Category Archives: National Guard

The National Guard earns a seat at the table

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Troy| Leave a comment

It has been a long time in coming and well-overdue, despite what the Chairman of the JCS said and all of the other service chiefs, the Chief of the National Guard now has a seat and more importantly a vote on Joint Chiefs.

The chief of the National Guard Bureau joined the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Dec. 31, to formally sit alongside the four service chiefs for the first time in the Guard’s history. The change became official when President Barack Obama signed the Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision institutionalizing the Guard’s seat.

Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, joins the Joint Chiefs of Staff chaired by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey at a critical time for the Guard and the military at large.

I am not sure how welcomed he will be at the table since Dempsey and the rest of the chiefs told Congress not to allow this. They claimed it would cause confusion, etc. I am not sure amongst who, it is not like the troops are looking to the JCS to determine their chain or command or get orders. The reality in today’s time since 9/11 is that our National Guard forces exist in one of three different contexts. They are either serving at the discretion of their state and Governor, serving under federal orders (referred to as Title 10) or not on Federal orders but preparing for Federal orders. Continue reading →

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Posted in Military Life, Military News, National Guard

A yellow ribbon sticker doesn’t always do it

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

I was made aware of this story last night while hosting You Served Radio. I brought up the link but did not get a chance to read it until today. Even though I am not a fan of IAVA’s leadership, there are many that are part of the organization whom have a true heart and Mr. Jonathan Raab seems to be one of them.
The argument he bring up in the guest blog written at http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/wanted-a-good-job-and-some-understanding/ is a good one and completely true in my eyes.

Last night on the show, former Marine Drill Instructor and now actor and friend, Joe Harrell called in to talk about this issue and how true this reality is. I have to agree with him that the “patriotism” of 2001-2003 has worn off.

I know of several incidents where employers have shunned their employees or potential employees due to current military service in the National Guard or Reserves.

Mr. Raab says it very clear in the blog at one point near the end…

“Everybody wants to support the troops until they have to share in the hardship and sacrifice,” I said. “Then all of a sudden that bumper sticker or that flag pin doesn’t mean anything anymore.”

I totally get that business is business and it is not personal, but this is not a personal thing. Citizen-soldiers are not asking for special favors or considerations, they are asking for tolerance. Tolerance to the fact that they have volunteered to serve the country, even in a part-time basis. But it is not always part-time and sometimes that means they have to serve for an extended time.

This is not personal, this is a duty by companies who are afforded the rights and freedoms to operate in this country. These men and women have raised their hand and volunteered to defend this country against all enemies foreign or domestic. If they are National Guard, they also have swore to act on orders of the Governor of their state. This could mean helping people shovel out of bad snowstorms, fill sandbags to keep communities from being flooded or even help patrol a street or airport or train station in times of heightened threats.

I have said it a million times as have others, “America is at the mall, while the military is at war”. If a company having to step up and maybe back-fill someone who serves or give a citizen-soldier a couple of days off a month means that is their “sacrifice”, I would say they are still getting off pretty easy.

I have been very, very lucky in my work history to have had worked for great companies that respected and honored my military service when I was still in. From my first civilian job that I got just a week after getting out of the active army until the day I retired from the National Guard I worked for companies that did more than what was required by law to support me and my service. I was then and still am today very grateful for their support.

As a 1SG in the National Guard, I was very aware that not every one of my soldiers had that same level of support from their company or their school. I dealt with many employers (and some professors) on behalf of my soldiers. What makes it worse is that my time as a 1SG was done in the New York National Guard, the same Brigade in fact that Mr. Raab is in and the Brigade that has been called on time and time again since the attacks of 9/11. Which was very personal for many members of the NY National Guard. Why that makes it worse is because you would think that as the state which lost the most people on 9/11, companies whom operate in that state would be the most supportive of its guard members.

But it is what it is, and I guess it is something that citizen-soldiers will have to do their best to deal with. I just hope that maybe Mr. Raab’s article sheds light on the subject and maybe a little shame on those who are employers whom this would apply to.

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Posted in Military Life, National Guard, Why We Serve

Are National Guard E-Brigades coming back?

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

According to Robert Gates, the Pentagon is also considering changing the role of the National Guard and Reserve forces as it contemplates budget cuts.  Options include dividing them into a strategic reserve and an operational reserve with different pay, training and equipment, or possibly moving heavy or infantry brigades into the Guard.  The U.S. military has relied and utilized more from National Guard and Reserve Forces than ever to supply the troops needed to prosecute Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) simultaneously.  Gates claims that the changes are being examined for the fiscal year starting 1 Oct. and for the following 12 months.  To read more about this subject, please go to: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/u-s-mulls-national-guard-role-as-budget-cuts-near-gates-says.html

Wow, talk about the more things change, the more they stay the same. Prior to the BCT re-organization that the Army went through in 2004-2006 the National Guard had what was known as E-Brigades, for Enhanced Brigades. E-Brigades were the National Guard units that were funded up to 75% of their requested budgets, manpower, equipment, etc. Those that were not E-Brigades were funded and staffed at less than 75%.

The idea was that the E-Brigades were the first to ever get called up and mobilize with the active Army. These were the Brigades you saw first mobilized in the GWOT. Units like the 39th, 27th, 41st, 81st, and many other brigades were those E-Brigades.

Now it seems that with budgets cutting and the open commitment of soldiers become lower to wars around the world that the outgoing SecDef is almost proposing going back to the same mindset. Pretty scary because of the smaller active military we have today, only means that our country will continue to depend heavily on the National Guard and the Reserves. Segregating our reserve component soldiers into the groups of the “haves” and the “have nots” sends a bad message to those units in the “have not” category. Every MOS, every branch of the Army and Air Force is needed to wage a war.

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Posted in Military Life, National Guard

Early Retirement Benefit Comes Up Short

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

As a retired National Guard soldier, this is near and dear to my heart. I wonder how we can keep voting and keeping in office so many incompetent members of Congress. It is clear that basing this benefit on the fiscal year is a screw-up, but they seem to not care or just don’t get it.

Congress wrote a law three years ago stating Guard and Reserve members called up for 90 days or more for war service, or other federal duty, would be credited for work “in any fiscal year” toward early retirement for each day they were mobilized.  Their intent was to provide early retirement as a reward for National Guard and Reserve members who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Instead, it is leaving them confused and frustrated given that the federal fiscal year goes from 1 Oct to 30 Sept.  So, if a Guard or Reserve member was to be deployed for three months beginning in September that time would not count because the 90 days would be split between two fiscal years.  To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.military.com/news/article/early-retirement-benefit-comes-up-short.html

 

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Posted in Military Life, National Guard, Veteran Benefits

USERRA comes through

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

A National Guard Special Forces Soldier fired by the U.S. Postal Service for “excessive absence due to military service” has won a court decision that could mean more than $1 million in back pay and a new job.

I just read this story and was very motivated by it. I know of so many cases where employers put on a show about supporting the troops and say they love America, yet don’t in either case. Ok that is my opinion on the second one, but if you can’t support your employees who are defending our country, then you don’t love America.

What is even more sad about this case is that he worked for the US friggen Postal Service, a damn US Government Agency. The Postmaster General should be firing a whole bunch of people in the chain of command over this one, and if he doesn’t the President should fire the Postmaster General and then fire all the chain of command in the Postal Service that knew about this.

Anyway, good job to SGM Erickson’s attorney and to the SGM for sticking this one through.

Read the whole story at http://www.military.com/news/article/specops-soldier-wins-userra-case.html

 

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Posted in Military Life, National Guard, Veteran Benefits

Program Fills Gap for Returning Guard, Reserve

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Troy| 1 Comment

The Defense Department (DoD) launched the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program which was developed to ensure that Reserve-Component Servicemembers have access to the information and resources they need to effectively reintegrate with their families, their communities and their employers. To reach every Servicemember regardless of distance, Yellow Ribbon coordinators sponsor Yellow Ribbon events across the nation and U.S. territories, with more than 500 scheduled to take place in the first half of fiscal 2011. Among future efforts, the Yellow Ribbon program will put a greater emphasis on job creation and employer support, working hand in hand with Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a DoD organization which promotes cooperation and understanding between Reserve-Component members and their civilian employers. To read this article in full, please go to: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=61396


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Posted in National Guard, Veteran Benefits

Joint Services are the National Guard’s Answer to Limited Family Support

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Claire| 1 Comment

This past year the church I attend adopted a local Army National Guard family while the father was deployed to Iraq. The family that we were assigned was a seasoned Army family who didn’t need much support. I did gain a new friend out of the deal and that was an unexpected treasure!

I was quite impressed though with how the NG in our area worked hard to reach out to Churches and other organizations in the area almost a year before the deployment occurred! This was very good planning and it allowed the Church members to go through a little introduction training and to build a rapport with the family they were assigned. We didn’t get the name a full year in advance, but we did get the name a little before deployment and that helped.

It looks like the National Guard is doing another great thing with family services. National Guard and Reserve families have their own drawbacks and benefits to the particular branch and duty status they build their lives around. One thing they grapple with is limited access to services based on locality and other issues.

The NG boast more than 40,000 volunteers across the Country who stand ready to support families during deployment and other times of heightened need. They are seeking to augment their services that support families.

Here’s an  article highlighting what the NG is seeking to do:

Joint: The new ‘buzz word’ in family support
By Air Force Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
National Guard Bureau — ARLINGTON, Va.,
(8/4/10) — The National Guard is willing to help family members around the country, no matter which branch or component their servicemember belongs to, the Guard’s top family programs official said Aug. 3.

“Families’ needs are the same across the board, and we can’t afford to work within just our own service,” Alex Baird, chief of Family Programs for the National Guard Bureau told participants in a DoD Bloggers Roundtable. “We’ve got to be joint.”

He added that a family’s location, financial constraints, limited local information and a need for face-to-face interaction demands that all the services make their support programs accessible to all.

The National Guard has about 40,000 volunteers across the 54 states and territories, who support servicemembers and their families, he said.

“I think the biggest success is the way we’ve been able to use our volunteers,” said Baird, who is hosting the 2010 National Guard Volunteer Workshop in New Orleans this week.

“We’re all in the same service together, so we’re willing to help anybody,” he said.

Baird said the Guard has made progress in communicating its family and servicemembers support programs through the Joint Services Support Portal at http://www.jointservicessupport.org.

“You can find out who the state family program directors are, the family assistance centers, and connect anywhere into that network, and then they can get you the help that you need,” he said. “

He said the Guard does not replace the programs and support of other service components, but it augments them, especially for the families of servicemembers, who may be geographically isolated from their units.

“There’s a big difference between somebody who can come face to face with you and somebody who is … halfway across the country,” he said.

“The other thing we find is when you’ve got somebody, let’s say, in Kentucky that you’re trying to get help … they don’t really know what the services are in Minnesota. So having somebody who’s local, who knows what the local resources are and support services are, is a great advantage.”

Baird said the other reserve components have also adopted this practice.

“We know (they) never turn any of our families away,” he said.

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Posted in National Guard, Spouse and Family

New Eligibility Criteria for DOD ESGR Patriot Award includes Spouses’ Employers

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Troy| Leave a comment

The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Award program recognizes employers for implementing employment policies and practices that are supportive of their employees’ participation in the National Guard and Reserve. The Patriot Award certificate is intended for an immediate supervisor. In the past, individual Reserve Component members have nominated their employers for the Patriot Award. Under a recent expansion, employers who show flexibility and support for a military family as a whole, especially spouses who have a Servicemember deployed, can be recognized. Spouses and Servicemembers can go to:http://www.esgr.org/pa to nominate your employers and learn more.


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Posted in National Guard