Close the Loop - December

©This newsletter is published by the Office of Public Affairs of the Mississippi State Guard.

MISSISSIPPI STATE GUARD

2012

Close the Loop Newsletter for the Mississippi State Guard

Office of Public Affairs, MSSG

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"I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be to all people. For

unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior who is Christ The

Lord" Luke 2:10-11

Chaplain

Nathan Barber, LTC (MS)

Crossways

In the Biblical account concerning the birth of Jesus, Luke records that the Angel of God spoke

to the Shepherds, who were keeping watch over their sheep that night, saying, "I bring you good

news of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David

a Savior who is Christ The Lord". This is the very essence of Christmas! In short it tells us how

God chose to come in human flesh into earthly time and space in the Person of Jesus. The

manger of Bethlehem began Jesus' journey which would lead Him all the way to the cross

outside the City of Jerusalem some thirty-three years later. At the cross Jesus "became obedient

unto death, even death on the cross"...even though the Roman cross of crucifixion was reserved

for criminals and slaves! Yet, Jesus was willing to go the Way of the Cross for you and me and

every other sinner.

Why? Why would He be willing to do that for us? The answer is straightforward..."For God

so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should

not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Additionally, Romans tells us that "the gift of

God is eternal life through Jesus Christ". What a gift! The gift of eternal life from the Eternal

God. And, it comes through the "good news of great joy Savior" that was announced by the

Angel on that night so long ago.

This is the Christmas Connection that can absolutely transform how you celebrate Christmas

this year. Are you willing to let the "good news of great joy Savior" make this the spiritual

celebration that it deserves to be?


G-3

Doug Hayhurst, COL (MS)

SGAUS 2012 Annual Convention

BG Lee, CSM Marlow, CPT Hayhurst and I represented Mississippi and attended the 29th

annual SGAUS convention in Nashville Tennessee from 1 to 4 November. Great meeting and I

see a positive path forward for the association has been set. We had speakers from the DOD IG

who have been working on a project to look at the interaction of DOD with State Guard forces.

They talked about the processes used in gathering information and the format of the final report.

Unfortunately the final report has not been published yet so their conclusions/recommendations

could not be shared at this time. Expected date is by January 1, 2013 to have the report

published.

We also heard form LTG (Ret) Blum who was the last chief of the National Guard Bureau. LTG

Blum spoke highly of the SDF and the need for increased involvement with the National Guard

forces of each respective state.

The key note speaker on Saturday night was Dr. James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation who

is also Director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies and Deputy

Director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies. Dr Carafano

is a well published author on homeland security and military studies in defense of our country.

Dr Carafono has written extensively for the need of State Defense Forces in each state and spoke

about his vision for the increased need for the services state defense forces provide in the current

and future climate of the United States.

Breakout sessions were conducted in each discipline and I can speak to the G-3 session that I

attended that there will be greater coordination and sharing of information between the states that

were represented. There are a lot of great ideas and best practices currently being used around

the country and sharing this information will only enhance the way we all do business and

present a united front to the National Guard Bureau and the DOD as we move forward.


Some minor changes are coming from the MEMS Academy and we will get those published and

incorporated into our training SOP as quickly as possible.

The new Association President, BG(SC) Herman J. Hudson, was installed. BG (SC) Hudson

spoke about the 30th annual convention to be held in Charleston South Carolina next year. The

committee for the 30th anniversary has been working on this for over a year and has already

raised over 1 million dollars for the celebration. If you are not a member of our state association

and SGAUS I encourage you to join and start planning on attending now. I will publish the exact

dates and agenda as they are available. Don't forget the association has approved some funds to

assist members of the various states in attending the annual convention. All you must do is apply

and you could get your registration fee and hotel room paid for. This is just one of the benefits of

membership.

*** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT***

Brigadier General William B. Lee, MSSG commanding general, is happy to announce the first

annual MSSG Christmas party, to be held on 15 December 2012. This is the first, of what will be

an annual gathering of MSSG troops and their families to celebrate the holiday season and toast

another successful year for the Mississippi State Guard. All MSSG members are welcome and

encouraged to come with their spouse or significant other. Contact your command for detail

information about the specific time and place of the event.

Tapping State Defense Forces to Decrease Defense Spending

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

By Warrant Officer 1 Seth G. Stuck

Public Affairs Office

Georgia State Defense Force

State defense forces may well hold the key for states looking to maintain high levels of

emergency response preparedness without bloating their budget. Twenty-two states currently

have volunteer state guard units. These units, usually referred to as state defense forces (SDFs),

offer a vital, low-cost (and sometimes free) force-multiplier for the National Guard and

homeland security resources.


While SDFs might not seem like a vital need in states with a low risk of natural disasters or

terror attacks, several states that are at high risk for catastrophes have yet to create a modern state

defense force. And there are other states, still, that do have SDFs but do not quite leverage them

to their full potential.

With state and federal budgets shrinking, states can no longer afford to place establishment and

use of their SDF on the sidelines. Four national security analysts, including two retired SDF

officers, recently explored this dilemma and sought out to explain how SDFs work, and why they

are invaluable to so many states—and to the country.

The findings of Jessica Zuckerman, Colonel Martin Hershkowitz, Brigadier General Frederic N.

Smalkin and James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., are worth a read, but their basic point is this:

“With the Cold War over, the nation and the states face different threats. Rather than preparing

to fight Communism, the United States is now faced with an entirely different threat, that of

radical Islamists who use terror as a weapon. This threat, coupled with the ever-present risk of

natural disasters, has created an increased need among the states to strengthen and augment

their homeland security capabilities. With the recent high mobilization rates among the nation’s

National Guard forces, both as units and as individuals, due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,

forward-thinking governors and TAGs have begun looking to their SDFs as force multipliers,

providing key elements of all-hazards homeland security for their states.”

Such is the case here in Georgia, where the Georgia State Defense Force not only augments the

National Guard in scenarios ranging from search and rescue missions, to pre-mobilization

training, to MEDEVAC training exercises, to honor guards and other ceremonial honors, to

biohazard emergency response training – but also provides free, in-house training and

certification on mission-essential tasks like CPR, first aid, and rappelling. The GSDF also

augments the Georgia Guard’s public affairs and JAG operations, again, at virtually no cost to

the state.

The force has a core of former service veterans and is staffed entirely of volunteers who offer

their own personal time on their own personal dime to serve as a force multiplier for their

National Guard and community.

These SDF members aren’t just more “boots on the ground” – though that alone is valuable

enough – they’re also volunteers who, in many cases, offer skill sets worth hundreds of dollars

per hour to augment the Georgia National Guard’s regular operations.

Indeed, most SDFs have medical units, engineering units, JAG units, communications units,

search and rescue units (which are National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) and/or

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) qualified), and even a chaplaincy – all of which

are designed to nest within a domestic National Guard operation or training exercise as a force

multiplier.

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/02/why-more-states-should-establish-state-defense-forces


By way of example, the Georgia Army National Guard’s Col. Thomas Carden, Commander of

the 560th

Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, estimates that the GSDF providing volunteer role-

players for his pre-mobilization training facilities saves him approximately a half-million dollars

per year in costs he would otherwise have to pay contractors to provide the same service.

Suffice it to say, in any instance where a state or the National Guard might consider

contracting a civilian organization to provide a for-pay defense service, it should instead

first consider if a state defense force can provide the same service at no cost.

What’s more, unlike other federal forces, SDFs are continually resident within their respective

states and can be called up by the adjutant general on behalf of the governor quickly and easily in

times of need. SDFs are also exempt from the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act, which

prohibits troops in federal service under Title 10 from engaging in domestic law enforcement

activities – though that is rarely an obstacle for National Guard forces, and rightfully so. As the

commander of a state’s military department, the adjutant general also directs – or works with

his/her FEMA partner to direct – state emergency response. Through the adjutant general and the

state’s joint staff, an SDF can easily coordinate with other key components of the state

emergency response.

In recent years, SDFs have proven their value as vital force providers to homeland security and

emergency responses. After 9/11, for instance, the New York State Guard, the New York Naval

Militia, and the New Jersey Naval Militia were activated to assist in response, recovery, and

critical infrastructure security. An estimated 2,274 SDF personnel participated in recovery efforts

after Hurricane Katrina. SDFs have also provided critical infrastructure protection since 9/11.

The point is a simple one: In a day and age where state governments are looking every which

way to find budget savings, why not look at doing more with state defense forces? The formula

works here in Georgia, allowing the Georgia Department of Defense to do more for less – and

you can bet that in each state, including Georgia, there are a host of additional people who would

love to volunteer their time to directly support their community, their state, and their National

Guard in the tradition of this nation’s militia.

Article based on a policy paper featured by the Heritage Foundation

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/02/why-more-states-should-establish-state-defense-forces


PAO

Jeff Kennedy 1LT, (MS)

NEWSLETTER INPUTS

This month I want to remind everyone about the importance of providing information for the

newsletter. Although the MSSG newsletter is a new publication, it is getting hundreds of people

reading it. So far, it has been a great success in communicating important information, not only

to the members of the MSSG, but to the community in general. The types of information that we

need is, but not limited to: Promotions and awards issued at drill, Special training, News-worthy

events, either at drill or in the community that involves the MSSG, Recommendations for the

“Soldier of the Month”, etc… This newsletter can be a great tool for us all to use to

communicate, to the MSSG and the community, information about our organization and

activities. Let’s all take advantage of this opportunity on a regular basis make this publication

the best State defense forces newsletter out there.

Veterans News

9 NOV 2012

Eric. K. Shinseki

A Message from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Veterans Day 2012

Three days ago, the citizens of this great land decided who would have the privilege of leading

our Nation for the next four years. It is a time-honored process reflecting both the wisdom and

the power of the American people. Today, America honors the men and women whose profound

acts of citizenship — service in the armed forces of the United States of America — have

safeguarded our country for 237 years and guaranteed our rights as Americans to choose our

leaders.


Twenty-two million living Americans today have distinguished themselves by their service in

uniform. Their devotion and sacrifice have been the bedrock of our sovereignty as a Nation, our

values as a people, our security as a democracy, and our offer of hope to those in other lands,

who dream our dreams of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

For the past 11 years, the men and women of our armed forces have stood watch in Iraq, in

Afghanistan, Europe, Korea, and more than 150 other countries around the globe. More than 1.5

million Veterans have served in the combat theaters of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of

Africa. Since 9/11, nearly 3 million Veterans have departed the military, having fulfilled their

duty to the Nation, and become eligible for the benefits and services we offer here at the

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

We are often reminded that, today, less than 1% of Americans wear the uniforms of our Nation.

The sum of their service to the country, however, is beyond measure. Our rights and privileges

as American citizens have been their gifts to each of us. We must not take those gifts for

granted. On behalf of the American people, each of us here at VA has the responsibility of

caring for these giants among us. Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, Excellence — I

CARE — are our watchwords.

VA is renewing our country’s historic covenant with its Veterans. By leveraging 21st century

technology and empowered by a dedicated workforce, over one-third of whom are Veterans

themselves, VA is boldly transforming itself in healthcare and benefits delivery, and in memorial

affairs, to better serve all Veterans.

Our goals remain unchanged: increase access to VA benefits and services; eliminate the backlog

in compensation claims in 2015; and end Veterans’ homelessness, as well, in 2015. In this

Department, every day is Veterans Day. We celebrate their contributions, take pride in their

achievements, and as their national advocates, care, nurture, and protect them as well as they

protected all of us.

I extend my thanks and admiration to our Nation’s Veterans on this, their special day of

recognition, and I express my deep appreciation to my colleagues at VA for their dedication,

their loyalty, and their partnership in this noble mission.


Contributors:

Commander:

William B Lee, BG (MS) [email protected]

Deputy Commander:

Jimmy Shows, COL (MS) [email protected]

Command Sergeant Major:

CSM Johnny Marlow [email protected]

Chief of Staff:

Fred Davis, COL, (MS) [email protected]

G-1:

Jimmie Lindsey, COL,(MS) [email protected]

G-3:

Doug Hayhurst, COL (MS) [email protected]

Pat McGowan, LTC (MS) [email protected]

Command Chaplain:

Nathan Barber, LTC (MS) [email protected]

Recruiting:

Michael Barnes, LTC (MS) [email protected] Cell: 601-506-0043

Charles Daley, LTC (MS) [email protected] Cell: 601-331-5664

PAO:

Jeff Kennedy, 1LT, (MS) [email protected] Cell: 601-918-4059

Please submit news stories, pictures, information, suggestions, or ideas to the PAO office prior to the 15th

day of the

month. Please remember that Public Affairs personnel will not always be there to take pictures or document the

good things that occur in the State Guard. If you are involved with something that is ‘news worthy’ please take

pictures and send those pictures, along with the information about the picture, to the PAO office

([email protected]) so the images and stories can be shared.

mailto:[email protected]












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