National Guard Association of the United States

1、National Guard Association of the United StatesMarch 10, 2007Meeting MinutesThe following is a re-cap of key discussion points and motions passed by the Board of Directors. Officially transcribed minutes are available for review by any member of the Association at One Massachusetts Ave, Washington D

2、C.Members Present:MG Martin UmbargerBG (Ret) Robert TaylorBG Norman ArflackMaj Gen David PoythressBrig Gen (Ret) Kenneth RossCOL Al FaberBrig Gen (Ret) Robert DutkoMG Frank VavalaCOL Deborah AshenhurstBrig Gen Hugh BroomallMG Gus HargettCOL Steve JoyceLt Col Murray HansenMaj Gen Tod BuntingLTC Darre

3、ll LoydBrig Gen Joseph VellionMG Randal ThomasCOL Robert FeldermanCol Gunther NeumannMG Edward WrightCOL Raymond JardineBrig Gen Daniel OHollarenCOL (Ret) Don DeeringCol (Ret) Ray MagillCPT Rollin RobertsCW5 Larry MasseyMaj Gen Roger LempkeMs. Cynthia WatsonCSM Frank LeverMr. Dan Tudor (for Chris Me

4、ars)Members Absent:LTC Cathy CorkeryMG Glenn RiethCapt Mike Taylor MG (Ret) James HughesOthers Present:COL (Ret) Tom KirkpatrickBrig Gen (Ret) Stephen KoperMs. Loretta FillsMs. Pam BucklerMG (Ret) Ron HarrisonMr. Lewis KingMr. John GoheenBrig Gen (Ret) Richard GreenMr. Chris DeBattMs. Hazell BookerM

5、r. Jason HallCOL Francis McGinnCol (Ret) Pete Duffy1LT Brad HollingsworthCapt Terri ProsperieCapt Julie CiaramelloCPT Stephen StroudCapt Tim CroweCapt Shelia Neidigh1Lt Daniel StatzCW3 Amir PishdadCW5 Joseph DiazCW4 Bobby KennedyLTC Tracy SettleLt Col Tony DejesusGen Umbarger called the meeting of t

6、he March 07 NGAUS Board of Directors to order at 0800. The invocation was led by Gen Arflack. Gen Poythress led the Pledge of Allegiance. COL Faber called the roll and reported a quorum was present. Gen Umbarger welcomed everyone to the meeting. He gave a special welcome to the newly elected members

7、, Area IV Army Rep, Gen OHollaren, Area V TAG Rep, Gen Thomas, and Area II Army Rep, COL Ashenhurst. He also welcomed the CAP Rep Dan Tudor, who was standing in for the CAP Chairman, Chris Mears.Chairmans Report: MG Martin UmbargerGen Umbarger reported these are unprecedented times for the Army and

8、Air National Guard. He said that never has the nation relied on the National Guard more than now.Col Magill remarked there are some members who should be sworn in. Gen Umbarger welcomed a motion to approve the November 2006 meeting minutes. Gen Poythress so moved. Col Magill said that there was a di

9、scussion on page eleven regarding post mobilization training and he wanted to know the position on that. He said that it was stated they would deal with it on Sunday and nothing was ever done. He said that was an issue that was raised, discussed and there was never any resolution. Gen Umbarger said

10、there has been tremendous action in the army moving to the left on the position they are taking. He said that there was nothing further to bring up on that subject. Gen Umbarger called for question on the motion on the floor to approve the minutes. Col Neumann seconded. Motion carriedGen Umbarger sw

11、ore in COL Ashenhurst, Gen Thomas and Gen OHollaren. The new Board members were welcomed by all.Chairmans Report Continued:Gen Umbarger said at the Industry Day December 5 and 6 there were over 200 people in attendance. He said he and Gen Sidwell presented the Harry S.Truman award to Congressman Ike

12、 Skelton. Congressman Gene Taylor, co-sponsor of the Empowerment Act, was a speaker and later came back for the reception for the OEF/OIF Dedication. On 14 December Gen Umbarger, Gen Vavala and Gen Rees testified before the Commission on the Guard and Reserve on the National Guard Empowerment Act, H

13、R718 and S430. He said the testimony was broadcast on CSPAN and there was a lot of press coverage.Gen Umbarger said he attended the NGEDA Conference, 22-25 January, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He said all states were represented with the exception of eight. He said the new Puerto Rico TAG, Colonel Car

14、rion and his wife, and Colonel Carmello Crespo were all present. He said they have already reserved 2300-2800 rooms for the Puerto Rico conference, and the hotels are very close to the conference site.On 15-16, February there was a special meeting of the National Guard Education Foundation Board her

15、e at NGAUS. The NGAUS Board will receive an update later. Gen Umbarger thanked Gen Ross, COL Faber, Gen Taylor, Gen Shepperd, Mr. King, Jason Hall, Gen Koper, and Gen Spruance (via teleconference) for attending the meeting. He said it was a very productive meeting. On 26 February, NGAUS hosted the A

16、GAUS Senior Leadership Conference. Gen Umbarger said Secretary Gates attended the meeting, and he could not remember when the Secretary of Defense had addressed the Adjutants General. Gen Umbarger said Secretary Gates is a real gentleman and since he became Secretary of Defense, he has made some rea

17、l changes. He said the newly confirmed Commander of Northern Command was in attendance with him. Generals Blum, McKinley and Vaughn were also in attendance at the meeting. He said the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen Mosley was a speaker for the meeting.Gen Umbarger said on 28 February, Chairman

18、 Punaro, met with himself, Gen Vavala, and Gen Koper, to brief them on the Commission report that was due out on March 1. He said the preliminary briefings from Gen Stump had not been very promising but the final report was a complete one hundred eighty degree difference. He said there is a press re

19、lease on the website with comments from himself and Gen Koper. He said in his opinion we hit a homerun. He said the commission report stated that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau has the responsibility of a four star general officer, and it is not all about the Guard getting a four star, but t

20、he Chief of the National Guard Bureau has the area of responsibility that merits a four star. He said the report also stated that the Deputy Commanding General as well as the Commander at NORTHCOM should also be a National Guard officer. Gen Umbarger summarized some of the Commission report. He said

21、 the National Guard Bureau would be considered to be a joint activity with the Department of Defense. He said that means they would have joint credit. He said they were questioned as to what “joint activity” was, and in the end, the Commission supported it. He said the Governors would play a bigger

22、role in advising the Secretary of Defense on the issue of the requirements to defend the homeland and the equipment that goes along with those requirements. He said it would give Gen Blum or that person a position so that they would not have to go through the service chiefs to talk about Homeland Se

23、curity issues. He said it would put the hammer on the Department of Homeland Security to articulate the requirements it needs along with NORTHCOM to defend the homeland and send those to DoD so they can resource them. He said that the only thing that the Commission did not recommend were that the Ch

24、ief of the National Guard Bureau would not have a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff or that the National Guard have a separate budgeting authority. Gen Umbarger paraphrased language from the Commission report that read that in the defense of the homeland the Governor should have the ability to comma

25、nd the federal troops when they come into his state. He said that is significant, as they have been fighting the Title 10/32 issue. He said that is the first time they had someone outside of guard ranks saw that this approach make sense. Gen Umbarger said there are many state conferences coming up,

26、starting with Kentucky on 16-17 February, Tennessee had theirs. Many members of the NGAUS staff and the Board will be attending those conferences. He said twelve states have had delegations in the NGAUS building. Many have held their receptions here also. Gen Thomas, Illinois TAG, and his delegation

27、 held their reception here, with their two Senators and many of their Representatives in attendance. Gen Umbarger said he had met with his delegation this week on the Hill and the reception from his Congressmen is a 180 degree turn about from last year when he talked about the Empowerment Act. He sa

28、id that on Sunday and Monday, March 11-12, LTC Tracy Settle will hold the Train the Trainer workshop that the Board approved money for here at NGAUS. He reminded the members to take a look at the letters that were handed out. He said one of the letters was sent to Gen Blum on the NGAUS OPD request.

29、Treasurers Report: Brig Gen (Ret) Ken RossGen Ross reported there was not much activity at this meeting for the Treasurer to do. He said at the next meeting they would present the mid-year budget. He said he would take a little time to comment that we are right on course and everything is going fine

30、. He said there are no real surprises. Gen Ross reported the Insurance Trust had received an income from our insurance program. He said it was not as good as some years, but had grossed almost a million dollars. Gen Ross reported that part of that money is budgeted for operating expenses and part as

31、 a primary source for building our reserve. He said that everything is on course and doing fine. Gen Ross commented that the Treasurer and the Finance Committee do many things that are not always apparent. He said that one of the things they do is to make sure the Finance Committee keeps an eye on h

32、ow the cash flow is going. He said that once a year they pick a month at random to review all the activities of the Insurance Trust, the NGEF and the NGAUS. He said he had in his hand a copy of all the cash flow in and out for that period of time and he found no problems with it. He said if any Boar

33、d member wants to review these transactions, please let him know. He said they would be happy to sit down with them to answer any concerns they may have. Gen Ross said the association is in great shape and we should stick with our business plan.Gen Umbarger welcomed a motion from the floor to accept

34、 the Treasurers report. COL Felderman so moved. Col Magill seconded. Motion carriedVice Chair Army-Gen Norm ArflackGen Arflack reported that Post Mobilization Training had come up at the Senior Commanders Conference, which was a hot topic of discussion for the TAGS. He said he had served as proxy fo

35、r his TAG. He said the Post Mob Training is critical and we continue throughout the whole process to argue the fact that we as an organization on the Army side should be able to be prepared to train after spending as much time at the Mob station. He said that members of our organization continue to

36、say they do not mind going in theater but it is the time at the Mob station that drives them up the wall and what can we do to limit that. He said that is high on the priority agenda and Gen Honore is keenly aware of what the issue is and he thinks that has a lot of support. He said they also discus

37、sed the Empowerment Act. He told the members to direct their key questions to the Bureau folks when they come this afternoon. He said there were some concerns the TAGS had about the rotation, whether it is one and five or one and four. He asked General Lempke to speak to that when he gave his report

38、. Gen Arflack said the Governors are concerned about that and as an organization some of the units will be in the box quicker than some others. He said that once it is place, and the system starts to flow, it should be a predictable system and well defined on how it works. Vice Chair Air Report: Maj

39、 Gen David PoythressGen Poythress reported TFI (Total Force Integration) continues to be very much a work in progress. He said he thinks the consensus among the TAGs and the Air ATAGs is that Gen McKinley and company have done about as well as could be done. He said there is pain to go around and it

40、 is not finished. He said they are working through it and that the struggle continues. He said he thinks many of the catastrophic fears have gone away. Gen Poythress reported that the last couple of days he Col Hansen, COL Joyce and other members of the Georgia association had been working the Hill.

41、 He said they got a very interesting reception. He said they visited with half their Senators and about five of their Representatives and got a lukewarm reception on the Empowerment Act with not a lot of feedback. Gen Poythress reported what was more interesting to him was the feedback they got on e

42、quipment and MILCON. He said when his two Senators visited the state after the hurricane they approached him to say they needed to be plussed up on the equipment side. He said there is a strong current running in Congress in our favor on many fronts. He said that one in particular was that one of th

43、eir Democratic Representatives said he would take care of MILCON. He said the dynamics of partisan politics is very hard to understand at this point, but we are approaching a window in the Congress when we have an enormous amount of goodwill and a great opportunity to accomplish many things we have

44、wanted to accomplish over time. Gen Poythress reported that a bill has been introduced to amend the Insurrection Act. He said he did not talk about that, but it has a fair amount of traction. He said all the Governors and the Governors Association are supporting it. He said this was the amendment la

45、st year to the Defense Authorization Act that allows the President to unilaterally federalize the National Guard over the objection of the Governor. He said he thinks we will see that modified if not repealed outright. Gen Poythress reported that JCA (Joint Cargo Aircraft) troubles him greatly. He s

46、aid Gen Mosley briefed them at the TAGS meeting last week, and a lot of them came away from that with a lot of questions as to what his position is. He said it was not clear to him if the Air Force had signed on to this or not. He said in talking to their Legislators and their staffs there is an ast

47、onishing level of confusion about JCA. He said it does not sound like a favorable environment. He said he thinks there is a lot of groundwork we will have to do, very quickly, if we see JCA pulled off. He said, in particular, none of their members had any idea as to the importance of JCA to the Air

48、Guard. He said it is fundamentally important to preserving those units whose aircraft was snatched away in BRAC. He said JCA is not just an Army issue; it is truly an Army and Air Guard issue of profound importance to us. Gen Umbarger commented that the Insurrection Act was included in the Authoriza

49、tion Act that passed in the middle of the night without anyone knowing about it. He read from the report by the Guard and Reserve Commission: “There is no established process whereby Governors can have operational control over federal military assets within his state to respond to emergencies”. He s

50、aid this is the old Title 10/32 issue. The recommendation from the Commission is: “As part of the Department of Defense efforts to develop plans for consequential management, and report to civil authorities that account for state level activities and incorporate the use of the National Guard and Res

51、erve Forces as first military responders. The Department of Defense should develop protocol that allows the Governors to direct the efforts of federal military assets thats responding to emergencies, such a national disaster in their state”. He said that is huge.Gen Koper commented that mother Army

52、is represented by AUSA, and the Air Force has AFA. He said that this is an opportunity to let the members know, if they were not already aware, that Gen Poythress now serves on the Board of the Air Force Association, which is an extremely advantageous thing for us to have representation there.AGAUS

53、Report: Maj Gen Roger LempkeGen Lempke reported that the TAGS had met at the ANG Senior Leadership Conference in Baltimore, followed by the Army National Guard Senior Leader Conference in January. He said they met in their normal setting here a week and a half ago for their Mid-Winter Conference. Ge

54、n Lempke reported that at all meetings the areas that they spent most of their time on were, JCA, MILCON, Mobe policy and reintegration. Gen Lempke reported Secretary Gates briefed them at their Mid-Winter Conference. He said Secretary Gates has an engaging personality and he listened intently. He s

55、aid he gave a very homey speech, which indicated that he knew a little bit about the Guard and what we stand for. Gen Lempke reported that Gen Mosley briefed them on many areas, one in particular the JCA (Joint Cargo Aircraft) or Tactical Airlift in general.Gen Lempke reported they spent a good amou

56、nt of time talking about MILCON. He said he agreed with Gen Poythress that JCA is a real problem. He said that if you take a look at the way the Army is sniping away at the National Guard, in their budget, BRAC, and some other areas, they will slowly bleed us if we are not careful. He said they have

57、 some initiatives going to handle that. Gen Lempke talked about re-integration. He said this is what goes on after our soldiers return, not just for that first thirty days, but for what happens after that. He said the re-integration process takes longer than a month. He said that funding and laws do

58、 not accommodate the National Guard in Title 32. He said they found out there is some legislation out there that needs some adjustment. He said a letter that Gen Blum sent to Secretary Hall that he will forward out to all the TAGs. Gen Lempke reported their Spring Conference is coming up in Alaska in June. He said there would be an election of officers at that meeting. Gen Lempke said looking ahead at that meeting, he sees the key