2023 RNG SECOND QUARTER

LITTLE-KNOWN BENEFITS FOR RESERVE COMPONENT

LOOKING BACK ON IRAQ

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Joseph LaFave

The U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003 set off what would become one of the most influential and controversial war movements of my lifetime.

I remember the tension and hostility in the news. The claims of weapons of mass destruction. The opposition.

But that’s just the surface. What’s beneath – and always has been – is the hundreds of thousands of service members who deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The faces behind the story. The human emotion behind the war.

And that’s what I hoped to capture with our cover story, written by Joseph LaFave, and the photo spread on the pages that follow. I

first learned of Stacy Pearsall and her Veterans Portrait Project in 2017 while working for a different military publication. The images were profound. And they hold up years later, showing the diversity of the force and the pride, pain and power that encompasses those who served.

Take a few moments to remember the sacrifices of those who didn’t make it back – and those who did – as you absorb the emotions that jump off the pages thanks to Stacy’s photography.

Until next time,

KARI WILLIAMS Associate Editor

@reservenationalguard

AmeriForce Media, LLC

304 Kirkwood Avenue, Suite 100 Bloomington, IN 47404

https://ameriforcemedia.com

Marisa Palmieri Shugrue Printed in the United States.

Soldiers from the 155th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi Army National Guard pause for a moment of silence.

Photo by 2nd Lt. William Hill II.

by Joseph LaFave by Marisa Palmieri Shugrue

Kari Williams

Carlos Narvaiz served in the Marine Corps, Army and Air Force over the course of his career, which ran from Feb. 1, 1984, to May 31, 2013.

Photo by Stacy Pearsall/ Veterans Portrait Project

AN ARIZONA ACTIVATION

DEPLOYMENTS

Middle East missions

• More than 30 soldiers from the Maine National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation (Air Assault) are currently deployed to U.S. Central Command to provide air support for operations Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield. The soldiers departed in February and are expected to be deployed for about one year. The 3-142 also includes service members from the Connecticut Army National Guard.

• Massachusetts National Guard soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment, will serve across several Middle East locations to support Operation Inherent Resolve.

• Nearly 200 Illinois Army National Guard soldiers from the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment, and Company B, 935th Aviation Support Battalion, have mobilized for a USCENTCOM mission. Soldiers will provide aviation support.

An activation ceremony was held in February at Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix for the Arizona National Guard’s 48th Ordnance Group. The unit focuses on eliminating and reducing chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive hazards. Soldiers in the ordnance group partnered with state and federal agencies to support safety measures during Super Bowl LVII.

‘Be All You Can Be’– again – in the Army

The Army has brought back its old recruiting mantra – Be All You Can Be – for a new generation.

“At a time when political, economic and social factors are changing how young Americans view the world, the new Army brand illustrates how service in the Army is grounded in passion and purpose,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth

at a launch event held at the National Press Club. “Serving our nation is a calling, and one that is fundamentally hopeful. We want a new generation of Americans to see the Army as a pathway to the lives and careers they want to achieve.”

This marks the first time in more than two decades that the Army has introduced a rebrand, according to a news release.

• More than 200 soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard’s 730th Composite Supply Company are on a nine-month deployment that began in Kuwait and will require teams to splinter off throughout the Middle East to support forward deployed units.

Southwest Asia mission

Guardsmen from several Arkansas National Guard units of the 2-153 Infantry Battalion, 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, deployed in February to Southwest Asia for a nine-month rotation in support of Operation Spartan Shield. The soldiers are providing convoy and base security.

TAPS

• Two Tennessee National Guardsmen died in February when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training flight in Alabama. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Danny Randolph, of Murfreesboro, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Daniel Wadham, of Joelton, were assigned to A Company, 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 230th Aviation Regiment in Nashville, Tennessee.

• Oklahoma National Guardsman Spc. Jaykob R. Pruitt, 19, died following the 2-mile run section of the Army Combat Fitness Test. He was a cavalry scout with the state Guard’s 1st Squadron, 180th Cavalry Regiment.

• Spc. Laau J. Laulusa, 21, was found dead in March in a burned car. She was a supply specialist for the Hawaii National Guard’s 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Phoenix Police Department Bomb Squad Commander Sgt. Jason Jahnke presents Arizona Army National Guard Lt. Col. Nathaniel Panka, commander of the 48th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, a plaque in recognition of the 48th EOD Group’s activation.

Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brian A. Barbour

Photo by Sgt. Jacob Wachob

Norway, Minnesota cement partnership

The Minnesota National Guard and Norway officials signed an official State Partnership Program agreement on Feb. 15, 2023, in Trondheim, Norway. The relationship has existed for a half-century through the U.S.-Norwegian Reciprocal Troop Exchange. A letter of intent ceremony was held in early February.

ESGR Freedom Award finalists

Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve recently announced finalists for the 2023 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Nearly 1,900 employers were nominated across the continental U.S., Guam-CNMI, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. Scan the QR code for full list of winners.

“The reserve component helps us tap into, and benefit, from a wide pool of talent. We need that more and more these days because our strategic competitors … are increasingly and deliberately seeking to erode our advantages. It is our imperative to ensure that the entire department is best-positioned to deter and prevail in conflict. And that requires combat-credible forces, and we have every intention of making sure that our reserve component is as combat-credible as our active component.”

– Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks, speaking at the Reserve Forces Policy Board Meeting in February

Reserve Health Readiness Program

The Reserve Health Readiness Program (RHRP) has new contact information, according to the Defense Health Agency.

Service members can schedule services through the new call center at 1-833-782RHRP (7477) or online at https://smp.qtcm. com. Registration is required.

The RHRP offers medical and dental services to the reserve component and “some TRICARE Prime Remote service members in geographically remote areas,” according to a news release.

For more information, visit https://www.health. mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/ Reserve-Health-Readiness-Program

Coast Guard JROTC expands per NDAA

The Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps will have four additional units beginning with the 2023-24 school year, as the branch works to establish units in all Coast Guard districts by the end of 2025. Saraland High School in Saraland, Alabama; Aspira Business and Finance High School in Chicago; Clinton High School in Clinton, Mississippi; and Mission Bay High School in San Diego, will house the units.

Applications had more than doubled in the past year, according to a Coast Guard news release.

Maintaining units in all Coast Guard districts was a directive of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. With this expansion, the Coast Guard will have units in Districts, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11.

New mental health, wellness center

A New Jersey Fighter Wing recently opened a Mental Health and Wellness Center. The facility at the 177th Fighter Wing is intended to help with retention and resource management for airmen during unit training assemblies. Services are available for pre-deployment preparation and stress management, among other support needs.

Army Sgt. Nicholas Jepsen and Army Spc. Victoria Fatukasi, vocalists with the 39th Army Band, New Hampshire Army National Guard, perform in February during the Ilopango Airshow outside of San Salvador, El Salvador. Photo by Army Spc. Kelly Boyer

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders

CONTINUES FOCUS ON

NEW ESGR DIRECTOR RECRUITING, RETENTION

BY KARI WILLIAMS

Recruiting and retention will remain at the forefront of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, according to its new executive director.

“I think that the same can be said about [all of] the services … they are having trouble with recruiting and somewhat with retention as well,” said Navy Capt. Johnathan Townsend, who began his role on Feb. 1. “I think that as a resource to those folks, I think as an indirect mission we can have an impact on recruiting.”

An August 2022 Department of Defense news release reported that each component of the reserve forces missed its recruiting goals, with the exception of the Marine Corps Reserve.

The Army National Guard’s goal, for example, was 35,475, but attained only 23,064, while the Army Reserve goal was 13,214, but attained only 8,179.

When it comes to service members transitioning from active duty, Townsend said they are doing so for a reason.

“And it’s to find the work-life balance and because they’re ready to move on to the civilian workforce, hopefully benefiting from their time in the military,” he said. “To the extent we can offer them education and reassurance that if they join the reserve component in transition, we’ll be there to support them.”

That support includes ensuring ESGR’s volunteer network “stays strong.” Townsend said the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges because of shifting to a virtual model.

“In person, face-to-face is the best way to do that … [Our volunteers] got through COVID like we all did, and I think highest priority needs to be given to recruiting and strengthening the volunteer network,” he said.

Still, the current volunteer network has exceeded his expectations in terms of the strength and value it adds to national security.

“My background is – they are working all week in whatever capacity they work as civilians and they immediately proceed to their drill site, put on the uniform and go right to work in uniform,” said Townsend, who was commissioned in 1995 through the U.S. Naval Academy. “I always understood that piece of it. I always understood the value of the support network that exists in the way of veteran organizations, all of the civilian organizations that support the military mission.”

It’s critical, according to Townsend, that the reserve component understand ESGR’s ombudsmen services and its call center. Rather than doing independent research, if reserve component members are stressed about the likelihood they’ll be mobilized, they can use these services, he said.

“[It’s important they] know that there’s somebody just a quick phone call away,” he said.

One of the most daunting scenarios, according to Townsend, is involuntary mobilization.

“We are still in a declaration of national emergency … [and involuntary mobilization] is still being used by the service chiefs,” he said.

Townsend is a Navy TAR (Training & Administration of the Reserve) and previously provided direct support to the chief of Navy Reserve. He said he values ESGR’s mission and as he nears the end of his career, joining ESGR was also a good networking opportunity.

Speaking to Reserve + National Guard Magazine in late February, Townsend said his experience thus far with ESGR has been exactly what he expected and hoped it would be.

“[We have a] relatively small staff here in D.C., which I think is good,” Townsend said. “Everybody has to own their portfolio and is empowered to do what their individual roles are on the staff here.”

Townsend’s Navy career took him, for a time, to Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, where he said he was “overwhelmed” with the amount of support the base received.

“It’s the exact same thing with ESGR,” he said. “These folks are typically headquartered, their volunteer offices … [are] associated with one of the military installations across the entire country. So I think that experience working with those folks and trying to answer the call for what they were trying to do … lended itself well to what we do at ESGR.”

For more information or to request support from ESGR, visit https://www.esgr.mil/

RESERVE COMPONENT ADVOCATES FOR VETERANS

BY AMERIFORCE STAFF

At the height of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as many as half the U.S. service members deployed at a given time were drawn from National Guard or reserve forces. So naturally, when Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) launched this year’s All-Star Advocacy Fly-In on Capitol Hill, it included several reserve component veterans.

With more than 425,000 members, IAVA is the nation’s leading veterans service organization that focuses on post-9/11 conflicts. Its annual Fly-In event brings about 20 IAVA members to Washington, D.C., for a week of lawmaker staff engagements, advocacy training and congressional hearings. One of those members, Natalie Lupiani, was eager to engage policymakers about issues impacting women veterans.

“The cultural issue of really recognizing women veterans is an important and meaningful start,” said Lupiani, an Air Guard veteran who now works as a pollster and strategic consultant. “I know how much words really do matter.

Updating the VA’s motto to make it more inclusive is a very important first step in changing perceptions and the culture.”

Lupiani’s views are in line with IAVA’s #SheWhoBorneTheBattle campaign, an effort to bridge the gaps for women veterans’ health care and change the VA’s motto, which includes “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” The motto, IAVA maintains, only furthers the perception that VA health care – and the wider veteran community – is a male-dominated space.

“The VA needs to do quite a bit more to ensure women veterans can rely on them for their health care, just as male veterans have for decades,” Lupiani said.

In mid-March, VA announced it would make its motto more gender inclusive.

Lupiani’s passion for modernizing the VA and advocating for female veterans mirrors two of

IAVA’s “Big 6” priorities. The others include addressing toxic exposure related to burn pits, strengthening education benefits, advancing alternative therapies, and combating the veteran suicide crisis.

“The most important issue for me is veteran suicide,” said Joseph Somosky, an Army Guard veteran who participated in this year’s Fly-In. “It’s a very personal issue for me because three of my soldiers took their lives.”

Somosky, who works in law enforcement in Colorado, said suicide prevention should be rooted in connecting veterans with resources, whether through VA, VSOs, or community health agencies. VA studies indicate that when veterans experiencing suicidal ideations receive mental health care, the rate of acting on suicidal thoughts plummets compared to those who don’t access care.

For more information, or to learn more about IAVA’s priorities, visit https://iava.org/big-6-priorities/

A WAR THAT DEFINED THE NATIONAL GUARD

Service members reflect on their contributions to the 2003 invasion of Iraq

BY JOSEPH LAFAVE PHOTOS COURTESY TRACY GRAVES

Then-2nd Lt. Tracy Graves found herself leading a platoon of semi-trucks in Iraq during that first sweltering summer of 2003 without comprehending how, exactly, she had gotten there.

The masters-level mental health counselor was in her mid-20s and looking for a way to pay off her student loans.

She’s always had second jobs, and in 2000 she enlisted as a truck driver in the South Dakota National Guard.

But soon after enlisting, the nation went to war.

First in Afghanistan after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Then in February 2003, just when Graves was finishing her transportation officer training and planning her return to civilian life in South Dakota, she got a call from her adjutant general.

“He said they were all out of second lieutenants,” she said with a laugh, thinking back to that time two decades ago.

TAG was pulling her out of school early and giving her command of a transportation pla-

toon in the 1742nd Transportation Company.

Once again, the United States was going to war in Iraq.

It’s a war that defined who the National Guard is today. Operation Iraqi Freedom and other follow-on campaigns in the Middle East/ North Africa (MENA) region have forced the National Guard to evolve from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve. No longer was the Guard on standby, for this campaign they would be part of the initial phase.

Graves was one of almost 10,000 National Guardsmen called to active service to support Operation Iraqi Freedom during March 2003.

And from her “foxhole” as platoon leader of tractor trailers tasked with delivering vital supplies to forward-deployed units, Graves saw most of the combat theater and worked with dozens of units from active and reserve components.

Now a lieutenant colonel studying at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, Graves has finally had a few years to put her first –and only – combat deployment in perspective.

Escalating threats

As a company of semi-trucks, the 1742nd hauled supplies from Kuwait into Iraq, then set up permanently at what was then called Logistical Support Area Anaconda. From there, Graves and her convoy of 20-30 semi-trucks would travel for eight to 10 days at a time, bringing much needed supplies to units in combat.

“Initially, the logistics were a disaster and there were no capabilities to haul the units what they needed,” Graves said. “The active-duty combat units had no haul assets, so units would beg us, beg us, to haul for them.”

From forward operating base to forward operating base, Graves led semi-trucks through the desert. At times, the convoy stretched for 2 or 3 miles. And no one had a map.

“We were going up to other units and asking ‘Hey have you been to this FOB yet and how do you get there?’” Graves said. “It’s like ‘Oh you’re going to Mosul?’ Go north 200 miles until you see a burnt tree and make a right.’”

As summer bled into fall, Graves had a front row seat to escalating violence as insurgencies began to take root and grow across the country.

“Every single month until we left, the threat escalated,” she said. “There were more incidents, more attacks. Every single month it got worse and worse and worse.”

Enemy attacks against coalition forces on the highways usually consisted of small arms fire, rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attacks, and improvised explosive devices (IED).

RPGs and IEDs are the two things that Graves feared the most while she was on the road.

‘It gives me goosebumps’

Nothing that first year of the war escaped Graves and her soldiers. And the once-mental health counselor found herself leading men and women in combat as they completed more missions.

“I would put my truck drivers up against an infantry platoon any day of the week by the time we got out of that theater,” Graves said. “A little different role of course, but I would say we were pretty good tactically, and we were pretty good truck drivers.”

Looking back, Graves considers herself lucky.

“We did not lose a single soldier as a transportation company, but that is not true of everyone, that is absolutely not true of everyone else,” she said.

They had plenty of close calls, and elements of the 1742nd were present during some of the heaviest fighting, including the Battle of Fallujah. They were tasked with delivering blood to combat medical units operating near the frontline and were sent on a quick trip to the warzone in the middle of the night.

Some of the worst fighting occurred on their way home, while the unit was stuck in traffic near Baghdad on their way to Kuwait and that 19-hour flight home.

“It gives me goosebumps thinking about that whole day,” Graves said.

A truck in Graves’ convoy was hit with an RPG round and the driver was grievously wounded.

The wounded soldier’s co-driver – a nursing student in civilian life – quickly pulled the soldier out of the burning vehicle and began rendering first aid. The impromptu medic was joined by another soldier, also a nursing student, and together they secured the wounded and readied him for medevac.

“They saved more than one life on more than one occasion,” Graves said.

Becoming a career soldier

Although she initially struggled when she returned to South Dakota, Graves decided to stay in the Guard and become a career soldier.

Now, as a lieutenant colonel, she said her wartime experience made her “more confident” and helped move her career in the right direction.

In that regard, Graves is not unique to many guardsmen of that era.

Because so many National Guardsmen were activated during the first few weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom, there’s a good chance that the supplies Graves delivered were initially flown into Iraq by other National Guardsmen.

Several Air National Guard units were activated and served on a full-time basis with the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001.

When war came to Iraq, National Guardsmen were already deployed and working in the CENTCOM area of operations.

“Wartime made you feel a sense of accomplishment, seeing those airplanes take off and getting out on time and you know whatever supplies or cargo they were delivering were needed by the people who were fighting,” said Lt. David Miller, of the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 167th Airlift Wing.

At the time of the invasion, Miller was a junior enlisted airman responsible for maintaining the electrical systems of the C-130 Hercules. He had volunteered to deploy to support first the war in Afghanistan and then the war in Iraq after deciding he needed help paying for college.

From their tent city barracks on Oman’s Masirah Island, Miller and his fellow guardsmen from West Virginia, Texas and Georgia watched the invasion unfold in real time during trips to their make-shift morale area that had one of the base’s few televisions that was hooked up to the Armed Forces Network.

Miller said the team remained too busy to keep close tabs on the action in Iraq.

Still, there was no denying that the supplies being loaded into Miller’s aircraft were on their way to the battlefield.

“We felt like we’re doing our small piece,” he said.

Both Graves and Miller remain in the National Guard today, with Miller serving as a maintenance officer in the West Virginia Air Guard.

To new service members the war is history, Miller said. He and Graves are now the old hands in their units. They each said that their wartime service drastically changed their lives.

And they both said that they’d do it all over again if they could.

Thousands of Army and Air National Guardsmen played a role in the 2003 invasion of the Iraq War and the years that followed. More than 9,000 Army National Guard soldiers alone were mobilized in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater region in March 2003. Air Guard units from 27 states were activated as well.

RON OLIVER has served in the Air Force and Air National Guard as a pilot and air liaison officer since April 2010.

JAMES D. YOCKEY served in the Army and Marine Corps in infantry and artillery from July 1967 to July 2005.

CHRISTOPHER COREY O’BRIEN served as an Army staff sergeant, combat engineer and asphalt and concrete equipment operator from April 23, 1998, to April 23, 2007.

ARMY VETERAN TROY A. FLECK was a staff sergeant who served as an MP and combat engineer from August 1989 to November 2005.

SGT. JARED PERKINS served in the Army as a combat engineer from Feb. 12, 2002, to Aug. 10, 2010.

PHOTOS BY STACY PEARSALL, VETERANS PORTRAIT PROJECT

MARY C. GOETTER has served as a nurse scientist in the Air Force (Active, Guard & Reserve) since July 27, 1990, participating in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

SGT. ASHLEY CRANDALL served in the Army as a helicopter mechanic from June 26, 2001, to Jan. 12, 2012.

STAFF SGT. BRETT MILLER has served in the Army as a maintenance data systems analyst and in public affairs since Oct. 19, 2001.

SPC. CYNTHIA ATMAN served in the Army as an MP from May 29, 2000, to May 29, 2006.

STAFF SGT. ERIC C. WOODARDS served in the Army as a truck driver from August 1998 to September 2018.

CARLOS NARVAIZ served in the Marine Corps, Army and Air Force over the course of his career, which ran from Feb. 1, 1984, to May 31, 2013.

SGT. BELLA BENEFIELD served in the Army as a combat medic and health care NCO from Feb. 23, 1993, to April 1, 2015.

SGT. 1ST CLASS GAIL GARTNER served in the Army as an MP, in logisitics and as a career counselor from July 24, 1986, to Aug. 31, 2013.

SGT. KRISTY HINDS served in the Army in motor transport from June 1997 to September 2017.

MASTER SGT. JASON “MIGHTY MOUSE” LYDAY has served in the Army as a combat engineer sapper since June 14, 1996.

JARED SAWYER has served in the Air Force as master sergeant and in intel since Aug. 17, 1998.

ARMY VETERAN GERALD L. MILLER was a combat engineer who served from Nov. 2, 1979, to June 30, 2012.

SENIOR MASTER SGT. ELEONORE J. LAWSON served in the Air Force as a C-130 crew chief and air delivery rigger from April 20, 1974, to April 11, 2006.

STAFF SGT. SHARLEE “CHARLEY” WYATT SMITH served in the Army in the Adjutant General Corps and Signal Corps from Dec. 19, 1981, to May 31, 2006.

DANIEL HOF served in the Army (Active & National Guard) as a specialist, Army bridge crewman and combat engineer from April 30, 1998, to April 29, 2007.

AIR FORCE VETERAN DAN JONES served from Nov. 5, 1983, to Nov. 6, 2010.

SGT. ANNA MARIE WARD served in the Army in public affairs and as a photojournalist from June 22, 1999, to Oct. 21, 2015.

5 THINGS

BY MARISA PALMIERI SHUGRUE, NATIONAL GUARD SPOUSE

When we learned my husband’s Ohio Army National Guard unit would be deploying to the Middle East in September 2022 for a year in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, my mind kicked into planning mode.

We had been through three previous deployments. Each one presented new challenges.

We were unmarried for the first deployment in 2003-04. The separation was difficult, and communication was sparse back then. But I was a girlfriend, not a wife, so the administrative details of deployment didn’t fall on my plate.

We were married and expecting our first child by the second deployment in 2009. The pregnancy and birth of our daughter, Sadie, were top of mind then. By the third deployment in 2011-12, Sadie was a toddler and we had an infant, Paige. That year was a bit of a blur.

This time around, we have two middle schoolaged girls. Their well-being is our priority. With that in mind, I wanted all of us to feel as stable and prepared as possible for the yearlong deployment.

Here’s a list of things I’m glad we did before my husband left in September. While you can never eliminate all the uncertainty associated with deployment, doing these things upfront has given me peace of mind.

1. We made a financial plan. Before the deployment, we mapped out a plan for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2023 to the best of our ability. At the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program’s Soldier & Family Mobilization Brief, we connected with a personal financial counselor to discuss how to maximize Thrift Savings Plan contributions and ensure we’re benefiting from the Combat Zone Tax Exclu-

sions. We followed that up with a call to our tax adviser to make sure our plan made sense.

2. We updated our legal documents. We also connected with the unit’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer at the mobilization brief to discuss which legal documents we needed before deployment. We realized my husband’s will and living will hadn’t been updated since before we were married. I followed up with the officer after the event to complete the paperwork before my husband headed overseas. A JAG also can help you set up power-of-attorney documents if needed.

3. We made a family bucket list. When we told our daughters their dad would be leaving for a year, we tried to offset the difficult news with a talk about all the fun stuff we could do as a family before he left. We made plans to attend a Cleveland Guardians game, visit Cedar Point Amusement Park and go to the girls’ first Browns game. We also let each girl plan a special day with her dad.

In the meantime, we saved money and began loosely planning a trip to the unit’s mobilization site in the event they got a pass before heading overseas. They did, and we had an awesome five-day trip to El Paso, Texas. Some soldiers chose to go home during their pass, but for us it felt more special and relaxing to make a mini family vacation out of it.

4. We found a counselor for our children. We proactively established a relationship with a therapist early in the deployment. I found a local counselor covered by TRICARE, although other options are available through Military OneSource and the nonprofit Give an Hour. I feel reassured that my daughters are establishing a rapport with a mental health professional.

5. We sent our girls to military kids camp. A drawback of being in the National Guard is you’re not surrounded by a military community the same way as if you lived on a base. Our kids don’t have friends at school or in our town whose parents have been deployed.

That’s why we feel so lucky our girls have attended Ohio Military Kids events. We’ve gone to weekend family camp several times and had a blast doing outdoor activities like boating, horseback riding and ziplining with other military families.

And this past summer both girls attended Camp Kelley’s Island — a weeklong summer camp just for military-connected kids. They’ve stayed in touch with their bunkmates and they can’t wait to go back this summer.

I’m glad we did before my husband deployed

BASEBALL LEGEND TALKS MARINE ROOTS

BY CHRISTOPHER ADAMS

Dusty Baker is arguably the most successful MLB manager, but the former outfielder has earned a distinction many don’t know about.

In 2017, Baker, currently with the Houston Astros, became a member of the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame.

“One of the things that I’m most proud of all, is being in the Marine Corps Hall of Fame. And I just went down there and walked around, you know, for the day and reflected back on my life,” Baker said.

Baker has been inducted into the Bay Area Sports, Sacramento Sports, Riverside (California) Sports and National High School halls of fame. But he’s also proud of his military service.

“Some of my strength came from being raised in the church, and some of my strength came from being a Marine … I’m serious about that …. willing to work and not give up and keep fighting and fighting,” Baker told AmeriForce Media in an exclusive interview.

Baker joined the Marine Corps Reserve while playing with the Atlanta Braves in the 1960s and completed basic training at Parris Island.

“I took pride in trying to be the best at everything,” he said. “You know, I was expert in rifle and pistol, and I won the hand-to-hand combat with the other platoons.”

Baker credits the Marines with playing a role in his proudest accomplishment as a player. He was traded from the Braves to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the ‘75 season and suffered a knee injury playing basketball in the winter of 1976. And it showed during the season.

He finished 1976 with a mere four home runs, 39 RBIs and a .242 batting average.

He had a knee operation during the off-season and hit 30 home runs the following season, helping the Dodgers earn a trip to the playoffs. But that first season in Los Angeles tested the long-time MLB manager and California native.

The veteran of the big leagues also received a

well-rounded “education” while in the Marine Corps Reserve.

He served in 50-caliber Howitzer and MP units from Richmond, Virginia, to Sacramento, California, and even chauffeured around generals.

Though his experience in the Marines wasn’t perfect, he embraced the positive and processed the negative.

“It was a learning experience, taught me discipline, which I needed at the time,” he said.

Baker said serving his commitment and playing professional baseball had its trials, requiring him to jump right back into playing after missing days or weeks. But there were other disappointments too. Baker’s unquestionable commitment never materialized in a higher ranking. Coming out of boot camp, he was promoted to lance corporal but that’s where his rank remained.

However, Baker said the Marines taught him teamwork, probably more than any team sport ever did.

Should civilian and private employers provide

PAID MILITARY LEAVE?

BY NIKKI DAVIDSON, COAST GUARD SPOUSE

Several guardsmen and reservists who missed work due to military activations have launched a new mission – convince a jury that their employment rights are being violated.

They argue that employers break the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 if they offer paid leave for jury duty, vacations, bereavement or sickness but not for military activations. Multiple lawsuits are moving forward following success in the appeals process.

The class-action lawsuits were filed in the past few years amid increased activations. The National Guard Bureau reported that guardsmen and airmen logged more than 10.9 million days in 2020 while serving their communities as they responded to COVID-19, wildfires, civil disturbances and hurricanes. They served more than four times as many days as they did in 2019.

Reserve + National Guard Magazine

analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that while private and civilian employers are providing more paid leave overall since 2011, access to paid military leave has decreased.

Federal law dictates that while public employers must pay military leave to guardsmen and reservist employees, civilian and private companies are not required to do so. The result is a significant disparity in access to paid military leave in blue collar vs. white collar career fields.

Lawsuits aim for ‘equal benefits’

A class action claim filed by Casey Clarkson, an active member of the Washington Air National Guard and an Alaska Airlines pilot, argues that he and other pilots working for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Industries Inc.

Percent of Civilian Employees With Access to Paid Military Leave

lost seniority status and were denied regular wages while performing military service. The lawsuit claims the airlines violated USERRA because the companies paid full wages to non-military employees when they took comparable sick leave and jury leave.

The airlines responded that they are not required to pay employees who take military leave and don’t provide any rights or benefits to employees who take non-military leave that are not also provided to employees who take military leave.

In February, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals moved to send the case to a jury trial.

Jonathan Taylor, Clarkson’s attorney and

SOURCE: United States Department of Labor

principal for Gupta Wessler PLLC, said the financial impact of paid military leave for employers would be “modest,” as a small portion of the workforce serves in the Guard and reserves.

“If (employers) offered one or two weeks of sick leave, there should just be the same thing for paid military leave,” Taylor said. “All we’re trying to say is that companies can’t disadvantage military leave. If you’ve decided as an employer that you’ll pay people for three weeks to have a pina colada poolside in Cancun, you can pay people three weeks to go perform military service in defense of our nation.”

Taylor and his clients are eager to present the case to a jury for judgment.

These are the careers most and least likely to pay guardsmen and reservists leave while they’re activated for military service.

“In every case, the named plaintiffs are people who have lost compensation as a result,” Taylor said. “They’ve been financially harmed and want to be made whole – but that’s not their only interest in bringing these cases in. They believe deeply in this principle, and they’re fighting for that.”

What the data reveals

In an examination of BLS data, Reserve + National Guard Magazine discovered some occupations are more likely than others to offer paid military leave to their employees.

In the private sector, only 5% of employees working in leisure and hospitality have access to paid military leave, compared to 64% of employees who work in the credit information field.

In the civilian sector, 75% of guardsmen and reservists who work in public administration have access to paid military leave. In comparison, only 15% of those who work in construction, farming, fishing and forestry are offered the benefit.

While access to paid military leave has remained relatively steady for private sector jobs in finance and transportation, it’s significantly declined for careers in utilities, such as electrical power companies, natural gas distribution, water, sewage and other systems.

Types of Leave Offered By Civilian and Private Employers

Paid military leave remains common for civilian employees working for hospitals and universities but has significantly decreased for employees working in sales, goods production and natural resources.

Clarkson’s legal team must prove that military leave is comparable to time away for jury duty, sickness or vacation to succeed in court. Only time will tell if the legal battle will inspire some employers to re-evaluate their paid leave policies.

SOURCE: United States Department of Labor

“Some fairly large employers already provide somewhat generous military leave policies,” Taylor said. “Some of them are the result of litigation, and others just out of the goodness of their heart recognize the contributions that military employees make and try to provide an incentive for them to work there. It’s a pretty modest ask, and it is not just legally required but a moral imperative that connects to our national defense.”

HOW THE NATIONAL GUARD RESPONDS TO SEXUAL ASSAULT

BY KARI WILLIAMS

Having been targeted with unwanted advances in the past, Staff Sgt. Krista Nuite told her master sergeant that nobody should have sex with her while deployed to New Zealand in 2021. But it didn’t matter.

“I told him before the incident happened, nobody should have sex with me. Nobody should be coming after me. That should not happen,” the New York Air National Guardsman said. “And when I told him that it did happen, he was just more interested in playing with his phone.”

Nuite, who joined the Air National Guard in 2014, said she was raped during the February 2021 deployment and has also been the target of physical and verbal harassment throughout her career.

She has been told she was hired because she was “something to look at.” She received an unsolicited “d**k pic” from a Saudi Arabian pilot. And early in her career, she received an unwanted kiss from a fellow service member when he took a selfie with her.

“Hindsight is definitely 20/20,” Nuite said. “And therapy helps a lot with reflecting on a lot of different things, and there were issues from the very – almost the very start, I want to say.”

Meanwhile, Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Lewis joined the military after high school as a parachute rigger for the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) of the Utah Army National Guard.

Oftentimes, she was the only female in her unit.

“I had to experience a lot of hostile work environments,” Lewis said. “And I guess I would relate it to a construction worker-type environment, right? And for a long time, I felt like I had to become more rash and more – to be accepted into that culture I had to become something that I wasn’t.

“And I think at some point, I kind of got lost in that until I became a leader and females started to come into our section. And I was sexually assaulted by one of my leaders, and I was coerced at a really young age, and I had no idea.”

She reported the assault and said it “changed a lot within that work environment.” Following her report, Lewis said an investigation into the parachute rigging facility found the environment was “extremely hostile” and regulations weren’t being upheld.

The investigation also led to increased professionalism, a supervisor being fired and working in accordance with regulation, said Lewis, now a victim advocate coordinator in the Utah National Guard’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) program.

Lewis has been certified through DOD’s Sexual Assault Advocate Program since 2016 and with SAPR full-time for about three years.

Her story, and others like hers, is among those

that led to the military publicly taking a new, prevention-focused approach to sexual assault.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a September 2022 memo that the Department of Defense must do more “to counter the scourge of sexual assault and sexual harassment in our military.” The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military – which resulted in a “tiered implementation roadmap” – was established shortly thereafter.

National Guard data

The National Guard Bureau, according to the DOD’s “Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military,” provided subject-matter experts for “IRC-led working groups, as well as reviewed the Implementation Roadmap, provided input for each recommendation, and submitted information for resourcing.”

Still, the NGB portion of the DOD sexual assault report stated that:

- Reported assaults among guardsmen on Title 32 orders increased 11% – from 634 in FY20 to 704 in FY21.

- Reported assaults among guardsmen on Title 10 orders increased 43.28% – from 67 in FY20 to 96 in FY21.

Victim assistance and advocacy is noted as the second “line of effort” in the NGB report, which states that the Guard “identified manpower and resource shortfalls within the

and what’s being done to prevent it

National Guard SAPR program” and developed a strategy to meet requirements stated in the FY 2021 NDAA.

‘Freedom to speak’

Ashley Shelton, a sexual assault response coordinator for the Alaska Army National Guard, said a large part of her role is connecting guardsmen with community support.

“We make sure that if we have a guardsman who they’re not eligible for the active-duty resources because they weren’t in active duty at time of incident, we can still provide them resources,” said Shelton, DOD’s 2022 Liz Blanc Exceptional Sexual Assault Response Coordinator of the Year for the Guard.

One way Shelton helps survivors is with her therapy dogs, Nix and Eris.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to speak to another person about those traumatic experiences,” Shelton said, “but when you have the dog there, especially because they’re both bullmastiffs [and they] do that sit and lean thing … [survivors are] petting the dog and not really talking to me as a SARC. It’s more like they’re talking to the dog who’s nonjudgmental … It gives them that freedom to speak.”

Shelton previously served as a victim-advocate coordinator with the Louisiana Air National Guard’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention (SHARP) program from June 2013 until moving to Alaska. She first heard about SHARP during its initial roll out in 2006.

“I remember a time when we didn’t have a special victims council available,” said Shelton, who holds a master of arts in military psychology and is credentialed at a tier-two level for the DOD prevention workforce. “When that program came online, it was an absolutely amazing asset that was added to the program.”

The council, according to Shelton, allows victims to receive expert legal advice because advocates can’t provide that information. It launched in 2013 as an Air Force test program and was later established across the military.

‘A culture of disbelief’

Retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen, president of the national human rights organization Protect Our Defenders, prosecuted sex crimes while in the Air Force. He said his biggest takeaway from the military’s approach to sexual assault during his service was that there “was a culture that rallied around the accused.”

“I call it a culture of disbelief,” Christensen said. “[They were] much more likely to think the woman is lying to get back at the guy, or whatever reason they have, than accept that their friend or coworker [assaulted someone].”

Over the past eight years, Christensen said he has seen greater protections of mental health records and better ability for a victim to enforce privacy rights. And by the end of 2023, a “fundamental reform” that puts prosecutors, rather than commanders, in charge of prosecutorial decisions, will go into effect.

However, some military leaders dating back to 2013 told the Senate Armed Services Committee that commanders should retain that authority.

Amy Franck – a civilian victim advocate for the Department of the Army and a sexual assault response coordinator/program manager for two- and three-star Army Service Component Commands – founded Never Alone in 2020 following her second “official whistleblowing” on a two-star level command.

“I just really went in with a very Pollyanna-esque view, even as being a military victim myself,” said Franck, a teenage survivor as a military dependent. “But I expected that the officers and the non-commissioned officers, that they behaved like my dad and my uncles and my best friends’ dads, and when they didn’t, I was just really taken aback.”

She said she expected everyone to “act in accordance” with the military’s ethical standards.

“I think that the military is a very beloved institution in our country and the thought that men and women were being harmed and not helped really broke my heart,” Franck said. “And I think that we – I did a lot of good work within the military when I had the right kind of commanders.”

Wes Martin, an executive committee member for Never Alone, said one of the organizations biggest fights is for accountability.

“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is the lack of accountability is allowing the wrong people to go ahead and violate the good people,” he said.

Martin also noted rank disparity in assaults.

“When you think about it, some of these perpetrators that we’re looking at, they’re senior NCOs, they’re senior officers,” Martin said. “To a young, enlisted soldier, a senior NCO should be like either a father figure or a brother figure and not a predator.”

‘A completely different animal’ For those who report an assault and seek prosecution, the process in the Guard, according to Christensen, is a “completely different animal.”

Each National Guard unit, according to the NGB, is “subject to and governed by the laws of their respective states.”

“Those laws may include a state military code of justice as promulgated by their respective state legislative bodies,” the NGB said in an email to Reserve + National Guard Magazine. “Some states have adopted the articles of the federal Uniform Code of Military Justice into their state statutes, either in whole or in part. Other states may not have a military code that applies specifically to National Guardsmen and, instead, use the state criminal code applicable to anyone that commits a crime or applicable misconduct in that particular state.”

Guardsmen serving on active duty on Title 10 orders “are subject to and can be prosecuted pursuant to the provisions of the federal Uniform Code of Military Justice for any misconduct that takes place while on Title 10 orders,” the NGB stated. Those on Title 32 that “commit misconduct while in that status” are subject to respective state codes of military justice “or other applicable state statutes.”

“Prosecution of Guardsmen in a Title 32 duty status falls under the jurisdiction of, and is subject to, state and/or local civilian authorities, or, if applicable, the military authorities via the state military code,” the NGB stated.

Nuite, the Air National Guardsman from New York, said she had issues with someone who was called in from another base while working as a technician stateside. The man – a rank higher than Nuite – was not completing jobs to the required specs and, according to Nuite, was “being very aggressive” toward her.

So she took her concerns to her supervisor.

“I was told that he was probably acting that way because I was a young and attractive woman,”

Ashley Shelton, the Alaska National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Sexual Assault Prevention and Response coordinator works with Eris, a four-month-old fawn Bullmastiff. Photo by 1st Lt. Balinda O’Neal

she said. “And I should expect that and be OK with it.”

The military, according to Nuite, “always complains” and questions why bad things happen.

“Why do people get assaulted? Why do people get hurt? Why do we do this to each other? ... We’re supposed to be a family. But at the same time, there was never any support for the few times that I did come forward,” Nuite said, “to the point that it was like I definitely walked around with the idea that I was the problem.”

After the alleged assault on the New Zealand deployment, Nuite said she was denied medical care for four days. It wasn’t until she “freaked out” that she finally saw a doctor and spoke with a chaplain.

“The chaplain, of course, is flabbergasted because he didn’t know what the hell was going on,” Nuite said. “I hadn’t seen him in the four days either. Or the first shirt, I don’t know where they were, but they weren’t around.”

Nuite said she told the chaplain that the man came to her room and when she rebuked his advances, the man told her she “couldn’t say no.”

“I told him I was engaged,” Nuite said. “He [the man] said that that didn’t matter … And I told all of that to the chaplain. The chaplain started crying and asked if he could pray and was like, ‘You were assaulted.’ And I was like, ‘I was assaulted? I don’t know. I don’t know at this point. I just thought that I made a really terrible drunk decision, and now I’m in a nightmare that I can’t wake up from.’”

The chaplain, according to Nuite, said they needed to reach out to the Sexual Assault

Who is Vanessa Guillen?

Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, who had filed a sexual harassment report while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, went missing in 2020 and was found dead later that year.

Her alleged murderer, Spc. Aaron Robinson, was also the soldier identified in her harassment report. Robinson died by suicide before charges were announced, but his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, has since been arrested and indicted in connection to Guillen’s murder.

In the years since Guillen’s death, her family and friends have pushed for legislation – the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act – that would criminalize sexual harassment under the Military Code of Justice. The National Defense Authorization Act for 2022 put that measure into effect.

Response Coordinator (SARC). She then filed a restricted report.

“After two weeks, I just got mad enough to where I was like, ‘F**k it. If I feel this way, the person who did it’s going to feel this way too,” she said. “I unrestricted it.”

After she made her report unrestricted – which identified her alleged assaulter – her major made accommodations and a protection order was filled out.

But Nuite said COVID-19 safety protocols affected the New Zealand investigation.

“So, everything was muddled between me coming forward essentially so late, and me being denied medical care for so long, there was no evidence really anyway,” she said.

The hotel where the incident occurred, according to Nuite, had cameras, but the military investigators “couldn’t get there until month and a half after everything happened.”

“So all the bars we went to that night, basically the history was already erased,” she said.

‘Vortex of no justice’

Similar to Christensen, Franck said the National Guard and reserve component is an “additional animal” because of jurisdiction.

“At some point, it just needs to be like if you’re in the National Guard, you’re always subject to the UCMJ, or if you’re in the National Guard, you’re always subject to the laws of the state,” Franck said. “Like one or other. But this hot potato business creates a vortex of no justice.”

For an incident that occurred in New York State, Nuite said the base “didn’t want to deal with it because it didn’t happen in their jurisdiction.” So she went to the state troopers. Their report, according to Nuite, said she didn’t want to come forward until it was too late.

The person she alleged assaulted her was a master sergeant while she was a staff sergeant, but Nuite said the troopers didn’t view the situation as one with a rank or power disparity.

“The state troopers just view us as two civilians, and they don’t take all of that into account,” she said. “This man is also an AGR [airman] and he’s married. So under the UCMJ, him coming on to me should be a problem, right? Because you’re not supposed to do that when you’re married. But state troopers didn’t care about that either.”

Her case was taken to the district attorney who dismissed the case, stating “it was consensual

until I said no to him, which happened as he came onto me,” according to Nuite.

When the offense was allegedly committed also plays a factor, according to Christensen, who said a lot of sexual offenses aren’t occurring in the workplace.

Franck agreed, citing “way too much gray area.”

“When you arrive to drill, when does your status start?” said Franck. “So Lollapalooza starts when you guys come the night before you report, when you’re on your own dime. And that’s where all the fraternization and all the adultery and all [those] things [occur]. But it’s OK then because you’re still quote civilian. But in the morning, you’re not. So all of this gray area is fostering more bad behavior.”

Data also isn’t tracked the same as on the active-duty side, Christensen said.

The NGB addressed the lack of a central criminal investigation organization in its FY21 report, as well as the difference in state and federal definitions of sexual assault.

“The sexual harassment assessments identified the lack of a case-tracking platform due to differing procedural processes between Title 10 U.S.C. and Title 32 U.S.C. complaints and lack of a standard practice of notification of complaints, and an understanding of available resources across the States,” the report stated. “It is important to note that the National Guard currently does not have an Integrated Violence Prevention program based on DOD’s recently released policy, which would provide a unified approach to prevent suicide, sexual assault, harassment, domestic abuse and child abuse.”

The NGB told Reserve + National Guard Magazine that its office of diversity, equity and inclusion is “working to build a standardized database to track formal and informal sexual harassment complaints.”

‘A public health issue’

Franck said that the DOD SAPRO has always dictated, through the National Defense Authorization Act, that the Guard, reserves, active duty and Coast Guard have advocates. But she doesn’t believe there has been a “true prevention program” in the military.

“Consent and sexual education, that starts at minimum at middle school, right?” Franck said. “If you have people that have graduated high school and they’re in their 20s, 30s and you’re having to educate them on healthy sexual relationships and what consent means, we’ve completely missed the mark … So if

I’m having to teach that to people that are carrying around M-16s and M-9s and have the ability to drive tanks and fly planes and helicopters, that’s very wrong.”

However, the NGB said in a statement that its shift to a “prevention approach” has been “extremely well received.”

“Eliminating sexual assault within the National Guard is our number one priority,” the statement read. “The implementation of a dedicated prevention workforce will result in evidence-based prevention efforts to stop sexual assault before it occurs. The safety of our people is the most important part of our mission.”

Illinois National Guard Integrated Primary Prevention Officer Matt Palmisano – a recent civilian hire – leads a team of seven whose goal is to prevent sexual violence, self-directed harm, workplace violence and harassment and family violence and abuse.

“I’m a social worker,” said Palmisano, a retired Army captain. “I really care about people, and I see that this is a public health issue.”

Palmisano, whose civilian career focused on suicide prevention and family advocacy, served during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 421st Multi-functional Medical Battalion from Wiesbaden, Germany, to Joint Base Balad in medical logistics. He said his goal in the Illinois Guard is to rid the ranks of all “interpersonal violence” – child abuse, domestic violence, harassment and sexual assault.

“I understand the command structure here,” he said. “I’ve been in units where sexual assault happens and how it erodes trust. It really is detrimental to morale and cohesion. Because I truly love the military, and all organizations aren’t perfect and we’re striving to do better.”

Maj. Monica Leger, deputy inspector general of the Utah National Guard, is among those in the Guard improving prevention and assault resources. In February, the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and Utah Guard partnered for a series of trauma-informed, Smart Defense courses.

“When you attend trauma-informed self-defense, it starts with a conversation, and the conversation is geared towards whomever the class may be,” Leger said. “So whether it’s girls needing to learn about consent and progress or good online presence all the way up to more domestic violence survivors and stuff like that, we’ll get a different conversation.”

Continuing education

Lewis, Utah’s victim advocate coordinator, said she would like to see the SAPR office continue programs like the trauma-informed self-defense courses, along with targeted prevention efforts.

“We’re trying to do trainings where we have small groups, 25 to 30 people,” Lewis said. “There’s a new program that we have called Buddy Aid, which is how to respond to someone who discloses sexual assault and also how to see indicators when you should ask if someone’s been hurt in this way.”

Leger also said she’d like to see sexual assault survivors feel empowered to use their voice.

“Through the work that I’ve done with Smart Defense, I have seen people – from the start of the class to the end – grow,” Leger said. “That sounds so cheesy, but you can see their confidence build.”

‘Learning from your peers’ Small-group discussions are an important aspect of prevention for Palmisero because he said it allows people in his position to hear “what works for them,” directly from the soldiers. He wants to implement programs and promote “protective factors,” like life-skill training, healthy coping skills and good problem solving, as well as conflict resolution.

“I really do see how that violence is all kind of interconnected,” Palmisero said. “It can start with harassment. It can lead to sexual assault. It can lead to suicide, domestic abuse.”

Lewis said past prevention work she has seen in the military is similar to civilian workplaces.

“You have this PowerPoint or video … And we kind of outline our policies, our regulations,” Lewis said. “What bystander prevention is, what our duty is as service members … It’s usually in a big, huge room with tons of people. So you’re getting a lot of people not interacting, and it’s not really helpful, and it doesn’t work.”

However, Palmisero said he believes video is an effective tool.

“I’m really trying to use the resources we have but also be creative,” Palmisero said. “I understand we have limited time, especially in the Guard. They pack a lot into a weekend. Trying to get, first buy in from the commanders knowing that – ‘Hey, mission readiness and taking care of people, I’m here to benefit you. I’m a force multiplier.’”

‘Safe for now’

As part of the Alaska Guard’s SAPR team, Shelton also works with the director of psychological health (DPH). When she does intake for a new client, she immediately conducts a “warm handoff” to DPH because victim advocates work on keeping victims “safe for now,” while DPH goes more in-depth.

“Do they have any other previous history with behavioral health that could compound their trauma?” Shelton said.

PROTECTIVE ORDERS ISSUED IN FY 21

Guardsmen are encouraged to obtain civilian protective orders or no-contact orders through local jurisdictions because of limitations with military protective orders.

53 Military Protection Orders issued 1 MPO violated 29 Civilian Protective Orders requested 1 CPO violated 74 informal no-contact orders 2 informal no-contact order violations

Having served himself, Palmisero said he can see how there are mental health issues, but also the resiliency of service members.

“I believe in the institution,” Palmisero said. “I know that we’re trying to improve it.”

Nuite said SARCs got her into counseling and VA care. And while people in command tried to be supportive, she said that after writing the order of protection, they didn’t know what to do.

There’s currently a more proactive approach and an effort to be “better with our data,” according to Lewis.

“After the whole Fort Hood incident, they had that independent review committee that came up with all these new initiatives, right?” Lewis said. “And prevention is a huge thing.”

That said, Lewis believes there’s a shift in the right direction.

“The way we talk is different. It’s not like it’s perfect, but it’s way better … It’s small changes,” Lewis said.

Going forward, Nuite said she would like to see “more documentation” in the Guard when it comes to how assault allegations are handled. She also said people should have “better advocates” and a stronger reporting system.

“When I went unrestricted on the reporting system, and I put that person’s name in the box, that’s supposed to be like, if I’ve done nothing, if I’ve gotten nothing out of this, if I’m losing my career, if he ever does that to anybody else, his name should come back up and then I could be the advocate that I didn’t have,” she said. “But they should have something for like any situation that happens.”

If you are a survivor of sexual assault, contact the DOD Safe Helpline at safehelpline.org or (877) 995-5247. The helpline is available 24/7.

Take advantage of your FEDVIP enrollment period Retiring from service?

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Sponsored by OPM, FEDVIP is a voluntary, enrollee-pay-all dental and vision insurance program. It replaced the former TRICARE Retiree Dental Program (TRDP). In general, retired uniformed service members, their families, and survivors are eligible for FEDVIP dental coverage and, if enrolled in a TRICARE health plan, FEDVIP vision coverage. Please note: Opportunities to enroll outside of open season are limited.

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you have a 91-day enrollment window to enroll in a FEDVIP dental and/or vision plan. You may enroll between 31 days prior to your military retirement date and 60 days following. It is important to remember, enrollment is not automatic. If you choose to enroll in FEDVIP, you must enroll prior to your military retirement date to prevent a gap in dental coverage between your active duty or reserve dental plan and your FEDVIP plan. If you do not enroll within 60 days from your retirement date, you must wait until the next open season.

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‘HONOR AND RESPECT’ DEFINE MORTUARY AFFAIRS OPERATIONS

BY ERIC ERICKSON

PHOTO BY JASON MINTO/AIR FORCE

While each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces has its own way of approaching the solemn task of the passing of a service member, Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations is unique in its methods.

Unlike other branches, the mortuary specialists who work in AFMAO are Department of Defense employees. And AFMAO handles all aspects of the process from their headquarters at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

“Our mortuary specialists are Department of the Air Force civilians who are licensed funeral directors and embalmers and support the preparation of remains for all fallen service members,” said AFMAO Public Affairs Officer Christin Michaud.

AFMAO mortuary specialists’ primary mission is the dignified transfer and handling of remains of fallen service members, as well as supporting surviving family. AFMAO assists Families of the Fallen, which offers help and assistance to those who travel to Dover AFB in the wake of the death of a serving family member.

In addition to the day-to-day affairs, AFMAO has 15 attached employees who conduct six to seven training sessions annually for mortuary specialists in the Air National Guard. Training consists of four blocks – about an hour each –that cover entitlements, honor guards, and the handling and transportation of the deceased.

Air National Guard involvement

Air National Guard mortuary specialist officers handle inspections, briefings and identifications. They also process death certificates, pay, and inventory of personal items.

Technicians, who are at the rank of master sergeant or above, support the officers and handle paperwork and logistics. All of those serving in these positions must complete training within two years of being assigned and are required to take a virtual refresher course every five years.

Part of the assignment is understanding and implementing proper entitlements and honors. Service members who served any length of time are eligible for a two-man detail, taps and flag presentation. Serving six months or more,

entitles them to be buried in a government cemetery and receive a plaque or headstone.

AFMAO is in constant contact with Air National Guard mortuary specialists and helps them with any issues that might arise.

“We’re there the whole way to assist them,” said AFMAO Mortuary Specialist Electa Thompkins.

According to Michaud, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, AFMAO handled 400-500 cases a year. In peacetime, the number is closer to 100.

‘Level of care’ differs per family Mortuary specialists work with base public affairs personnel to draft and release media statements regarding the deaths of service members, especially those occurring during conflicts. But families must approve. More than half the time they do agree to the releases, according to statistics provided by AFMAO.

Many details can factor into the handling of the death of a service member, ranging from the location to transportation and wishes of the family. In times of conflict, involvement in a war zone can add more complexity to the process, as mortuary services personnel locate

and secure remains after a service member has been listed as killed in action.

Grief and bereavement

The mental health of those who work in mortuary services is also a vital part of the process. An AFMAO resiliency program provides mental health assistance, counseling and access to chaplains. Individual installations also have resources available to personnel.

“We as AFMAO have to deal with so many levels of grief and bereavement,” Thompkins said, explaining that mental health services are seen as important when it comes to the specialists, and it is essential to decompress.

Michaud offered Thompkins as an example of the detail-oriented people who work in the department and support its high standards. She began her career in uniform and trained to become a licensed funeral director and embalmer. According to Thompkins, it takes a certain type of person to work in mortuary services.

“They really have to be compassionate and show a level of concern for the survivors. Taking care of our families is our top priority,” Thompkins said, explaining that the job comes down to one thing. “Honor and respect.”

CIVIL-SUPPORT TRAINING

prepares guardsmen to become ‘tip of the spear’ for CBRN events

BY BEN GREENE PHOTOS COURTESY LT. COL. BOBBY ROMINGER

National Guardsmen have attended New Mexico’s Balloon Festival, several NASCAR races, the Kentucky Derby and numerous Super Bowls in the past 25 years. But they didn’t go for fun, fancy clothes or fast cars.

Instead, the Guard’s Weapons of Mass Destruction-Civil Support Teams, or WMDCSTs, supported civilian authorities regarding chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) concerns at these events.

The teams often respond to urgent threats like a February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, or a 2014 chemical spill into a

water supply near Charleston, West Virginia. “They are the absolute tip of the spear.,” Kentucky National Guard Lt. Col. Joe Fontanez said of each team’s survey section. “Those are the guys that are getting suited up in hazmat suits and go downrange and ultimately bring back samples.”

His teammates complete 10 to 12 field training exercises a year after several weeks of baseline and specialized training, Fontanez said. Then, the soldiers and airmen have the situational awareness and skill with tools that detect CBRN threats at the Kentucky Derby, Super Bowl and similar events.

The CBRN officer who commands the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 41st WMD-CST said 18 Army National Guardsmen and four Air National Guardsmen form the team. They operate in sections including survey, command, operations, logistics/administration, communications and medical/analytical.

Tennessee National Guard Lt. Col. Bobby Rominger said WMD-CST soldiers and airmen complement the work of local emergency management agencies or federal authorities. The infantry officer and branch qualified chemical officer commands Tennessee’s team.

Members of the Ohio National Guard’s 52nd Civil Support Team work to ready a three-person survey team element before they collect ground and air samples from public buildings following a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 7, 2023. Photo by Capt. Jordyn Craft

“We go out and try to work as much as we can with local fire department, hazmat teams and bomb techs to talk about how we use our sensors,” he said. “You want the relationship, you want to meet the people and have the relationships before the incidents happen.”

Active-duty, full-time teams in all 50 states respond to the request of local, state or federal authorities for aid related to CBRN threats.

Once on site, many of the teams also use robots with sensors, cameras and other tools for CBRN risk assessment. Another contribution teams can make is supplying a communications platform when authorities lose power during a crisis, Rominger said.

Team members must complete an eight-week civil support skills course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, according to National Guard Bureau spokesman Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell.

Then the National Guardsmen are hazmat-technician qualified and obligated to active-duty service for 36 months, he added.

That training comes after a selection process as rigorous as any incentivized recruiting program like Army Ranger School or special operations, Mitchell said. The challenge and the value of CSTs motivated Fontanez when the Kentucky commander heard what the teams do.

“It’s really something that inspired me,” Fontanez said. “It’s just another way for us to be out there and help good people and protect folks against bad actors and bad things that are out there.”

Rominger also said that a team role can create a career path for guardsmen seeking civilian work with emergency management agencies.

“There’s a lot of very good quality training,” Rominger said. “Positions on the team are very sought after.”

More than 20 years ago, Maj. Allen Autrey, of the Minnesota National Guard, made the opposite career choice: CBRN threats motivated him to leave his civilian job as an emergency room doctor and ambulance services director to become a soldier.

The critical care physician was 45 years old in December 2001 when his colleagues participated in a training exercise that simulated the release of a nerve agent on medical staff.

“My EMS personnel went to an exercise right after 9/11 and they were basically all killed by a hypothetical nerve agent,” Autrey said. “I was

pretty alarmed by how badly the community was prepared for something like that.”

After that, he left his medical practice for the Guard.

Autrey wasn’t the only one getting prepared for CBRN dangers. A 1995 sarin attack in Tokyo motivated federal leaders to assess America’s capability for thwarting a chemical attack, Mitchell said.

A few years later, Mitchell said the Secretary of the Army and Congress solidified the WMDCST program within the National Guard. He said the first 10 teams began in 1999. The next 47 teams stood up between 1999 and 2007.

In 2007, the team’s mission statement expanded to include natural and manmade disasters, Mitchell said. Last year, there were 1,375 deployments of WMD-CSTs around the U.S.

“This program is incredibly important for protection of our civilians,” Autrey said. “It’s at the heart of the mission statement of the National Guard.”

That’s why he’s convinced WMD-CSTs are great opportunities for mid-level medical providers to do a tremendous service to the American people. Now, he strongly recommends that men or women who are physician assistants, nurse practitioners or physicians join a team.

“This is an extremely exciting role of the National Guard,” Autrey said. “It’s been a wild ride. I have been eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to capstone my medical career with this activity.”

Tennessee Army National Guard WMD-CST team member Ssg. Oswaldo HernandezCordova is pictured with members of the Nashville Fire Special Operations unit at the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville.

Sgt. Joel Delarosa, of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s WMD-CST team, conducts a Joint Hazard Assessment pre-event sweep for a large conference center with a member of the Murfreesboro Fire Special Operations team and a member of the Rutherford County Fire-Rescue team.

NAVY RESERVISTS STAND READY AS MERCHANT MARINES

BY JOSEPH LAFAVE

It’s been more than 80 years since John Wayne portrayed the gruff merchant mariner Ole Olsen in the 1940 classic “The Long Voyage Home.”

Told from a merchant mariner’s perspective, the film focuses on the anxiety and danger cargo ships faced delivering supplies from the U.S. to Europe during the beginning of World War II.

More than 36,000 allied sailors died moving men, ammunition and supplies across the ocean in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Today, a small group of Naval Reserve officers stand ready to crew U.S. merchant ships in the event of a shooting war.

They’re called strategic sealift officers (SSO), and serve in the Individual Ready Reserve.

“We’re merchant mariners first, as well as being naval officers.” said Lt. Commander William Welch, an SSO on the Pacific coast. “So the majority of [SSOs] are out at sea operating container ships. Then they come back when their civilian tour is over and then do their two weeks of Navy service.”

Although there are less than 2,000 of these officers in the Navy, SSOs fill several niche –yet vital – roles. Each are graduates of one of the country’s few maritime academies. They are also graduates of naval reserve officer training corps programs and volunteered for this duty.

Their first responsibility is to be available in case of war. In the event the U.S. needs to ship arms and supplies overseas, SSOs are called on first to fill empty spaces on U.S. cargo ships. This ensures the vessels the U.S. needs to move its cargo are manned and ready.

SSOs also bring a plethora of knowledge to the fleet. They are line officers and wear distinct gold stars on their shoulder boards. During their two weeks of active service a year, SSOs are on several warships.

Recently Welch, who sailed as a civilian mariner for several years with Military Sealift Command, was assigned to work with Expeditionary Unit 3 in San Diego.

There, the seasoned civilian engineering officer found himself working side by side with enlisted sailors and officers of the electrical department on board the USS Makin Island.

“I was showing them how I troubleshoot and work engineering issues on the merchant side, and I was learning a lot from them,” he said.

Because of their expertise in seafaring, SSOs have also helped Navy commanders improve the performance of their bridge crews.

Unlike traditional surface warfare officers, SSOs obtain a maritime-relevant degree during their time at maritime academies, and also spend a significant time at sea. When they first enter the fleet, they’ve already had four tours afloat.

“From Day One, I was proficient with the ship’s systems,” Welch said. “I could walk on any ship and be like, ‘OK, I have my head on straight about this.’”

After several incidents involving collisions between civilian vessels and the U.S. Navy ships, groups of eight to 10 SSOs were embarked onboard U.S. warships. Once aboard, these officers helped commanders streamline and improve operations on the bridge.

They also provided the crew with knowledge about how civilian ships operate and advised them on the best practices when operating a warship in highly trafficked civilian waters.

“Navy ships are highly powerful and highly maneuverable,” Welch said. “But civilian ships are not.”

Sometimes, he said, there’s a tendency for Navy ships to be overconfident in maneuverability and skill of some foreign merchant ships. Other SSO officers work closely with fleet headquarters and provide commanders with subject matter expertise regarding merchant marine operations in their area of responsibility.

“We translate to the U.S. Navy what the U.S. merchant shipping picture looks like,” said Cmdr. Kathleen Dipietropolo, an SSO currently assigned to naval units in Europe.

For Dipietropolo, some of that work is helping commanders and decision makers understand what the merchant shipping picture looks like in Black Sea, which has seen naval combat between Russia and Ukraine since 2022.

Everything from which country a ship is flagged under to the normal traffic patterns of shipping lanes are examined and interpreted by SSOs to provide theater commanders with the most complete picture possible.

But war is not the only time when SSOs are called upon. As Dipietropolo said, oftentimes SSOs play vital roles in organizing humanitarian efforts across the globe in the wake of natural or manmade disasters by finding suitable ports in navigable waterways.

BENEFITS

Military service comes with several benefits that aim to blunt the shortfalls service members encounter. Some lesser known, yet equally impactful, benefits become available for reservists from time to time.

Though the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides some financial protection, a 2022 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that activated reserve and National Guard members were not receiving the full benefits of SCRA.

The SCRA allows reservists on active duty and National Guard members on orders for more than 30 days to request that interest rates on financial obligations that were established before being activated be capped at 6%. A mortgage interest rate should not exceed 6% for the duration of military service, and this cap extends to one year after the period of military service ends. Non-mortgage loans such as credit cards, auto loans, home equity loans and student loans are capped at 6% only during the period of military service.

Between 2007 and 2018, fewer than 10% of auto loans and 6% of personal loans received a reduced interest rate. Until more lenders proactively use the Defense Manpower Data Center SCRA website, service members should advocate for an interest rate change on the date their mobilization orders begin to receive significant savings, according to the CFPB.

2.

A 2020 Department of Defense survey found that almost 25% of junior enlisted service members struggled to put food on the table.

The PenFed Foundation recently approved a $10,000 grant to support the Food Insecurity Programs of Joint Base Myer - Henderson Hall for junior enlisted service members and their families. The base currently supports 3,503 Army Reserve Component Soldiers and 4,466 Dependents of Army Reserve Component Soldiers, among others. Reserve component and National Guard members can also check eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance to offset food costs.

Feeding America and an anonymous donor recently donated a $110,000 grant to The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank to tackle food

insecurity among military families and veterans. Through its MilitaryShare program, Central Pennsylvania veterans, active-duty military and their families receive healthy shelf-stable food items, fresh milk, meat, eggs and produce.

3. TRICARE pharmacy

The TRICARE pharmacy contract was renegotiated after several independent pharmacies left the TRICARE network, according to a March 2023 new release. With the recent changes, 4,000 of the roughly 15,000 independent pharmacies rejoined the network. TRICARE’s

participating retail pharmacies network now expands to 42,500 pharmacies. As such, 98% of beneficiaries now live within 15 minutes of a network retail pharmacy, and beneficiaries will have lower out-of-pocket costs.

Beneficiaries can continue to fill generic and name-brand prescriptions for $0 copays at a military pharmacy. At in-network retail pharmacies, a 30-day fill costs no more than $14 for generics and $38 for name-brand drugs. Beneficiaries can also opt to receive a 90-day supply from a mail-order pharmacy.

1. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

Food insecurity benefits

3 benefits you didn’t know were available to the reserve component

BY TANEIKA DUHANEY

How the National Guard mobilized for the Iraq War

9,672

7,207

members of the Air National Guard were in Iraq at the end of April 2003.

107 ARNG soldiers ARNG units from Pennsylvania were activated as part of the March 2003 invasion –the most from any state.

4 ARNG units

mobilized in the Operation Iraqi Freedom theater region in March 2003. They were assigned to Kuwait, CENTCOM, Iraq for the vast majority of assignments, or adjacent states such as Jordan, Oman, or Qatar.

from 34 states and the District of Columbia were part of the actions that took place.

Senior Airman Brandon Bruce, a crew chief with the 169th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., prepares to launch an F-16 Fighting Falcon for a mission from Joint Base Balad, Iraq, July 14, 2010.

Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Caycee Watson

SOURCE: National Guard Bureau & Air Force Historical Support Division

145th General Conference & Exhibition

August 18-21 | Reno, Nevada

NGAUS.org/conference

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