DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: National Guard Border Protection.com

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by on September 1, 2010 at 4:13 pm {no comments}

Jack Harrison, National Guard Bureau director of Communications. Photo courtesy of National Guard.

We recently held a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable with Mr. Jack Harrison, National Guard Bureau director of communications, on Friday, Sept. 3.

Harrison discussed the latest developments in the deployment of 1,200 National Guard members to the nation’s southwest border.

National Guard troops are now arriving to begin their mission to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement while those agencies hire additional officers.

Before reporting for duty, troops undergo training for their two distinct jobs – Entry Identification Teams (EIT) and Criminal Investigative Analysts. EIT training includes how to handle encounters with anyone who approaches their observation posts. EITs help CBP agents monitor the border from strategic observation points with state-of-the-art surveillance and detection tactics and technology in support of local law enforcement.

(more…)

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: NG to the SW Border, Getting the Facts Right

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by on August 5, 2010 at 10:49 am {no comments}

Jack Harrison, National Guard Bureau director of communications. Photo courtesy of National Guard Bureau.

Mr. Jack Harrison, National Guard Bureau director of communications, participated in a DOD Bloggers Roundtable, Friday, Aug. 6 to address inaccurate reporting surrounding the recently announced deployment of up to 1,200 members of the National Guard to the Southwest border.

Announced July 19, the Guard will deploy up to 1,200 troops for up to one year in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two agencies of the Department of Homeland Security.

The announcement indicated August 1 would begin the deployment, however some in the press have interpreted that as a deadline for having the troops there. And, when August 1 came and went, the National Guard was erroneously accused of missing the deadline.

Listen to the interview.

Read the transcript.

Read the Defense.gov story: “Guard Official Describes Southwest Border Mission Buildup”

Joining us on the call were Edwin Mora, Cybercast News Service; Monica Tucker, Dear Army Wife; Sandra Erwin, National Defense Magazine; Michel Marizco, Border Reporter; and Dale Kissinger, Military Avenue.

Supporting Those who Support Military Families

Filed under DoD News by on August 2, 2010 at 1:02 pm {no comments}

Mr. Alex Baird, chief of Family Programs, National Guard Bureau

By Alex Baird, Chief, NGB Family Program

This is my second National Volunteer Workshop in this capacity, and I’m excited about this year’s agenda and guest speakers. How often do you get Adm. Mike G. Mullen and Gen. George W. Casey Jr. to both speak at your conference? This shows me that our senior leaders are dedicated to supporting our families and the volunteers who help them.

The National Volunteer Workshop is an annual event that gives us an opportunity to recognize the contribution of our volunteers and provide them with training to more effectively support our Guardmembers and their families. There are more than 40,000 volunteers, including family members, veterans and Guardmembers, that comprise our National Guard Family Programs network. The workshop also provides a forum to train our National Guard personnel on how to better utilize the service of volunteers.  I especially appreciate the opportunity the workshop provides to receive feedback from the 50 states, 3 territories, and DC on how we can better serve them.

(more…)

DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: National Guard Family Issues

Filed under Bloggers Roundtable by on July 29, 2010 at 11:26 am {one comment}

Mr. Alex Baird is the Chief of Family Programs, National Guard Bureau

Mr. Alex Baird, chief of Family Programs, National Guard Bureau participated in a DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable, Aug. 3.

Baird discussed issues related to families associated with the military and gave an opportunity for families to provide feedback on how they are doing and also to share what their needs are and how the National Guard Bureau can better serve them.

As families experience multiple deployments, their needs change and new challenges emerge. Only by knowing what those challenges are can they be addressed.

Listen to the interview.

Read the transcript.

Read the story: “Joint: The new ‘buzz word’ in family support”

Joining us on the call were David Small, of The Reserve Officer; Dale Kissenger, of Military Avenue; Sarah Blansett, of CinCHouse; Beth Wilson, of Homefront in Focus; Christine Hofmann-Bourque of The Strength Behind the Strong; and Wendy Poling of My Military Life.

Helping our National Guard and Reserve Members

Filed under DoD News by on July 28, 2010 at 10:16 am {3 comments}

Hannah and Ian Clayborn look for their father, Spc. Dwaylin Clayborn, among returning troops during a welcome home ceremony for soldiers of the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Chris A. Durney.)

By Dr. William Brim, Center for Deployment Psychology, deputy director, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

DCoE’s Center for Deployment Psychology is concerned with the question: “Who is treating our guard and reserve servicemembers and their families after they leave active service and return to their communities?” Members of the guard and reserve are more vulnerable to chronic psychological health problems than active component service members, and it is vital that they have behavioral health providers who are trained to care for their needs.

All of our nation’s warriors, veterans and their families need their civilian providers to be aware of military culture and the impact that comes from a deployment. Patients report feeling frustrated when a provider fails to ask them about their military service or lacks knowledge of military ethos and culture.

A reason for guard and reserve members’ greater susceptibility to chronic psychological health concerns may be that after returning from duty, they often don’t have the same access to the military system of support and care as their active component brothers and sisters in arms. They may return to an inner city or a rural area for example, where they don’t have the kind of resources they would on base.

(more…)

Page 1 of 212»

Recent Comments

DoDLive on Tumblr

  • photo from Tumblr

    An United States Air Force C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft from the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, conducts flare training off the Ventura County coast. The flares are used as tactical infrared countermeasures to confuse and redirect heat-seeking missiles.

    (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Dave Buttner)


  • photo from Tumblr

    Famed Yankees pitcher “Lefty Gomez” once remarked “I’d rather be lucky than good,” but for one Tuskegee Airman, luck and good combined to make him one of the most successful combat pilots of World War II.

    During the summer of 1944, 2nd Lt. Clarence D. “Lucky” Lester was flying the P-51 Mustang over the skies of Italy’s Po Valley providing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with cover support on their way to attack airfields in southern Germany.

    Lester was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron, a part of the 332nd Fighter Group, and had earned the nickname “Lucky” “because of all the tight situations from which I had escaped without a scratch or even a bullet hole in my aircraft.”

    Read the story of a flight that helped Lester earn his nickname here.


  • photo from Tumblr

    The only African-American ace of World War II, and a former Tuskegee Airman, went on to have a career in the Air Force, as well as success in the business world.

    Lee A. Archer joined the Army in 1941 with high hopes of becoming a pilot, but was initially denied because of his race. When the Army’s policy changed about a year later, Archer was accepted to the training program for black aviators at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama.

    Archer is best known for a day in late 1944 when he was involved in a series of dogfights over German-occupied Hungary. Flying a P-51 Mustang fighter, Archer shot down three German fighters. He would go on to add two more German fighters to his credit to become the first and only African-American ace of the war.

    As a civilian, Archer enjoyed even greater success, serving as vice president for urban affairs with General Foods, as CEO of North Street Capital Corp. and chairman of Hudson Commercial Corp. He also served on the board of directors of Beatrice International Foods and the Institute for American Business.

    Read the rest of his story here.