can be found on the EANGUS Conference website at eangusconference.org. A complete agenda, to include meeting times and information on other conference events, will be published and continuously updated on the website.

We continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic numbers and restrictions in New Mexico and will ensure necessary measures are taken to protect the health and well-being of all EANGUS Conference attendees. Specific precautions and other measures (such as mask requirements) will be posted on the conference website as needed and updated as we get closer to the conference.

Please join us for our 50th Anniversary Conference — this year’s conference will include special recognition of our history and commemorative activities that our members, leaders, and guests won’t want to miss. I look forward to seeing you in New Mexico – the “Land of Enchantment!”

Safe Travels…

KAREN M. CRAIG
CSM, USA, Retired
President, EANGUS

Call to 50th Conference Memo

Help Tell the Story of the “Heroes of Old Hickory” with a donation as small as $10 NCNGA

The 30th Infantry Division, also known colloquially as the “Heroes of Old Hickory,” received the Presidential Unit
Citation last year for their heroic role in the Battle of Mortain, France during World War II. The Division was composed of National Guardsmen from all over the South, including North Carolina. Their story is one of courage and
honor and, as such, deserves to be broadcast to a wide audience. That is why we are asking for your help in supporting the production costs of the Heroes of Old Hickory documentary film. The production team is hoping to secure the funds necessary to air this documentary on PBS by Veteran’s Day of this year. Any amount can help, and if the goal amount is not met the collected money will go direct to the 30th Infantry Division. For more information and to donate, please visit our website at https://www.ncnga.org/OldHickory.php.

Contact Congress And Encourage Them To Act on Zero-Cost TRICARE NCNGA

Zero-Cost TRICARE

Support H.R.3512 to expand Zero-Cost TRICARE Reserve Select to all members of the Reserve Component

Write to Congress

NGAUS strongly supports H.R. 3512, the Healthcare for our Troops Act. This legislation would provide access to zero-cost TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) and dental coverage to Reserve Component (RC) servicemembers. Additionally, this legislation expands TRS eligibility to RC servicemembers currently working for the federal government in their civilian capacity.

H.R. 3512 was introduced by Reps. Andy Kim (NJ-03) and Trent Kelly (MS-01). H.R. 3512 is originally co-sponsored by Reps. Tim Ryan (OH-13), Steven Palazzo (MS-04), Scott DesJarlais (TN-04), Elise Stefanik (NY-21) and Marc Veasey (TX-33).

Servicemembers are required to meet medical deployability requirements. An estimated 130,000 Guardsmen and Reservists do not have health insurance under the current disjointed system of third-party health contractors and Periodic Health Assessments (PHAs), which greatly impacts the Reserve Component’s medical readiness. Inconsistent healthcare coverage for members of the Reserve Component makes meeting these requirements difficult to achieve.

H.R. 3512 Healthcare for our Troops Act ensures servicemembers meet the medical standards required of a deployable force at no cost to them and their families. Additionally, this bill provides coverage for dental care, another common deployablitiy issue experienced by the Reserve Component. These changes would also provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with a powerful recruiting and retention tool, as well as a significant employer incentive to retain talented individuals in gainful civilian employment.

Under current law, National Guard and Reserve servicemembers who are federal employees in their civilian capacity are ineligible to enroll in TRS. This creates confusion in coordinating benefits for servicemembers and their families and prevents servicemembers from establishing continuity of care and treatment as they deploy or transition in or out of the federal government. H.R. 3512 strikes the language that disallows servicemembers from accessing TRS simply due to working for the federal government in their civilian capacity.

Write to Congress

The 2021 National Guard Almanac & Education Guide EANGUS

This year’s publication includes two sections:

An Education Section includes information about scholarship opportunities and other resources available to National Guard members.
The Almanac Section highlights key National Guard leaders for each of the 54 States, Territories, and the District of Columbia as well as their State Association contact information and State benefits.

We thank Grantham University for their sponsorship of this publication. We are proud to continue our partnership with Grantham and have highlighted information in the Education Section regarding their educational programs and the two scholarships they are offering this year.

We are also extremely grateful for the continued partnership and scholarships offered to our EANGUS members, their spouse, and dependent children by Colorado Technical Institute, Grand Canyon University, and the University of Phoenix. Along with Grantham University, these institutions provide a total of eight full-tuition scholarships, which are a significant benefit to those selected as the recipients each year. We are also appreciative of the additional funding provided for scholarships at Excelsior College, and the scholarship funds provided by USAA, AFBA, and the CSM Advisory Council which can be used by the recipient at the college or university of their choice.

On behalf of the EANGUS Executive Council, I trust that you will find this information of value, and we wish the best to our members pursuing their dreams of a higher education.

Sincerely,

Karen M. Craig
CSM, USA, Retired
EANGUS President

2021 National Guard Almanac & Education Guide

July 1st — Today in Guard History National Guard

1962
Fort Polk, Louisiana – Members of the 49th Armored Division from Texas, currently serving on active duty since October 1, 1961, use their full-time training experience to teach Guardsmen in non-mobilized units coming to Ft. Polk for their annual training the finer points of combat readiness. The 49th, along with 32nd Infantry Division from Wisconsin and 264 non-divisional Army Guard units and 163 Air Guard units were mobilized by President John Kennedy in response to the Soviet Union building the Berlin Wall marking an increase in tension in Europe. These units brought more than 66,000 Guard personnel on active duty for up to one year. As tensions cooled by summer’s end the units began returning home. No Army Guard units or personnel had been sent overseas. However, eleven Air Guard fighter squadrons had been deployed to France, Britain and Spain during the crisis. In fact, their movement across the Atlantic was the largest deployment of jet aircraft to date.

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