National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) 144th General Conference and Exhibition—A Company Grade’s Perspective
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to travel to Columbus, Ohio. A city itself full of fun and deep pride revolving around Ohio State football. However, that wasn’t the reason for my trip. I was there to attend the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) 144th General Conference and Exhibition in Columbus, Ohio.
The NGAUS General Conference is the Association’s annual business meeting where more than 2,500 Army and Air National Guard officers from all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia stormed Columbus to network, party, and get down to business setting the NGAUS upcoming legislative agenda.
For those not familiar, NGAUS’s goals are to partner with state associations and congregational delegations to effectively communicate the National Guard’s message for improving relevance, readiness, modernization, and quality of life. Sound boring? I encourage you to keep reading.
I reiterate the word “party”. This isn’t some dull, monotonous professional development seminar where leaders choose topics they barely prepare for, only to emphasize importance because doctrine states that it is. Our top senior leaders of the National Guard brought in experts in their fields to speak on the future of the Guard, and then we responsibly celebrated those visions and accomplishments into the nights.
The conference kicked off setting up a quorum through the infamous Roll Call of States. This has been a longstanding tradition of the annual NGAUS conference, which allows speakers from the 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia to explain why their contribution to the National Guard are the best. They must accomplish this introduction in 60 seconds or less before being cut-off.
As speakers praised their home states, representatives ran around the conference hall, tossing audience members souvenirs ranging from foam models of the Statue of Liberty to Louisiana’s Mardi Gras beads. You had rival states throwing out friendly barbs such as Ohio and Michigan. The ceremony set the stage for an engaging and fun start to the three-day conference’s business sessions.
I will say that I was impressed at the size of some states’ representation, and disappointed when I saw New York assigned to the back of the hall (seat assignments are based on membership). New York needs to do better. We as leaders must help our subordinates understand the importance of state associations, officer, and enlisted. After all, many of the reasons for Soldier’s joining the Guard today would not be available without NGAUS and State Associations. Luckily though, the energy was high and even New York’s small footprint was known throughout the conference hall.
Family members, industry representatives and local officials also attend. There are spouse events to keep your husband or wife entertained while business sessions are occurring and major industries reps spread across the Exhibit Hall, proving opportunities for leaders to get hands on the high-tech gadgets and equipment set to modernize our force. You can easily spend all three days moving booth to booth seeing various virtual reality platforms for F35s, robotic systems, drones, and more. Everything a leader would love to put in the hands of their Soldiers could be found.
The officer professional development breakouts were topnotch, with Q&As provided by conference key speakers. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Hokanson, opened the OPD discussing National Guard priorities. Director of the Army National Guard, Lieutenant General Jensen, spoke about the importance of readiness and focus on recruiting.
Professors from The Ohio State (They frequently made sure to emphasize “THE”) gave presentations on organizational leadership and qualities of leaders. The OPD was wrapped up with an energetic discussion on leadership by Nevada’s TAG, MG Berry. You could literally feel the motivation when the speakers were addressing the room.
NGAUS priorities were covered throughout the weekend, one of my favorites being Free Tricare for All. Gen. Hokanson stated that America has a “moral imperative” to improve military health care. NGB reported that over 60,000 Guard Soldiers lack private health insurance. Gen. Hokanson further commented “It’s an essential component to our readiness.” “It’s vital to our recruiting and retention efforts,” he continued. “And, frankly, it’s the right thing to do.” “We even see Soldiers suffering from coverage when swapping back to civilian orders from military orders. It’s a systemic problem that needs to be addressed. Something that would not be prioritized without support from the organization.
The weekend wrapped up with the State’s Dinner. This year’s event theme, historically formal, was “Bring Your Sports Team to Columbus” where attendees sported garments featuring their favorite teams and engaged in various tailgate games such as Corn Hole and Giant Jenga. The evening was full of great food and excitement. A wonderful conclusion to an already tremendous weekend.
Why is it all important though? Soldier care is always a top priority, yet what are we doing to tackle the major issues across our formations? Sure, getting together once a year is chock-full of fun, but how do we stress the importance to our future members? One can simply look at historical accomplishments of NGAUS through the years. Drill pay in 1916. Creation of the Air Guard in 1947. Retirement benefits in 1948. The first female officers in 1956. The GI Bill in 1984. Tricare Reserve Select in 2006. The list goes on. So many reasons that service members join today would not exist if it wasn’t for NGAUS and state associations. It doesn’t stop there though. NGAUS has many events throughout the year including the Legislative Workshop, National Capital Summit, Industry Day, and the Mental Health Symposium. Maybe you just want the opportunity to converse with some senior leaders of your state, and the top leaders of the National Guard. I had the privilege to discuss Guard issues and concerns with New York’s Adjutant General, Major General Raymond Shields, and the Assistant Adjutant General, Major General Michel Natali. Chances like this are few and far between for company grade Soldiers, and our leaders provided insight and advice that aids in officer development.
We are the future of the force. We represent the interests of over 445,000 service members. I know we can all look into our green notebooks and put our finger on some issue that we know would never be solved at our level. Combined together though, we are one voice. Its vital we sound off. The least you can do is come out and meet some new friends.
– CPT Jacob Gazaway, 501 OD BN (EOD)
