We were founded with one simple purpose—to meet the financial needs of servicemembers and their families. How? We invest in our members by providing better rates, lower fees and exceptional service. Join
I am the type of person who always seeks the next professional development opportunity, whether that be a continuing ed class or attending a workshop, or my most recent find to jump back into volunteering. But I do have a method to my madness when filling my plate. Whatever ‘thing’ I squeeze onto an already jampacked schedule, it has to serve one of two purposes: 1) make me better at my job, or 2) simply make me happy doing it. Sometimes I get lucky and it accomplishes both.
Earlier this summer, I reached out to the Maryland Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve committee. Though I often whine that I don’t have a free minute to do anything
else, I really wanted to lend my skills somewhere that impacts our citizen warriors in a tangible way. For those who haven’t heard about ESGR at a unit brief, it is a DOD program that works as the gobetween for the reserve component and civilian employers. Its whole function is to help companies understand the unique needs of those with one foot in the military and the other in the civilian sector. It also protects you through USERRA — a federal law guaranteeing specific rights to employees that have to leave a job to perform military service.
I’ll keep you posted as I get my feet wet with this new public affairs position, but in the meantime
here’s my recruitment pitch: if you want to add to your resume, ESGR has a constant need for volunteers to serve in a whole host of areas. It may even make you more competitive for promotion. Or, if you are feeling wronged by an employer or have questions about your civilian job ahead of the next deployment, reach out to your local committee at https://www.esgr.mil/ About-ESGR/Contact/Local-StatePages .
Bianca M. Strzalkowski Managing Editor More than 100 National Guard and Reserve employers and supervisors traveled to Gowen Field from across the state today to participate in the Idaho ESGR’s annual Boss Lift. Photo by Master Sgt. Becky Vanshur.The Reserve & National Guard is published six times a year for reservists and members of the National Guard. Copies are available through participating Reserve and National Guard training centers at no cost.
Unit distribution requests can be made online at: AmeriForceMedia.com/rng/print-magazines/ Individuals can order a free digital edition of this guide at: AmeriForceMedia.com/rng/subscribe-free/ Editorial comments can be emailed to: Editor@AmeriForceMedia.com
The Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce Media is published by AmeriForce Media, LLC, Bloomington, Ind., a private company. Information and advertisements in this publication do not constitute endorsement by any branch of the military or the Department of Defense. No part of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of the publisher. AmeriForce Media, LLC, the publisher, and publisher’s agents make no endorsement of any advertised services or products and none should be inferred.
President and Publisher Todd Taranto
Managing Editor Bianca M. Strzalkowski
Design Open-Look Business Solutions
ADVERTISING
PLEASE CALL 703-337-8100
by Emily Marcason-TolmieTodd Taranto Publisher Todd.Taranto@AmeriForceMedia.com
Julie Miller
Vice President, Sales
Julie.Miller@AmeriForceMedia.com
Brian Dunbar
Director of Business Development
Brian.Dunbar@AmeriForceMedia.com
Ursula Hirschhaeuser
Germany Sales +49 (0) 69-15053980
Ursula.Hirschhaeuser@AmeriForceMedia.com
Samantha Sibley, 17, received her first Our Military Kids grant for surf lessons when she was 9. She wanted to learn to surf because it was something her father, Lt. Col. Jeff Sibley (ARNG), loved to do, and she wanted to surprise him when he returned from deployment. She has since received three more grants during her father’s additional deployments, and has become a formidable, young, professional surfer. In fact, this July, Samantha became the youngest-ever winner of the Super Girl Pro GS6,000. Photos by Chris Gant.
Our Military Kids removes a child’s stress from having a deployed or recovering parent, and also boosts their selfconfidence. The nonprofit does this by providing grants up to $300 for military kids to select a sport, art program or other activity to participate in.
The organization aims to support children of National Guard and Reserve troops, in addition to wounded service members of all branches. It was founded on Oct. 5, 2004, as a response to 9/11, and now, according to its website, it has helped over 3,000 military families in the United States and awarded grants worth more than $26 million.
Michelle Criqui, who is not only the digital media manager for Our Military Kids but a former alumna of its program, says it provides something unique that other companies don’t already supply military children.
“I think there is no other organization that does exactly what Our Military Kids does in providing grants for extracurricular activities, which help kids get their mind off of an otherwise very difficult situation, either while their parent’s deployed overseas or recovering from combat injuries, which can be very taxing emotionally, mentally, physically on a child,” she said.
For military children between 5 years old and 12th grade, they can continue taking ballet lessons that might have been discontinued when a parent became injured while on active duty and lost their civilian job, or their dreams of becoming a drummer can be fulfilled while mom or dad is on deployment.
“We’re giving them a chance to choose something that’s entirely their own, so whether it be dance, or music or, you know, even tutoring or things like that,” Criqui said, “it helps them better themselves and to give them
something else to focus on that makes them build confidence and relieve some of that stress and ultimately, it will bring the family together.”
Criqui says that one of the biggest gains from her and her sisters utilizing grants from Our Military Kids when their dad was deployed, was how it made the family closer.
“This grant program gives these kids an opportunity to go do something outside the house, do something that’s theirs, and just help them during that time. Ya know, it’s definitely very important and very close to me,” she said.
To have your child participate in an Our Military Kids funded program, visit https://ourmilitarykids.org and follow three easy steps:
Step 1: Make sure your child meets all the requirements. Deployed parents have to be on an OCONUS mission with a minimum amount of days gone, and there must be a minimum amount of time remaining.
Step 2: Select the desired activity and submit necessary documentation. Keep in mind the child will have to begin the activity before the deployed parent comes home.
Step 3: Once approved, an award packet will be sent to your child’s home that includes a check for the amount requested and a letter of appreciation. Now, your child can participate in the grant activity!
While Our Military Kids celebrates its 15th anniversary this October, its mission remains the same.
“That’s our ultimate goal, is to make sure they pull through and that they come out stronger and more confident, and that they make the most of this time,” Criqui said.
Emily Marcason-Tolmie
is a proud Navy wife, mama to two adorable little boys, writer and a prospect researcher at a small liberal arts college in Upstate New York. She won the Scintillating Starts Writers Advice Fiction Contest in 2019 and is published in Flash Fiction Magazine. Emily earned her B.A. in Journalism from St. Michael’s College and her M.A. in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University.
Crystal Kupper
is a writer, photographer, grad student, runner, momof-four and Air Force wife living in New Jersey. There’s nowhere else she’d rather be than outside with her family, preferably clad in Oregon Duck gear.
is a Cincinnati native currently living in a Bavarian forest. She’s the proud spouse of an active duty Army soldier, with whom she’s had amazing adventures all around the world. Evans is committed to her Army community and ensuring both the soldier’s voice and the spouse’s voice is heard. When she’s not creating words with her fingers, she is an avid runner, Olympic lifter, yogi and explorer.
Eric
is a retired veteran with over 21 years of combined enlisted service in the Navy and North Carolina Army National Guard. He currently works as the director of the NCNG Employment Center whose mission is to increase education and career opportunities for all reserve component personnel, their spouses and working-aged dependents to help them obtain stable careers.
is the Military Saves Program Manager at Consumer Federation of America. She is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Studies from Columbia University in New York City and a Master’s Degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. As both an Army veteran and a military spouse, Lila feels strongly about helping military families find financial success.
is the Army National Guard Assistant to the Commander, United States Army Futures Command. He is slated to succeed Maj. Gen. Linda Singh as the next adjutant commander of Maryland National Guard.
Ryan Guina
is the founder of TheMilitaryWallet.com and CashMoneyLife.com. He is a writer, small business owner, and a military veteran. He currently serves in the Air National Guard.
Burgos
Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen
Jessica Evans
Lila Quintiliani
Senior Airman Colby Cook on the flightline at Spangdahlem Air Force Base in Germany. He is currently wrapping up his final semester of Utah Valley University.
I’ve been teaching my girls the benefits of charitable giving since they were little: when I first started giving them an allowance, I instructed them to save some and give some before they spent anything on themselves. In fact, scientific studies have shown philanthropy actually activates pleasure centers in our brains. It makes us healthier and happier.
Here are four ways you can do something for the greater good:
Give money: This is the most impactful way to help any legitimate charity. My husband and I give to several charities via payroll deduction through the Combined Federal Campaign .
I always suggest researching charities thoroughly before donating (and especially before giving them bank account or other personal information!). There are quite a few different charity rating sites out there, including Charity Navigator, CharityWatch and GuideStar.
If you don’t think you can afford to give much, even small donations can go a long way: in the fight against malaria, for example, $2 can fund
a mosquito net that will cover two people and last for three-to-four years.
Give while you shop: If you don’t have cash on hand to donate to a charity, there are still other ways to give back monetarily. You can use a shopping portal like Amazon Smile , GreaterGood or iGive.com to donate a portion of your purchase to charity.
There are also charitable search engines, such as GoodShop , that donate to charity every time you look something up.
Give the gift of time: Nonprofit organizations are constantly in need of volunteers, and giving your time can even make you competitive for promotion in the military. If you’re unsure of how to find a good fit for
opportunities, check out Volunteer Match which allows you to search by interest.
Give away your stuff: Go all Marie Kondo on your house and then give away what doesn’t give you joy to charity. This way you bring yourself inner joy and bring someone else some happiness, too. Plus, by recycling rather than trashing your unwanted items, you are doing something that is ecofriendly.
One important thing to note –while contributions to charities can often be considered tax deductible, this only applies if you are able to itemize your deductions. The gift of time or labor to a nonprofit is not tax deductible, but mileage and other volunteer expenses may possibly be written off your taxes, provided you can itemize.
(and you don’t always have to spend money)
Samaritan’s Purse is an international Christian relief organization dedicated to saving lives and reducing suffering in Jesus’ Name.
(828)-262-1980
SamaritansPurse.org
The award-winning ‘Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons (ITEMP)’ is dedicated to preventing, detecting, rescuing, and caring for victims of human trafficking across the USA and worldwide.
Minneapolis (612)-351-8020
Bismarck (701)-255-7956
ITEMP.org
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our strength lies in our exclusive focus and singular influence on the worldwide effort to end T1D.
800-533-CURE
www.jdrf.org
Habitat for Humanity creates pathways out of poverty for families nationwide and across the globe by building strength, stability and self-reliance through home ownership opportunities.
1-888-834-5830
www.cfchabitat.org
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
800-822-6344
stjude.org/CFC
Our mission is to remember the fallen, honor those that serve and their families, and teach the next generation the value of freedom. (877) 385-9504
www.wreathsacrossamerica.org
Whether building homes for wounded veterans, providing resources to first responders, or supporting their families through difficult times, the Gary Sinise Foundation serves America’s heroes. (888)-708-7757
garysinisefoundation.org
Empowering Veterans To Lead High-Quality Lives With Respect... Prosthetics Research and Devices for Amputees; Traumatic Brain Injury Therapy; Guide/Assistance Dogs; Comfort for Survivors. (877) 426-2838
dav.org
CFC #10532
CFC #96341
CFC #27963
CFC #10569
CFC #66860
Senior Airman Colby Cook just wrapped up a deployment to Europe and has his sights set on completing another mission: college.
The 25-year old Texas native currently serves with the 419th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. He grew up fascinated with planes, pursuing them on- and off-duty. Cook enlisted in the Air Force Reserve four years ago as a way to expand his experience, but not before first accomplishing his private pilot’s license in 2014. He says two moments helped him realize aviation was what he wanted to do.
“Personal side, just because it came first, would be when I was going through the process of getting my license. The first time I ever soloed
was probably the most amazing experience I ever had. There’s just so much freedom to it and responsibility that you take on when you first do your solo. The instructors are no longer in the plane and you don’t even have that many hours under your belt, but you know just what to do. That was the moment that I thought, ‘this is the most amazing career you can get into,’” he said. “Then in the Air Force, though I don’t fly in the Air Force, just seeing the smile on their face and talking to the pilots when they get back — I’m the first one that they see when they get back — it kind of sealed the deal of having pilot as my career choice.”
Cook’s father served in the Army, but he did have a family connection to the Air Force. He says he
chose that branch because of its “prestigious” nature, though he jokes, “don’t tell my dad that.”
“I’ve just always loved aviation and I felt like that was the best one for that; it kind of represented that the best. That and also my grandpa on my mom’s side, he was actually in the Air Force as well … but I just think having that military background, just having the option of the different branch — not just the Army, helped me decide on that. And I just like the idea of working on aircraft,” Cook said.
In uniform, he works on F-35s as a crew chief and thinks the skills he’s learning may later translate to a civilian career.
“I think just having the knowledge on just the mechanics of an aircraft — a more complex aircraft than obviously what you can fly with your private pilot’s license — I mean that definitely can help out. If I end up going into maintenance for airlines or anything like that, I think that will be a pretty good solid foundation,” he said.
Cook deployed overseas previously to Japan and Italy, and experienced some firsts during his recent deployment with a Theater Security Package in Europe. The off time afforded him the opportunity to visit unique places like Amsterdam and Switzerland, and a first-time tasting the staple dish of borscht. But it wasn’t all work and play because he had homework to focus on for school.
Since 2012, he has attended Utah Valley University on and off, with an anticipated graduation this fall. He made the conscious decision to buckle down and finish the aviation management degree when he realized just how close he was to the finish line.
“I felt like giving myself a deadline and saying, ‘alright I’m 25, it’s time to knock it out and just be done with it and have a bachelor’s degree’ … and I’m getting closer to hitting my fifth year mark in the reserves, I just wanted to make sure I’m taking full advantage of the opportunities that the Air Force gives me with the GI Bill and everything like that,” he said.
He used a mix of tuition assistance and the Montgomery GI Bill to help fund his education, and met with an academic counselor two years into enrollment to “solidify” that he was on the right track.
The recent deployment also helped him put attention on the school commitment, he says.
“I think the fact that your priority is obviously Air Force when you’re going on a deployment … I think the fact that you have more concentration on one aspect of your life versus everything else that happens in your life; it kind of frees up some time as long as you’re not working the whole time that you’re there. So, it kind of depends on the location you’re at,” he said. “Take advantage of every little
moment you have to put your head in the books and try and knock out one assignment after another. If you can, try and get ahead before you get out there.”
Visit https://www.benefits.va.gov/ gibill/education_programs.asp to learn more about education opportunities, to include the Montgomery GI Bill and Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Sgt. 1st Class Harrison Wright’s decision to enlist in the Oklahoma National Guard as a young man changed his life. Now, as a recruiter and dad, he hopes the Guard will do the same for his 17-year-old daughter, Viayaneh.
“The military has impacted me immensely and my daughter has seen that her whole life growing up in a military family,” Wright said. “As her dad, I’m proud she is following in my footsteps. As her recruiter, the college benefits is one of many reasons why I encouraged her to join the Guard.”
As Wright nears retirement, he reflects on his nearly 20 years in the Guard, which included being a member of the 45th Infantry Division and
deployments to Egypt and Baghdad.
“Deploying is never easy. You have to be on all the time,” he said. “It’s the hardest being away from my family.
But I know why I have to go.”
Viayaneh appreciates her father’s sacrifices and recognizes the influences he’s had on her, especially on her decision to join the Guard.
“I have a great dad and he is a really good role model,” she said. “I know that the military played a huge part in making him the man he is today.”
Now in her senior year of high school, Viayaneh spent her summer vacation at basic training and graduated on August 9.
“Having her away from home for the first time has been challenging,” Wright said. “But, she’s smart — a straight A student, respectful, patriotic and she’s learning what I already knew about her. She’s a leader.”
Viayaneh embraced basic training, especially the program’s focus on discipline and inclusivity.
“Being here I’ve met so many different types of people. There are people from every walk of life here,” she said. “In basic, you are not an individual. You have to learn to work together as a team.”
As a recruiter, Wright hears considerable misconceptions about
Harrison and Viayaneh Wright during her basic training graduation celebrations on a Family Day in August. Photo courtesy of Harrison Wright.the Guard from young people.
“The one that I get the most and that comes to mind now is the thought of ‘signing your life away.’ The National Guard and the military are very similar to civilian work. If you do not show up to work on a regular basis, you get fired,” he said. “A lot of people say they do not want to join because they do not want to be told what to do. News flash young people, any job out there will have someone giving orders. Even if you are an entrepreneur, the customer becomes the person you take orders from.”
He says he’s proud of Viayaneh for looking past these misconceptions of the Guard with her enlistment.
“The military is awesome because it helps prepare you for real life. A lot of the youth today want the easy way to money and success, the fantasy usually seen on TV,” he said.
He urges young people interested in joining the Guard to study hard in school and prepare for the ASVAB. He also encourages them to talk to those who are serving and have served.
“Talk to both people who have been in for a while and also ones that got out quickly. There are people who have had a bad experience and some who have had a great experience,” Wright said. “Don’t just listen to negative talk. And please don’t take advice from someone who has never served. They usually will try and talk you out of it because they never did.”
Wright is proud of his daughter as she makes plans for her future. Viayaneh wants to attend the University of Central Oklahoma after high school, while also specializing in human resources in the Guard. Because of the Guard, she could potentially graduate college without any financial debt.
“I’m proud of her for having the courage to do this — to join the Guard and excel in her training,” Wright said. “She’s everything a father could ever want in a daughter.”
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website outlines the types of trainings covered, but here is a more in-depth look at five other ways to use the Post9/11 GI Bill:
The Bill funds off-post lodging during U.S. Customs and Border Protection training. According to CBP’s website, approximately one-third of its staff have served in the military, and remains an appealing way to transition to civilian service for many. Luckily, the Bill can be used to offset lodging costs while training to become part of its forces. This falls under the Bill’s on-thejob training benefit that supports veterans learning trade skills or undergoing an apprenticeship.
By Maddie DolanWhile many militaryconnected students know the Post-9/11 GI Bill can fund undergraduate and graduate degrees, there are several alternative uses that may be overlooked. Traditional college is not required for all career paths and this education benefit helps veterans gain a competitive edge when seeking employment outside the military.
If a veteran has already obtained a private pilot’s license, they are able to use the Bill to gain supplemental qualifications including rotary wing, B747-400, Dual engine and flight engineer. Additional qualifications make getting the attention of major airlines that have a long history of hiring veterans, easier. The Bill will pay for the net costs of tuition at a college or university, or for training at a stand-alone pilot school, contingent on a yearly limit.
For those interested in being emergency medical technicians, the Bill is applicable to non-college certifications as well. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of EMTs is projected
to grow by 15% through to 2026, a much higher average than all other occupations. Therefore, the emergency medical setting is an attractive post-military career option for veterans. The certification, though, can cost upwards of $2,000, which makes the Bill’s help with tuition, books and supplies helpful during transition.
The real estate niche is an appealing career with brokers having a median average wage of $58,201 in 2018, plus BLS’s job outlook shows a steady increase over the coming years. While the Bill won’t pay for the actual licensing to become a real estate broker, it will fund the costs of test fees. In fact, getting reimbursed for test fees is applicable to all sorts of career choices ranging from veterinarian exams and adult nurse practitioner certifications, to pharmacist licensing exams.
TIP: The VA website offers a search tool to find out which tests are covered for licensing and certification. Users can search by keyword and/or state.
Studying hard does not always provide the results one needs to achieve the final grade they want, and that is where tutoring comes in handy. While there are free resources likely available at colleges and universities, the Bill will pay $100 a month, up to $1,200, for a private tutor to help you succeed in whatever course you’re taking.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill allows students to think outside the box when considering a career outside the military. In addition to working toward a degree, beneficiaries can
train for a specific career, trade, or industry – including vocational training or apprenticeships. Visit Education and Training to learn more about alternative investments for the Post-9/11 GI Bill
Dr. Marc CB Maxwell, Education Services Specialist, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach Education Center, explains the differences in education benefits that are available to veterans, service members and their dependents during a GI Bill community session. Photo by Amy Stork.
As a military retiree, you now have choices in your dental coverage through the Federal Employees Vision and Dental Insurance Program (FEDVIP). Delta Dental has proudly provided dental coverage to the military retiree community for the last 20 years and is proud to offer you choices in FEDVIP.
Choose Delta Dental. Here’s why:
• Choose from two high-quality, affordable plans designed to meet your needs.
• Preventive care shouldn’t cost you anything, that’s why it’s 100% covered when you visit a FEDVIP network dentist.
• Chances are, your dentist is already a part of our large, nationwide FEDVIP network.
Learn more at deltadentalins.com/fedvip/tricare
Federal Employees Dental Program is administered by the Federal Government Programs division of Delta Dental of California through its subsidiary Delta Dental Insurance Company (DDIC).There’s a career fair happening somewhere near you. Fed up with the lack of results from your current job-search approach, you decide to go. At the career fair, you approach a booth, shake hands with the representative of the company and then have no idea what to say.
Is
Universally, this is a something many transitioning service members experience. Most often it’s because a job seeker doesn’t know how to sell their skills to recruitment managers at the career fair.
Hiring fairs, career fairs, networking events and other mixers are all ideal opportunities to build relationships and grow your professional network. The challenge comes in being wellprepared and having a script of sorts to lean on when you’re standing at
Jermaine Higgins is the vice president of operations and recruiting with Hire G.I. , an organization that helps transitioning service members connect with employers who are actively seeking employees. Hire G.I. events average 200 attendees and about 35% of them receive offers for employment or offers to interview, so Higgins has seen it all.
He thinks it’s important that service members be realistic, respect the time of the recruiter, and do their fair share of work before the event. Of equal importance is knowing if it’s a hiring fair or a job fair.
“A hiring fair offers a service member a platform for interviews on-site. This means they might walk away with a job. A job fair is generally used to network with
recruiters and get insights into what will make you more competitive with the company,” said Higgins.
An often-overlooked aspect of attending is the registration process. Higgins says it’s the simplest way to prepare because it gives you real time updates about the event.
“When you register for the career fair, you get access to all communications from the host. You can usually upload your resume ahead of time so employers can review it – all before the event even starts,” he said.
First, respect the time of the person with whom you’re speaking. Have a polished and succinct “elevator pitch” on the ready for the company representative. At most, 10 sentences about how your path led you to stand before them will suffice. This is a first-glance opportunity for you to make a stellar impression. Make sure you can clearly identify what benefits you’ll bring to any company.
“On average, most recruiters spend less than two minutes with each potential candidate,” notes Higgins.
That means you need a wellpolished and coherent elevator pitch. Practice selling yourself by succinctly and quickly explaining why you would make an excellent asset to any team. A fair gives you face time with a prospective employer and allows you to hone skills that you might be lacking.
Learning to speak civilian about the specific skills and traits you honed while in the military can be a challenge. View a fair for what it is and know that your first time out of the gate might not be your best. Be patient and realistic and work the
that hiring fair booth.skills. The more often you practice, the better you’ll become.
Determining your hard and soft skills and being able to eloquently speak about each is an asset that takes time to develop, but one that becomes invaluable the more it’s used, especially at a job fair. That way, when a hiring manager or corporate representative asks you to explain your work history, you have an answer at the ready.
Keep your expectations in check. View the experience just like an interview and challenge yourself to interview well.
“From my experience, many think that a job fair will get them a job on the spot,” said Higgins.
The reality is that hiring fairs are attended by hundreds of service members, so the best way to ensure you stand out is to make sure you offer the hiring manager a memorable experience.
Higgins also suggests that attendees do research about the companies which interest them most before attending.
“Look over the list of attending employers and decide which are your top contenders. Then visit their websites and do a deep dive into what the company does, what jobs are available, and what the culture is like,” said Higgins.
The better you understand the companies in attendance, the better chances you have of really connecting with a representative. This can easily segue into authentic and open communication with the hiring manager. Plus, it sets you aside from the rest of the applicants because it shows you put the time in
to familiarize yourself with them.
A hiring fair allows you to network with other job seekers who are also seeking employment. This gives you the ability to measure how well you stack against the competition. You can also use fairs to grow your own network, since the stronger the
unit, the stronger the individual is a truism both in and out of the military.
Of course, seeking employment is just like any other skill: it takes practice to perfect. With time, and the right amount of consistent exposure, you can improve your chances of landing a job that you really want.
While other families prepared for last year’s holiday season, the Taylor family was in mourning. Maj. Brent Taylor, a soldier with the Utah Army National Guard, was killed in an alleged insider attack in Afghanistan early November 2018. He was also the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, father of seven children and husband to Jennie. His loss captured global attention — including that of Frank Siller, a man who understood all too well the pain of losing a loved one in service.
Siller is the chief executive officer of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation — a nonprofit organization created to honor his brother, Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter who died on Sept. 11. Stephen Siller, the youngest of seven siblings, was finishing his shift when the attacks occurred on that day in 2001. Strapped with 60 lbs. of gear on his back, he ran from the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the twin towers. He lost his life that day.
The Siller family knew they wanted to honor Stephen’s life and sacrifice, but weren’t quite sure how. By the end of that year, though, a foundation would bear his name, Frank Siller says.
“To be quite honest with you, we didn’t know how big this
foundation was going to turn out. So, in the beginning, we became a foundation December of 2001. Right away we knew that we wanted to do something to honor the sacrifice that Stephen made that day and we also wanted to honor — because we lost a lot of friends that day too — we wanted to make sure it was named for his act, but we also wanted to remember so many other great friends that we lost,” Siller said. “Part of it is, as siblings we were so proud of what he did that day but he had five kids, we wanted to make sure that they always knew their dad was a hero.”
Foundation programming has expanded over the years as its team recognized the unique needs within the military and first responder communities. The Smart Home Program , as an example, builds mortgage-free smart homes for catastrophically-injured service members. To date, 85 homes have started construction or are in the design stage. Forty homes have been given to the families of law enforcement, firefighters and emergency workers that lose their lives in the line of duty through the Fallen First Responder Home
Maj. Brent Taylor during deployment. In one of his last social media posts he wrote about the pride he felt for the Afghan people who showed up to vote in their country’s election. Submitted photo.Program . And in September 2018, the foundation launched a new program designed to support Gold Star spouses, like Jennie Taylor.
Jennie and Brent Taylor were students at Brigham Young University when they were setup on a blind date. Though their paths never crossed on campus, they had much in common like both serving on church missions. In fact, Jennie Taylor said a mutual friend told her, “you got to meet my roommate, he is the male version of you.” That roommate was Brent Taylor.
“The first date was a disaster, but then after that our paths ended up crossing again through friends and at the second opportunity, we actually started to talk to each other and realized we had a lot in common. Most of what we began talking about was how we love this country; he wanted to serve in the military and I was an American history teacher for junior high and high school kids, and it just kind of went from there,” she said.
The couple started dating in 2003, and after the Iraq War started, Taylor said talks got serious about her husband’s desire to serve in the military. He proposed to her in June and by the following week they were talking to a recruiter.
“He didn’t ever join the military with the intention of just sitting back. He knew from the moment he wanted to join that he wanted to go
to Iraq, to go to Afghanistan. … For him it was, ‘I want to be there,’” she said. “He was so duty bound.”
After deciding to grow their family, Jennie Taylor decided to leave the teaching profession so she could devote her full attention to raising their children, who now range in age from 1 to 14 years old. In the midst of the grief of losing her husband, Taylor said she also became worried about how she would support her family going forward. Frank Siller, however, had already been planning how the foundation would ease some of those worries, before the two could even meet.
“It was less than 48 hours after we’d been notified of Brent’s death that Frank [Siller] called my sister. … I was on my way to Dover and my sister called and asked my mortgage balance. I said, ‘I have no idea.’ … It was the furthest thing from my mind; I was in such a fog that I didn’t even know why she would be asking me that,” Taylor explained. “By the time I got home, my sister told me that the foundation was going to pay off the mortgage.”
To take that weight off her shoulders, she says, reassured her
that she could be home with the kids to help them through losing their father.
In addition to the financial impact the foundation makes on the lives of the people it helps, Frank Siller and his team also build lifelong relationships because they share the unspeakable bond of loss. He says he carries a message to each family to let them know their loved one would want them to continue life, even with the engrained sadness that will exist.
“There are no words that can explain what it means to me to be part of these families’ lives. I sit with them, I talk to them, I cry with them. It just kills me; I get very angry because I know what they have to go through, albeit I know they’ll survive it. Their life is changed forever. You learn to live with it, you never totally recover,” Siller said. “ … but you can have great days and you can have a great life. … there’s life after death for these families.”
Visit https://tunnel2towers.org to learn how you can support the foundation’s work.
Joining the military gives you more than just the pride of service, it also provides multiple educational opportunities to bolster your chances of a successful transition into the civilian world. When you are considering a degree or certification, you should first sit down with an education and employment counselor to make an informed decision on which path fits your goals.
Listed below are a few important factors to consider when you are making your decision:
Cost of certificate and degree programs
• The average trade school degrees cost approximately $33k
• The average bachelor’s program cost approximately $127k
By Eric Burgos• The average trade school student loan debt is around $10k
• The average student loan debt for a degree is around $40k
Length of the program
• Trade school degree programs: 2 years
• Bachelor programs: 4 years
The Economic Policy Institute recently released a report stating college graduates under the age of 25 are showing an 8.5% unemployment rate and a 16.8% underemployment rate, nearly double what they were in 2007 — and the projected growth will be an additional 5% increase by the end of 2020. A college degree is a career investment requiring a considerable amount of time and money, but a
large portion of students are unable to find desirable employment upon graduation. They are also seeing negative returns on their investment, in part because the vast array of student loan options makes it challenging to make the right decision.
TIP: This is where a financial counselor can be most useful in helping to navigate the choices in an objective manner.
In some instances, those serving in the National Guard or reserves look to obtain a degree to pursue a commissioning, without considering life after the military obligation ends. Some choose specific fields that align with their future, but others choose the online program that offers the most credits to get the degree done in the shortest time. Then once it’s time to separate from service, service members will struggle with the transition and
eventually end up frustrated with the entire process. My advice would be to look into your future and try to imagine where you want to work and the types of roles you would be interested in. Map out a plan or two, and develop a clear path on how to achieve your objectives.
Why is that? While having a degree will ultimately trend towards a higher earnings potential, this is not always the case. Choosing the more non-traditional route of a trades school can sometimes offer significant dividends a lot sooner with a higher profit margin.
Career colleges, technical schools, trade schools and vocational schools are all essentially the same thing; these terms can be used interchangeably. These schools teach skills and abilities that are directly related to specific jobs, whereas traditional colleges tend to offer broader and more general education programs. Realistically, the trade schools are preparing you for a specific career in a shorter period of time.
While going to college is a great experience, what you do with that degree is up to you. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce found that in 2020, there will be 24 million job openings from newly-created jobs and 31 million openings due to baby boomer retirements. Thirty-five percent of these jobs will require a bachelor’s degree, while 36% will only require a high school diploma. Moving up the ladder in a company will require a higher education level, but not everyone is meant for the corporate world. One of the hardest things to do is to project where your career will ultimately end up in.
1. Do some research on the career fields you are interested in and find out the most affordable
way to get to your end goal.
2. Reach out to your mentors that have made the transition and learn about their triumphs and mistakes.
3. Search for people on LinkedIn that are in roles you want to be in; those professionals have a demonstrated path showing how they moved up in a company, or how they transitioned through their careers.
Take advantage of what the military offers for continuing education, but also lean on the experts in education and employment who can assist you in maximizing career results with informed decisions.
By Crystal Kupper
Hurricane Maria stunned the world in mid-September 2017. Puerto Rico’s once pristine beaches became littered with snapped palm trees and debris. Entire neighborhoods were wiped out by 155-miles-per-hour winds and unhinged rivers of dirty, dangerous floodwaters. Families were tightly perched on roofs, awaiting rescue.
Directly on the harsh heels of Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria roared across the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and into the record books, becoming the worst natural disaster to ever hit the island. According to Puerto Rican government reports, nearly 3,000 residents perished. The entire nation lost electricity for months. And the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration pegs losses totaled a staggering $91 billion.
Puerto Rico’s National Guard units responded swiftly, playing a key role in the immediate aftermath. But Guard members are not just first responders; they are rebuilders and future-proofers, too.
The last two years have given ample opportunity to prove that their professionalism, preparation and passion for Puerto Rico are even mightier than any Category 5 storm.
Maj. Gen. Jose Reyes was PRNG’s brigadier general, assistant adjutant
general and director of joint staff when Maria hit. Given the country’s location, a hurricane’s arrival was nothing new. Maria, however, was like no other, shocking nearly everyone with its ferocity.
Reyes and his crew got to work rescuing citizens and pets. Beyond the immediate saving of lives, the PRNG eventually distributed more than 90 million bottles of water and 26 million individual meals, as well as clearing wreckage from nearly 200 miles of road.
“We were very lucky; no [Guard member] was seriously injured. Considering the magnitude of relief efforts and inherent danger involved, we were very fortunate,” Reyes said. “I attribute this to the good order and discipline of our service members.”
Among those members is Staff Sgt. Indhira Duprey-Vidal from the 783rd Support Maintenance Unit in Toa Baja. In charge of operational planning procedures and execution, Duprey-Vidal was at home hosting fellow guardsmen when Maria
arrived. The next day, the trio ventured out on what would become a 26-hour rescue mission, saving more than 300 islanders including pregnant mothers, children, the bedridden and pets.
“There are no words that can describe this scenario — our fears, emotions and concerns when we arrived,” Duprey-Vidal said. “It was a really impressive scene. The type you only see in an ‘end-of-theworld’ type of movie. Everything was pitch black! Power lines were down everywhere!”
Guardsmen conducted similar
Photo courtesy of Staff Sgt. Duprey-Vidal.spontaneous operations that night and next day, rescuing more than 3,500 residents from flooded or collapsed buildings and cars.
“The danger faced was unimaginable and without hesitation my soldiers performed heroically,” said DupreyVidal.
According to Reyes — who has since been promoted to Dual Status Commander of all Puerto Rican military forces, those heroics have only continued since Maria slammed the island.
“I cannot express the profound sense of pride I have for the men and women of the Puerto Rico National Guard – they are my heroes,” he said.
Yet even heroes can improve and grow, and that is exactly what the PRNG has done over the last two years. Given Caribbean hurricanes’ inevitability — especially in the era of climate change and its meteorological consequences — Reyes’ troops and airmen have instituted several significant changes to how they train for and respond to natural disasters.
At least 10% of each unit, for instance, will spend the night at the armory as a hurricane approaches; this way, instead of trying to corral guardsmen from their individual homes, at least 1,000 will be available immediately. The PRNG has divided the island into four zones, and will pre-deploy equipment and manning to each zone before a predicted major storm.
Reyes identified another needed improvement: equipment.
“Like many organizations, I believe
we became too dependent on our cell phones, and paid less attention to our communications equipment,” he said. “A more aggressive preventive maintenance plan is now in place and our military radios will now be installed prior to the passing of the storm, which again cuts down our response time.”
Additionally, Puerto Rico uniquely contains 78 municipalities with 78 separate governments. The Guard has been busy visiting each one to train their first responders in emergency management exercises, building relationships with officials and paving the way for smoother disaster coordination.
The obstacles are still everywhere, even two years later. There are power outages; many homes are roofless; more than 130,000 residents have fled the island permanently since Maria; local economies have not fully recovered on an island where census reports estimate that nearly half the population flirts with or lives below
the poverty line.
But to guardsmen like Duprey-Vidal, their homeland is worth it.
“Hurricane Maria destroyed a lot of infrastructure of our beautiful island,” she said, “but as strong-willed [as] we Puerto Ricans are, we never put our hopes down, and together we have rebuilt little by little.”
Similarly, Reyes recounts watching an elderly woman clear branches from a road with her machete. He was so touched that he stopped his Humvee to hug and thank her.
“In the days and weeks that followed the storm, although the living conditions were very tough, I saw an island that was much more unified than ever,” he said. “Everyone gave one 100% and equally helped one another. It made me feel very proud to be a Puerto Rican.”
Two years later — unlike the destructive Maria — that pride and positivity are still present, and their redeeming forces are growing ever-stronger.
When Grace Nichols’ teenaged son was finishing his junior year of high school in Oregon, he only had a freshman’s worth of credit. There was little hope of him graduating. Then he and his family heard of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program in their state and their hope was renewed. Nichols’ son not only completed the program, but he thrived in it. He even earned a scholarship from YC to attend a local junior college.
“After the five-month program, our son was confident, respectful, clear minded and more mature,” Nichols said. “My family also had more hope. He saw that he could change his life if he wanted to and worked hard.”
Since the inception of YC more than 25 years ago, it has graduated more than 170,000 graduates in 39 programs throughout the country. The voluntary 17.5-month program is designed to intervene and assist 16- to 18-yearold high school dropouts and at-risk students reclaim their lives by teaching educational and life skills components.
After a two-week acclimation phase to allow cadets the opportunity to learn how to live and operate in the quasimilitary environment, they transition
into the five-month residential program focused on teaching the eight core components of YC, which include academic excellence, employment skills, community service and health wellness.
During this time, they are also matched with an adult volunteer mentor from their hometown. The central focus for that relationship is the Cadet Achievement Plan or Post Residential Action Plan. This all leads to success in their placement performance during the final phase. The 12-month post-residential phase is when they return to their hometown, or wherever they are going, to pursue the goals they’ve set for themselves with the council of that mentor.
Since 2015, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Allyson Solomon has been at the helm of the National Guard Youth Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates and supports YC.
“There is no denying that people with a high school diploma make more money in their lifetime and have a better quality of life,” Solomon said. “The ChalleNGe program is dedicated to positively influencing one cadet at a time by investing in their future success. By educating, training,
mentoring to create productive, lawabiding, employed citizens.”
Louisiana has the largest YC in the country, graduating yearly about 15% of all YC graduates nationwide. The Louisiana Department of Education designated YC as an alternative program for Course Choice and Credit Recovery, allowing students to work towards a high school diploma. In 2018, graduates successfully earned college credit and technical certifications through partnerships between YC and local community colleges.
But it’s about more than academics. Retired Army Col. Michael Borrel, director of Educational Programs in the Louisiana National Guard, believes the program is important for multiple reasons, but especially for providing cadets with a secure environment.
“For many of our cadets, when they come to us, it is the first time they feel safe. They go to bed knowing no one is going to mess with them,” Borrel said. “They are getting a good night sleep, eating well, exercising and that all positively impacts their academics and life. This program is making a real difference for kids.”
Amy Steinhilber, director of the Washington Youth Academy in Bremerton, Washington, recently welcomed 161 cadets to campus on July 20, 2019.
“It’s about making structure out of chaos,” she said. “Our cadets have made mistakes; many have dealt
with a myriad of life’s adversities at a young age. But this is a voluntary program and kids thrive in good peer pressure environments. We surround them with caring professional staff members, build their resilience and create a safe environment for them to gain confidence.”
Steinhilber cites the program’s success in its rising number of applicants and hopes to start a second program in Washington.
“Cadets are building a toolbox for life. It’s about character building, but it is also about catching up with school credit, which is the carrot that gets them here,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking to have to turn kids away because we just don’t have the bed space.”
When Nichols and her family moved from Oregon to Nevada, she was dismayed to learn the program that was so influential for her son was not available to other kids like him in her new home state. She teamed up with Heather Goulding, who’d she worked with on other projects, and the two became co-chairs of the Coalition for the Nevada National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program.
“Neither of us had any experience with the legislature, military,
education, rural Nevada — where the facility was already built — Clark County — where the majority of our state population lives — state or military or federal budgets. We knew three of the 63 legislators. Sounds like a dream team, eh?” Nichols said. “But we were because we had hustle and passion for getting this bill passed.”
The Nevada governor signed the bill
into law in 2019 and the first Nevada YC cadets are slated to arrive in January 2021.
“Heather and I plan to be there on the first day of the first class, to welcome the students and their families,” Nichols said. “Of course, we’ll be there at the graduations too, probably crying with everyone, swimming in all that beautiful hope filling the room.”
Your oral health plays a big role in your quality of life. Regular dental care is critical to your overall health and shouldn’t cost you anything. That’s why preventive care 100% covered under the Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) from Delta Dental.
Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare and eligible CHAMPVA beneficiaries can choose from three Delta Dental VADIP plan options to meet your needs and get access to our large network of dentists nationwide. Enroll at any time during the year. Visit deltadentalins.com/vadip and take charge of your oral health today!
Delta Dental’s Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Program (VADIP) is administered by the Federal Government Programs division of Delta Dental of California through its subsidiary Delta Dental Insurance Company (DDIC).Home ownership is often considered to be part of the American Dream. Thankfully, achieving this dream can be easier for many veterans if they use a VA loan to buy their house.
The VA Home Loan Guaranty Program was created shortly after World War II to help returning veterans buy a home. In short, the program makes it easier for
By Ryan Guinaqualifying veterans to buy a home by guaranteeing a portion of the loan value. This reduces the lender’s risk and makes them more willing to extend loans.
VA home loans have other benefits. In general, it can be easier to qualify for a VA loan than a similar traditional mortgage. The VA does not have a minimum credit score requirement, though most lenders
do require a credit score of 620 or higher. VA loans also allow homebuyers to finance 100% of the mortgage, including closing costs, origination fees, and funding fees. VA loans do not require buyers to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance, a costly insurance program most lenders require when buyers put down less than 20% of the sale price.
Most conventional mortgages, however, require buyers to put down at least 5% - 10% of the purchase price, along with buying the aforementioned PMI policy, which can cost several hundred dollars per month.
Lastly, VA loans often have slightly lower interest rates than a comparable conventional mortgage — assuming similar loan terms, credit scores, and other factors — making the loans more affordable.
There aren’t many disadvantages to using a VA loan either. However, one notable downside is the VA Loan Funding Fee , which can add several percentage points to the cost of your loan. The VA waives this fee if you have a service-connected disability rating.
In general, you may be eligible to use the VA loan program if:
You served at least 90 consecutive days on active duty during wartime.
You served at least 181 consecutive days on active duty during peacetime.
You have completed six years or more “Good Years” in the Guard or reserves
You are the un-remarried surviving spouse of a service member who died on active duty or from injuries sustained in the line of duty.
Being “eligible” for a VA loan is not
the same as “qualifying” for the loan. The first simply means you are eligible to use the benefit. However, you must still meet the lender’s financial qualifications before loan approval.
This means the authorized VA lender will review your credit score, income, debt to income ratio, and other factors to ensure you can qualify for the mortgage.
Buying a house with a VA loan is similar to buying a house with a conventional mortgage. However, there may be a little more paperwork and there are some restrictions on the types of properties you can purchase.
To begin with, you will need to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). You can apply online through the VA’s eBenefits portal , by mail through the VA , or have your lender request it on your behalf.
I have used the VA loan to purchase two homes. In both cases, I had my lender request the certificate, but if you choose a lender that doesn’t process many VA loans, you may consider doing this yourself.
The VA also limits which types of homes you can purchase. A home purchased with a VA loan must be used as your primary residence, leaving vacation homes, investment properties, and undeveloped land out. You can, however, buy a multi-family property of up to four units if you intend to live in one of the units. You can also buy an
undeveloped lot if it is part of a VA Construction Home Loan and the land will be developed as part of the home purchase.
There are some additional limitations regarding manufactured homes, condos, mobile homes, and some other types of homes. I recommend visiting the VA website for more information if you are interested in buying those types of properties.
Most lenders can process a VA loan, but some have more experience than others. I recommend getting at least five rate quotes when buying a home. You can do this by visiting the bank’s website or by calling their home loan unit.
Keep in mind interest rates will vary based on many factors, including market conditions, home price, location, your credit score, your income, your debt to income ratio, cost of origination fees, points on the loan, and other factors. So, it’s a good idea to compare quotes from several lenders.
I’m a bit of a money nerd, so for my last loan, I created a spreadsheet to track the interest rates, closing costs, cost of points, and other factors when I was comparing lenders. The setup process took about 10 minutes. Then I spent the next hour making phone calls. Two lenders tied for the lowest interest rate and loan origination fees. I chose the one that had a great reputation in the military community.
It’s also a good idea to compare the cost of a VA loan to a traditional mortgage. For many veterans, the VA loan will be the better option, but in some cases, a conventional mortgage may cost less. It pays to compare!
By Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Gowen
With General Orders 2018-10, then-Secretary of the Army, Dr. Mark Esper, created the Army Futures Command — a command designated with the overall responsibility to lead the Army’s future force modernization enterprise. Under that order, Esper charged AFC to gauge emerging threats, assess new technologies, and develop the future operational environment to deliver concepts, requirements, and force designs that will drive modernization solutions. Driven by the Army’s failure to anticipate threats by potential peer-state adversaries and by the alarming rate of overmatch erosion due in part to the sloth-like speed of the existing modernization enterprise, the secretary made the bold decision to bet the future
on a renovated modernization process and on the most significant structural change to the Army organization since 1973.
As the first AFC commander, Gen. John “Mike” Murray has set out to create a New Culture of Innovation. Under an integrated and iterative framework for discovery, invention, and innovation, Murray is creating a culture that unifies talent, capabilities, and infrastructure across the future force modernization enterprise that will strategically and effectively develop and deliver the Army of the next generation.
In the existing model, the talents, capabilities, and infrastructure involved in the modernization processes are resident within
traditional defense contractors and within the Army’s established requirements, acquisition, science and technology, test and evaluation, and logistics organizations. Under the new AFC concept, Murray plans to expand this team to include small businesses, startups, public/private partnerships, and universities in order to deliver solutions at the speed of relevance. Perhaps there exists yet another pool of talent that can significantly improve our modernization enterprise and enable AFC’s success hidden in plain sight.
Traditional reserve component Soldiers who work as civilians in technology development businesses have the right combination of high-tech skills and operational experience to
become a force multiplier for the AFC-led modernization enterprise. Traditional reservists are members of the National Guard or Army Reserve who maintain full-time careers in the private sector and part-time careers as Soldiers. Many of these reservists have civilian careers that are in some ways associated with their military careers, such that their operational experience enhances their effectiveness in their civilian careers and vice versa. We know, for example, that being an Army aviator and an airline pilot are mutually beneficial. Similarly, a cyber warrior who is also a civilian software engineer or a sheriff’s deputy who may also be a Soldier in the military police are able to apply the benefits of overlapping training and education to both of their roles as a civilian and as a Soldier.
But there are also careers in the civilian sector that Soldiers maintain that may be of special value to AFC’s vision of the modernization enterprise. For example, a Soldier in her civilian job may design computer games, be a venture capitalist, be an aerospace engineer, work in a materials laboratory, or create modern transportation and distribution systems. Soldiers with these types of skills, who have for years been developing technology in their civilian careers and simultaneously gaining operational experience in their reserve component career, could add unique expertise and provide a decisive advantage to the Army Futures Command.
Reserve component Soldiers with careers that are complimentary to the modernization process should be identified and invited to augment the active component modernization workforce. If we were to canvas our reserve component formations, we would be sure to find that there are Soldiers with
15-to-20 or more years of experience in some of the types of jobs that would give us the knowledge base that we lack in our own acquisition formations. With 15 years or more years of experience as scientists, engineers, programmers, strategists, analysts, financiers, or other relevant high-tech and developmental competencies, reservists could not only bring the skills that are in high-demand to Army’s modernization enterprise, but they bring their combined operational experience as well. These Soldiers could perfectly augment the active component, bringing up-to-date best practices and working knowledge of their field of expertise to the Army’s modernization enterprise.
In addition, augmenting the future force modernization enterprise with reserve component Soldiers brings the National Guard and Reserve perspectives to the development of operating concepts and material solutions. Nobody understands the National Guard domestic operation mission requirements as well as a National Guard Soldier who has personally participated in dozens of domestic operation events. When augmented with National Guard Soldiers, AFC and the acquisition workforce would ensure that domestic operations are properly accounted for in the development of mission critical systems.
The same is true when it comes to the inherent time limitations of the reserve components. Only a reservist fully understands the impact of their time available to train or maintain. With reserve component Soldiers on the modernization team, there is a better chance of properly identifying requirements that account for the reduced amount of time available for training, maintenance, and overall readiness that reserve components experience. These factors are important when designing new, complex systems that require extensive amounts of time to maintain or train upon in order to gain necessary proficiency.
In order to utilize reservists in the modernization enterprise, we must first improve the way in which we reach out, identify, and utilize these Soldiers. Within the reserves, we need to improve our talent management systems such that we can identify the Soldiers with the proper civilian skills, reach out to them to invite them to join the modernization team, and have the positions and resources in place to utilize them.
There’s a lot at stake in this process to build this new culture of innovation. We have overlooked this special capability of the National Guard and Reserve for too long. It is time for us to utilize the Total Army in the future force modernization enterprise.
The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Army War College is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
