NGAUS Conference

from 2021 Fall NGAT News

EANGUS Conference

Story courtesy of NGAUS

NGAUS Holds Guardcon “Vegas Style”

THE 143RD GENERAL CONFERENCE &

EXHIBITION for the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) was called to order on August 28, 2021, officially opening the nation’s largest gathering of current and retired National Guard officers and their supporters.

Retired Maj Gen Michael McGuire, the NGAUS chairman, led off the event. In addition to selecting new officers, the event also serves as professional development for Guard officers and is an opportunity for members to set the future legislative agenda for the association, which serves as the National Guard’s voice on Capitol Hill.

More than 3,500 current and retired Guardsmen, their families and other supporters attended the event at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hosting the conference was no easy task. NGAUS moved the event from North Carolina in mid-April due to concerns with being able to hold an in-person event amid the COVID-19 pandemic. McGuire thanked the Nevada National Guard Association, state Guard leaders and others for facilitating the move and ensuring the conference was held without issue.

In true Vegas fashion, the opening business session featured Elvis and Michael Jackson impersonators. Maj Gen Ondra L. Berry, the Adjutant General of Nevada, welcomed NGAUS to the state, but also issued a challenge. “I challenge you to come here with an attitude of taking back a toolbox of information where you can add value to your state, territory or district and better tell the National Guard story,” Berry said. “Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it and those who don’t study what the National Guard has been doing for this country for over 300 years and specifically over the last 18 months don’t know the history that’s being made every day by the National Guard.”

“You can’t have the greatest country in the world without a great National Guard,” he added.” MG Janson “Durr” Boyles was elected as the new NGAUS chairman. Boyles is currently also serving as Adjutant General of Mississippi. He began his National Guard career in 1982 and served in medical and engineer units in his home state as he rose up the ranks to become Mississippi’s top officer. He has previously deployed in support of overseas operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Boyles succeeds retired Maj Gen Michael McGuire of Arizona, who will now serve on the board as immediate past chair.

More than 260 companies and organizations came to Las Vegas in hopes of doing more business with the National Guard. Displays from major defense contractors, small businesses, nonprofit agencies, and military organizations were all part of the 143rd General Conference and Exhibition. H