Archive - 2009

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2009 – While admitting initial reservations, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told a National Guard conference today he sees benefits of a new plan that allows reserve-component servicemembers to conduct pre-deployment training before the clock starts ticking on their 12-month mobilization cycles.

Gates told the National Guard Bureau Senior Leadership Conference he wasn't initially a fan of the so-called "contiguous mobilization" plan he approved earlier this month at the Army and National Guard leadership's request.

WASHINGTON, DC – Sheri Hall could tell something was wrong with her husband, Army Maj. Jeff Hall, at the hangar during his welcome home ceremony. "His eyes were dead," she said.

It should have been a joyous time. The major was returning from his second deployment to Iraq at the end of 2005. He had been with a military training team with the 3rd Infantry Division.

He went from Fort Stewart, Ga., to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La.

But he was having problems. One boss told him he exhibited "visceral anger."

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2009 – The National Guard can play an important role in helping to spread the news about the Veterans Affairs Department's new programs to veterans in their communities, VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told a National Guard conference just outside the nation's capital today.

Despite a long list of successful new programs this year, only about one-third of the nation's veterans have taken advantage of the services, Shinseki told more than 2,400 participants in the National Guard's first Joint Senior Leadership Conference at the National Harbor.