NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for February 24, 2022

Posted on: February 23, 2022 February 24, 2022
Author: ncngaweekly

February 24th, 2022

News | About | Legislative | Benefits | Contact

IN THIS EDITION:

Only a few weeks left to register, don’t miss out on this great event on the Riverfront in Wilmington. NCNGA
The Space National Guard already exists — Congress should recognize it The Hill
The Strong Bonds event is taking place March 11th-13th at Great Wolf Lodge! NCNGA
Student Artist Apply Today! MCEC 2022 Call for the Arts NCNGA
Attendance of Technicians, AGR Soldiers/Airmen, and FTNCG at the NCNGA Convention NCNGA
EANGUS Roll Call: Drill Weekend Talking Points EANGUS
Tickets-At-Work: Members get Discounts on Tickets NCNGA
This Week in NCNG History NCNG Museum
February 24th — Today in Guard History National Guard

Only a few weeks left to register, don’t miss out on this great event on the Riverfront in Wilmington. NCNGA

Registration for the 2022 Annual Convention is now open!

The Space National Guard already exists — Congress should recognize it The Hill

The U.S. Space Force was established in large part to consolidate and align military space warfighting organizations and assets under one chain of command to ensure proper service-level focus on the organizing, training and equipping of space-focused forces. Despite this clear direction from the White House and the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), more than 70 percent of America’s space warfighting capabilities fall outside the organizational purview of the Space Force because they reside in the Air National Guard, which reports to the Air Force.

The resulting misalignment creates dysfunctions spanning authority and budgetary issues to readiness problems. Given aggressive adversary actions in space, combatant commanders rely heavily on Air National Guard space forces. The Department of Defense and interagency bureaucracies cannot continue to stand in the way. Congress must create a Space National Guard.

The personnel, infrastructure and weapon systems for a Space National Guard are already in place, but it lacks formal recognition in law. Since the 1990s, the Air National Guard has served as the Defense Department’s go-to place for experienced, cost-effective and surge-to-war space forces. These individuals come with a depth of experience, thanks to the permanent jobs many hold. Numerous air guard space operators work in commercial firms that design and develop Space Force weapon systems. This translates to robust depth and breadth of experience.

The Strong Bonds event is taking place March 11th-13th at Great Wolf Lodge! NCNGA

The Strong Bonds event is taking place March 11th through the 13th at Great Wolf Lodge! This is event is available for service members who are married only. Take a look below for more information. And use this link to register: https://strongbonds.army.mil/events/event-detail/?id=1b46921f-ca14-ec11-b6e6-001dd802e1da&fbclid=IwAR1NpltXYjY8EgMrrDD5jUg5Vtn5OczlOKHBYR9BqCTOthzDUp1sGr4kJ6A

Student Artist Apply Today! MCEC 2022 Call for the Arts NCNGA

2 0 Y E A R C E L E B R A T I O N O F M I L I T A R Y – C O N N E C T E D S T U D E N T S’ A R T
THEME: CELEBRATION

Using art in any of its forms, share how you celebrate, what you celebrate, and why it is important to celebrate in 2022.

Eligibility + Submission Requirements
* Open to children in grades K-12
* All submissions must reference life as a military-connected child
* Only original work will be accepted (no copies of artwork/song/video)
* All submissions should be titled Creative writing, poetry, or prose (Not exceed 500 words)
* The branch of armed services being artistically represented must be identified

Submissions due by March 20, 2022
APPLY TODAY!

All submissions must be submitted by:
EMAIL: Callforthearts@militarychild.org
OR mailed to:
Call for the Arts
Military Child Education Coalition
909 Mountain Lion Circle
Harker Heights, TX 76548

For more information about 2022 CFA
Visit our website

Attendance of Technicians, AGR Soldiers/Airmen, and FTNCG at the NCNGA Convention NCNGA

Attendance of Technicians, AGR Soldiers/Airmen, and FTNGD at the NC National Guard Association Convention.
Please see the attached memorandum from the Department of Public Safety

EANGUS Roll Call: Drill Weekend Talking Points EANGUS

Ensuring benefits parity between the National Guard and the active component has always been a priority for EANGUS. Over the last several years, EANGUS has worked with Congress to address issues such as allowing National Guard Servicemembers to receive 180 days of premium-free transitional health care benefits under the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) after serving more than 30 consecutive days on active duty to support COVID-19 response as well as advocating for equal pay for National Guard Servicemembers assigned to and performing hazardous duty jobs.

In the Fiscal Year (F.Y.) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress approved section 602, which authorizes the reserve components of the Armed Forces to incentive pay in the same monthly amount as that paid to the Active Components performing comparable work requiring comparable skills. For example, a National Guard Servicemember qualified and assigned to an airborne position would be entitled to receive the full airborne hazardous duty pay that an Active Component servicemember receives instead of the prorated 1/30th of the pay for each day on duty. The qualifications, requirements, and risks of performing a hazardous duty job are the same regardless of the component a Servicemember serves. It is fantastic that Congress has finally taken this step to close this parity gap. However, even though Congress approved this section, there is still specific language in the text that does not allow implementation of this benefit until the Secretary of Defense submits a report to Congress no later than September 30, 2022, outlining the steps to implement this as well as the cost associated with it. Furthermore, the Secretary of Defense must certify that providing this equal pay will not have a detrimental effect on the Force Structure or recruiting or retention of Active-Duty Components. While EANGUS does not believe that providing equal incentive pay will damage the Active Components, it will be essential to ensure that this section is tracked very closely to implement this incentive pay.

Yet another parity issue that EANGUS is working on is GI Bill Parity. For many years, EANGUS has been educating Congress on the need to adjust the GI Bill. Currently, there are strict limitations on what type of status and periods a National Guard Servicemember must serve on Active-Duty orders to qualify for Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits. In March of 2021, EANGUS was able to gain the support of several members of the House of Representatives to have the H.R. 1836, Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2021 introduced for consideration. This bill would expand the eligibility criteria for the National Guard and Reserve components to make it easier for these Servicemembers to qualify for this benefit. This bill would allow Guard and reserve Servicemembers on Active-Duty for training orders to earn qualifying time towards Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility. Additionally, starting in 2032, this bill would allow inactive duty training (IDT) as a qualifying time towards Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility.

EANGUS sent out a Call-To-Action on this bill in January 2022 to ask our membership to respond and let their congressional members know the importance of this legislation. Our voices were heard, and on January 12, 2022, the House of Representatives approved HR 1836. Currently, this legislation is being reviewed and considered by the U.S. Senate in bill number S. 1349. EANGUS will continue to communicate with Congress to express the importance of this legislation and continue to work on your behalf to ensure that the National Guard receives the benefits they duly deserve.

EANGUS Legislative Action Center

We’re excited to partner with Hoovers Sweets and Treats for our upcoming convention! NCNGA

We’re excited to partner with Hoovers Sweets and Treats for our upcoming convention! They’re offering $2.00 off all Hoovers Milkshakes for any NCNGA members attending the Convention in March, so don’t forget to sign up at www.ncnga.org/events.php.

Tickets-At-Work: Members get Discounts on Tickets NCNGA

Tickets at Work: The benefits are endless when it comes to being a NCNGA member! Check out our Tickets-At-Work program, where members can get discounts on tickets from Busch Gardens all the way to Disney. For more information, visit https://www.ncnga.org/benefits.php#Discount

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

February 24th — Today in Guard History National Guard

1941
Brainard Field, Hartford, CT – The 118th Observation Squadron enters active duty for World War II service. At first flying antisubmarine patrols along the Atlantic coast, in December 1943 it is transferred via India to China. Redesignated as the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron it was armed with the photo-recon version of the P-51 Mustang fighters. In June 1944 it was reassigned to the 23rd Fighter Group, the heir to the famous “Flying Tigers.” During the balance of the war its pilots often engaged Japanese “Zero’s” in combat, with five members of the unit earning the designation of “ace” for shooting down at least five enemy aircraft each. Today the 118th Fighter Squadron remains a part of the Connecticut Air Guard flying A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.

1991
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq – The long awaited ground offensive of Operation Desert Storm starts with an overwhelming assault across the Saudi desert to outflank the Iraqi forces trapped in Kuwait. Among the units supporting this advance are the artillery battalions of the 142nd (AR) and 196th (TN) Field Artillery Brigades, the only two Guard combat units to fight in the war. Following nearly six weeks of constant aerial attack the Iraqi Army has been heavily damaged and had its lines of communications and supply cut. As the American and Allied armies move into Iraq, Guard units like the 212th Engineer Company (TN) support their efforts by making or repairing roads. Other units such as Arizona’s 222nd Transportation Company moved fuel to keep the tanks rolling. In all 297 Army Guard units, consisting of 37,848 soldiers, served in theater. Another 24,563 Guard members either deployed to other stations overseas or were still training in the U.S. when the war ended.

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