NCNGA Weekly Guardsman for June 16, 2022
June 16th, 2022
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IN THIS EDITION:
A Ukrainian soldier called a National Guard member during a battle for help with an anti-tank missile We Are The Mighty
North Carolina National Guard forward observers provide fire support to National Guard units from four different states at Western Strike 22 DVIDS
North Carolina National Guard Helps Lead Cyber Shield 2022, the DoD’s Largest Unclassified Cyber Defense Exercise DVIDS
National Guard Supports Armed Forces of Ukraine Army.mil
Read the latest edition of the Tarheel Guardsman NCNGA
EANGUS Roll Call: Drill Weekend Talking Points EANGUS
Highlighting EANGUS and NGAUS’s upcoming conferences NCNGA
Tickets-At-Work: Members get Discounts on Tickets NCNGA
This Week in NCNG History NCNG Museum
June 16th — Today in Guard History National Guard
A Ukrainian soldier called a National Guard member during a battle for help with an anti-tank missile We Are The Mighty
The National Guard plays an important role in supporting the U.S. military’s missions at home and around the world. Not only do Guard members deploy to combat zones alongside regular Army units, but they also provide training to allied nations under the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.
According to the National Guard, the State Partnership Program includes 85 partnerships with 93 nations around the globe. The program enables Guard members to travel to partner nations and conduct military-to-military engagements in support of defense security goals. Moreover, it allows soldiers to create personal bonds that they can call on in the future. In the case of one Ukrainian soldier, this bond was lifesaving.
The FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile is a favorite of Ukrainian troops fighting Russian armor (U.S. Army)
A National Guard Bureau article recounted the story of a Ukrainian soldier pinned down by a Russian tank. His anti-tank missile failed to fire and the situation looked grim. In the middle of the battle, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call to a member of the Washington Army National Guard. The two had trained together and the Ukrainian soldier knew that the Guard member was an expert on the weapon system. From his home in the U.S., the Guard member talked the Ukrainian soldier through the misfire procedure. Just 30 minutes later, he received a video of the destroyed Russian tank.
BOISE, Idaho – In the fight, when Soldiers need air, mortar, or artillery support, the element they turn to is the fire support team. Known as “FiST,” the fire support team is a small group of artillery Soldiers who provide expert-level control of indirect fire and air support assets by observing where the rounds impact and correcting those rounds properly onto enemy targets.
Fire support teams from 1st Battalion, 113th Field Artillery Regiment of the North Carolina National Guard provided fire support to National Guard units from four different states during Western Strike 22 throughout the month of June 2022 at Orchard Combat Training Center near Boise, Idaho. Western Strike 22 is an eXportable Combat Training Capabilities exercise led by the 65th Field Artillery Brigade, Utah National Guard, that provides National Guard Soldiers immersed training to increase participating unit’s readiness and lethality.
“The fire support team is a very lethal asset,” said Cpl. Joshua Morris, a forward observer with the 1-113th FiST. “Our motto is ‘the eyes of the battlefield,’ we observe everything including mortars, artillery, fixed and rotary winged aircraft, and even naval gunfire.”
The 1-113th FiST provided reconnaissance and fire support for cannon artillery from the 65th FAB and also provided fire support for 5th Battalion, 113th FAR, for its high mobility artillery rocket systems, which are also known as HIMARS.
About 25 North Carolina National Guard cyber and computer security specialists are honing their skills, June 5-17, as part of Cyber Shield 2022, the Department of Defense’s largest unclassified cyber defense exercise involving approximately 800 National Guard cyber specialists as well as law enforcement, legal, government and corporate partners from across the country.
This year the exercise is being conducted at the Army National Guard’s Professional Education Center on Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Service members and civilian experts from 20 states and the U.S. territory of Guam have gathered for the exercise.
The North Carolina National Guard members are part of the state’s Defensive Cyber Operations Element, state headquarters, and the 295th Signal Network Support Company based in Mooresville, NC. It has been a busy year for the 295th SNSC, which also supported a Warfighter Exercise on Fort Stewart, Georgia, from March 23 to April 14.
“We have Soldiers and NCOs who are playing vital roles in a major cyber security exercise,” said North Carolina Army National Guard Lt. Col. Seth Barun, the exercise’s deputy officer-in-charge.
Spc. Gabe Lucero of Salisbury, NC, was the primary Joint Nodal Network operator during the Warfighter Exercise at Fort Stewart and is on the North Carolina National Guard’s penetration testing team. He is on Cyber Shield’s assessment team.
“Participating in an exercise that is dedicated to cyber defense is a great experience,” Lucero said. “It is a great opportunity to stretch and expand your skills.”
Army Sgt. Azaria Christian, also a member of the 295th SNSC, is the North Carolina National Guard’s lead cyber incident responder and has taken the role of lead Incident Responder for the North Carolina Cyber Security Response Force. She coordinates with state and federal agencies to provide incident response capability and has led more than 30 response missions, a role previously performed by captains or higher.
She is also the subject matter expert on digital forensics for the Joint Cyber Task Force, providing guidance, oversight, and analysis. In Cyber Shield 2022, she is the lead forensic analyst, serving in that role for the exercise as well as teaching a class on digital forensics for attendees.
Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinston has invited Sgt. Christian to participate in a future Twitter Spaces interview where she will discuss her leadership experiences as an NCO involved in cyber defense.
“Cyber Shield has been a great opportunity to network with cybersecurity experts from across the country and share lessons learned,” Christian said. “It has been a lot of fun.”
National Guard Supports Armed Forces of Ukraine Army.mil
ARLINGTON, Va. – Pinned down by a Russian tank and armed with only a failed anti-tank missile, a Ukrainian soldier recently turned to an unlikely source as the most effective weapon available — his cell phone. On the other end was a member of the Washington Army National Guard. Because they had trained together in Ukraine, the soldier knew the Guard member was an expert on the system. Despite being at home in the United States, he talked his Ukrainian counterpart through the misfire procedures and 30 minutes later received a video of the destroyed tank.
Guard members continue to train the Armed Forces of Ukraine at training sites throughout Eastern Europe as part of the same mission. In addition to providing training, the National Guard has sent critical supplies and equipment ranging from hospital beds to armored personnel carriers to Ukraine and provided daily strategic and tactical counsel to Ukrainian forces.
“When events started to occur, some folks were surprised by how Ukraine performed,” said Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau. “Everyone within the National Guard says it’s not a surprise to us at all because they’ve been training them, and training with them, for almost 29 years.”
Read the latest edition of the Tarheel Guardsman NCNGA 
The latest edition of the Tarheel Guardsman is now available online at https://ncnga.org/tarheel-guardsman/
EANGUS Roll Call: Drill Weekend Talking Points EANGUS
According to a new Pentagon policy published in February, National Guard and Reserve Servicemembers will receive a Defense Department (DD) Form 214 following their completion of service. DoD Instruction memo dated Feb. 17, 2022, gives the Services three years to implement the change.
The Pentagon action follows language in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act requiring the DoD to develop a form that documents a Reserve Component member’s entire time of service. This legislation was supported by EANGUS for over four years and has been closely monitored by the EANGUS legislative team.
Currently, National Guard and Reserve Servicemembers only receive a DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) if they serve more than 90 days on active-duty orders. The form NGB-22 documents cumulative National Guard service. The NGB-22 and the Reserve Component’s training documents have proven to be complicated for VA and other state agencies to evaluate when determining eligibility for National Guard and Reserve Servicemembers.
“EANGUS is excited that DoD has finally taken a positive step forward and created this policy to ensure that National Guard and Reserve Component Servicemembers receive a DD 214 upon completion of their service,” said retired Sergeant Major Matthew Krenz, the EANGUS Executive Director. “However, we believe that there should be additional times other than after service when National Guard and Reserve Component Servicemembers should receive a DD 214. The current legislation introduced in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate provides additional criteria for when the DD 214 should be issued, and EANGUS will continue to monitor this legislation moving forward.”
Retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, the NGAUS president, testified to Congress last month that he often hears of benefits being denied “from the Department of Veterans Affairs or state agencies because they require a DD-214,” which many National Guard Servicemembers lack.
When implemented, the DoD instruction will ensure National Guard Servicemembers and Reservists will receive a DD-214-1 (Certificate of Uniformed Service, Reserve Component Addendum) upon separation or retirement; the DD-214-1 is a new form created by the instruction.
National Guard and Reserve Servicemembers will still receive a standard DD-214-1 if they serve for 90 days or more on federal active duty for training, full-time training duty, active duty for operational support, or more than 30 days of action on a contingency operation. This instruction does not apply to Guardsmen and Reservists who separate or retire before fully implementing the program. It is also policy and not law. Legislation in both the House and Senate would codify the requirement in law.
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio are the original sponsors of the Record of Military Service for Members of the Armed Forces Act (H.R. 7041), which was introduced last month. The EANGUS Legislative Director, Kevin Hollinger, has worked with these Congressional Members’ staff to help push this legislation.
EANGUS Legislative Action Center
Register for the Virtual Career Fair
The application period closes on 31 May 2022, at 11:59 pm (MST)
Please note: SDI is unable to offer this scholarship to Guard Members who reside in Connecticut, New York, Washington, D.C., Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
Scholarship requirements and application
The annual conference brings 1,000+ attendees consisting of EANGUS members, National Guard Leadership, State Association Senior Enlisted Leaders, representation from Joint Services, and product end-users.
We are excited to have the National Guard Command Senior Enlisted Leaders (CSEL) present at the EANGUS Conference who jointly hold their annual conference at the same location. In addition, many of the Army National Guard Command Sergeants Major, as well as the Air National Guard Command Chief Master Sergeants from the State and Wing Levels, will be in attendance. Furthermore, each year, EANGUS has a hundred or more National Guard Servicemembers attend our annual conference for Professional Development purposes and our Senior Enlisted leaders provide invaluable insight and mentorship to those that attend. The Senior Enlisted Leaders of the National Guard support EANGUS and their participation greatly increases the value that our attendees receive.
Highlighting EANGUS and NGAUS’s upcoming conferences NCNGA
While our conference in Wilmington last week was a success, we want to highlight EANGUS and NGAUS’s upcoming conferences for their members! Be sure to sign up soon to reserve your spot.
For information on EANGUS: https://eangusconference.org/
For information on NGAUS: https://www.ngaus.org/…/144th-general-conference…
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://ncnga.org/discounts/
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
June 16th — Today in Guard History National Guard
1944
Biak Island, Dutch New Guinea – Elements of the 41st Infantry Division (ID, MT, OR, WA) overrun Japanese defenses based upon a series of caves and pillboxes. Second Battalion, 186th Infantry (OR), after climbing a steep hill under intense enemy fire, succeed in capturing the position, which included a naval gun. When the American forces landed in late May it was expected they secure the island and its vital airstrip in just a few days. Instead they found a deeply entrenched enemy, often fighting from caves, that dragged the combat into August and cost more than 400 American lives.
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