Author: guard7000

NASHVILLE — State officials hope to have Tennessee National Guard recruiters back in their storefront offices in Chattanooga and across the state next week as final touches on security upgrades are made in response to the July 16 deadly attack.
“We’re ready to go back to business,” state Adjutant General Max Haston said, noting National Guard recruiters have been working out of armories since July.
The temporary relocation of the seven offices was prompted by 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez’s Chattanooga shooting rampage. Abdulazeez first shot at a U.S. military recruiting office, located next door to a state National Guard office in a Lee Highway strip mall.
The gunman then drove to the U.S. Naval Reserve Center on Amnicola Highway, where he killed four Marines and fatally injured a Navy petty officer before he was shot to death by Chattanooga police.
The shootings prompted a national discussion about U.S. and National Guard security on American soil in an age of worldwide extremism.
After the attack in Chattanooga, Gov. Bill Haslam directed Haston to review Tennessee’s recruiting office and armory security and examine whether Guard members should be allowed to carry handguns. Major General Haston temporarily relocated the recruiters to more secure armories while security fixes were made. Military officials favor the storefronts because they provide easier access to would-be recruits.
Since the recruiting center leases are handled by U.S. military officials, he needed to get the Pentagon’s approval. Haston announced in August he received authority for properly trained Guard members to carry federally issued sidearms at the recruiting centers or on federal property, including vehicles.
“They absolutely told us we can do what we want to on that,” Haston said this week. “So they’ll be carrying federal weapons.” “The big issue,” Haston said, has been “getting all of our recruiters requalified in their assigned weapons.”
State officials said National Guard recruiters will likely be sent back to the Chattanooga area on Tuesday or Wednesday. Recruiters in other areas of Tennessee will return later this week. No update yet on recruiters from other services.

The Army in action is filled with noise, which is one of the reasons why hearing loss can be a significant problem for soldiers and veterans, and also why so much emphasis is given to hearing protection. Well-fitted combat ear plugs have proven effective in noisy environments, and research continues into other initiatives. Soldiers are strongly encouraged to have ear plugs with them so they are always available when needed.

What to watch: The Department of Defense’s Human Performance Resource Center has a lot of advice on minimizing the risk of hearing problems. One of them is to limit exposure to “annoying noise” during normal daily activities…which presumably does not mean avoiding your spouse or supervisor.

In his final Pentagon press conference as Army chief of staff, General Raymond T. Odierno said he has “great concern personally” about the Army’s fate, fearing the nation is “sacrificing the long-term viability of our military.”

The 60-year-old General, whose Army career started in 1976, retires at a time of uncertainty about funding available for the military and increasingly complicated national security threats.

“Our security environment remains uncertain and dynamic,” Odierno said, citing Russian and Chinese aggression, unrest in the Middle East caused by the Islamic State, threats of global terrorism, and an “unstable and provocative North Korea” as a short list of problems that could require military response.

Addressing or preparing for those threats requires a stable and certain budget, something that has proven politically difficult as the fiscal year approaches on Oct. 1 without a bipartisan budget agreement, raising the possibility of a government shutdown and cuts in the Army budget from a possible second round of sequestration.

“The whole four years I have been chief of staff of the Army, we have been in this deadlock,” Odierno said. “We are reaching a point where we have to be careful,” raising the specter the Army could lose capabilities and the ability to quickly respond to threats or a crisis.

General Mark A. Milley’s nomination to become the 39th Army chief of staff was approved Wednesday by the Senate, and President Obama nominated an Iraq War veteran to become under secretary of the Army. Milley will succeed GEN Raymond T. Odierno, who will retire after 39 years of service.

GEN Milley told Congress that he believes his 35 years of Army experience qualified him to lead the Army. “I had the honor to lead soldiers in combat as a captain and major along with combat leadership as a brigade commander, division deputy commander and corps commander,” he said to the Senate Armed Services Committee. “With service in Special Forces and conventional units, as well as operational experience in a variety of contingencies around the globe. I have a broad perspective of the Army, its processes and capabilities, and my experience includes operations in the Sinai, Somalia, Panama, Haiti, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, along with tours in Korea and Colombia.

Milley’s most recent deployment had him serving as the III Corps commanding general and heading U.S. and multinational forces in Iraq, which he said gave him “the opportunity to apply the full range of Army, joint, combined and coalition capabilities in complex environments on my third tour in Afghanistan while commanding all the ground forces in combat and security force assistance operations. ”The Army, GEN Milley said, “is and must remain the world’s premier ground combat force, capable of conducting sustained campaigns on land to achieve U.S. national security objectives.”

Also, Patrick J. Murphy, the 41-year-old nominee to be Under Secretary of the Army, was the first Iraq War veteran to be elected to Congress, where he championed improvements in the GI Bill and veterans’ employment programs. Defeated for re-election in 2010, he has been working at a Philadelphia law firm and as a fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that works on progressive policies. Murphy was commissioned through an ROTC program and served two overseas deployments; deploying to Bosnia in 2002, and Iraq in 2003 as part of the 82nd Airborne Division.

If confirmed, Murphy would fill a position currently held by an acting undersecretary, Eric Fanning. It is not clear when the Senate will take up his nomination.

Two hundred forty years ago this Sunday, our founding fathers established
the Continental Army. Today, the Army is the strategic land power of the
joint force; called upon to prevent, shape, and win against our adversaries.

This year, we celebrate 240 years of selfless service to the nation.
Selfless service is at the core of what it means to be a Soldier – putting
the welfare of others ahead of oneself. The willingness of our Soldiers – to
place themselves in harm’s way and to protect our nation’s freedoms – is
what makes us the premier all-volunteer force. The Army has served proudly,
faithfully, and selflessly for 240 years, and we remain steadfast in our
commitment.

Happy Birthday, United States Army!

We also celebrate Flag Day, which commemorates the adoption of the flag of
the United States by the Second Continental Congress.

FRANCIS D. VAVALA
Major General
The Adjutant General of Delaware

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Biden family as we mourn the loss of Beau; beloved and respected by all who knew him. The former Attorney General of Delaware was also a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard who deployed to Iraq in 2009. When our AUSA Chapter organized the first ‘Our Community Salutes’ event in 2012, Beau agreed to be our first keynote speaker. Although our event was new to Delaware, Beau did not hesitate to join the many community leaders, military members, parents and friends to say ‘Thank you’ to the high school seniors who were joining the military after graduation that year. Farewell to a good man indeed.

5 Weight of Deployments Fell on Soldiers

While all of the services contributed to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since the 9/11 attacks, the burden was greatest on soldiers, according to a RAND Corp. report. Of 1.6 million deployments between September 2001 and December 2012, 59 percent were Army, 15 percent Air Force, 14 percent Navy and 12 percent Marine Corps. The percentages include reserve components. The Regular Army provided 70 percent of the Army’s contribution, while the Army National Guard provided 21 percent and the Army Reserve provided nine percent.

What to watch: The report, Measuring and Retaining the U.S. Army’s Deployment Experience, was evaluating the substantial loss of combat experience facing the area, a serious problem as a result of normal turnover and the reduction in the size of the Army. While not it’s intention, the report provides a good reason to rethink Army force cuts.

Fewer than 100 veterans could be serving in Congress when a new House and Senate are seated in January. An analysis by the group Veterans Campaign found only 183 of the 865 major-party candidates on ballots next month have served in the armed forces. Forty-six of them served in Afghanistan or Iraq.

If the number does fall below 100, it will be the first time since the 1950s that veteran representation has been that low, according to a story on the report in Military Times. Back then, World War II veterans were on the ballots across the country.

Currently, 106 veterans are among the 535 House and Senate members in the nation’s capital.

According to the National Guard Association of the U.S., more than 30 current and former National Guard members are on ballots next month seeking re-election or election for the first time.

The nonpartisan Veterans Campaign says it is the first time in recent memory that fewer than 200 veterans are running for Congress.

“We’re used to seeing this steady decrease every two years, but this could be an even steeper drop than we normally expect,” Seth Lynn, the executive director of Veterans Campaign, told Military Times. “This is going to be the election that puts us below earlier levels.”

On July 4, 1776, not even a month after the U.S. Army was formed, the thirteen colonies proclaimed their independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States. Conflict between the colonies and England was already a year old when the colonies convened a Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. In a June 7 session in the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall), Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution with the famous words: “Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” Lee’s words were the impetus for the drafting of a formal Declaration of Independence. On June 11, consideration of the resolution was postponed, but a Committee of Five was appointed to draft a statement presenting t o the world the colonies’ case for independence. Members of the Committee included John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert R. Livingston of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. The task of drafting the actual document fell on Jefferson.
On July 1, 1776, the Continental Congress reconvened, and on the following day, the ‘Lee Resolution’ for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting. Discussions of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence followed, but the spirit of the document was unchanged. John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. It is said that he signed his name “with a great flourish” so England’s “King George can read that without spectacles!”
Happy Independence Day!

The Delaware Chapter (AUSA) again teamed with Wilmington University (WU) to conduct the Third Annual “Our Community Salutes” (OCS) event at Wilmington University’s New Castle, DE campus on May 6th from 6-8pm. This event recognizes and honors the Delaware high school seniors (and their parents) who have chosen to enlist into the military after graduation this spring.

Over 160 people participated in the event, including local celebrities, area college officials, and support agencies such as Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), Red Cross, Military OneSource, and the USO. Sponsors included Summit Aviation Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA, Calvert Comfort Heating and Cooling, and the Delaware City Refining Company.

Forty-four high school seniors and their families attended the event and Tim Furlong, the Delaware Correspondent for NBC News Philadelphia, returned as the emcee. Our speakers included Major General Frank Vavala, the Adjutant General of the Delaware National Guard, and Lieutenant Colonel Donald Moor, Executive Officer of the 4th Marine Corps District. The Junior ROTC cadets from William Penn High School handled the colors and provided an exhibition rifle drill team. Each attending enlistee received Letters of Appreciation from both U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative Carney. Also, student enlistees received a letter of commendation from the Delaware General Assembly signed by the Chairmen of both the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees. Photos will be posted to http://www.ocsde.org.