Spring SDF Times 2016 Presidents Message Coming Soon! As I approach the end of my tour as your President, I would like to thank you for your membership and service in you State Defense Force. It is wonderful to 2016 work with many selfless servants and patriots as we strive to add value to our SDF Nationwide Commex Military Department teams. I encourage you to continue to enhance your skills in disaster mitigation, preparedness and response. 25 June I would also like to thank the many Committee Chairs, Committee members, and the Board of Directors for their efforts to improve our organization. Over SGAUS Annual the last year, our membership has grown 20%. We instituted a new JAG train- ing program, and improved our Chaplain, Engineer and MEMS programs. The Conference-Puerto Rico board just recently approved the PME Academy, and in a couple of months we will be offering our members the opportunity to obtain a veteran’s ID card, 16-18 September and purchase all their equipment needs through a partnership we have with ROTHCO, a supplier of military tactical outdoor clothing and gear. JAG Conference & We continue our efforts to engage USAA so that our members may one day have access to the range of their benefits. Last year, the Board of Directors, Training- Puerto Rico approved the migration of the SGAUS website to its current website which is 16-17 September more robust and contains more resources for our membership. As a result of the Strategic Plan survey we sent out two years ago, we now have an Education, Engineer, Medical, and JAG Committee. We are conducting Chaplain Conference & nationwide SDF COMEXs, JAG training, and Chaplain training. Upon implemen- Training- Puerto Rico tion guidance from each SDF CG’s, PME online courses will be available for sol- diers to continue their professional development. 16-17 September This year’s Annual Conference will be in Puerto Rico. Please visit the SGAUS website for brochure, conference registration, hotel registration, and event United Resolve II information. If you have never attended a SGAUS Conference, I strongly urge you to attend. You will enjoy it and come away more knowledgeable, re- 5 November freshed, and ready to engage your work with your State Defense Force. 30 May 2016 marks 150 years of honoring Memorial Day. It is an especially 2017 SGAUS Mid-Year ideal time to remember all the Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice Meeting Washington, DC over the past 241 years. Pause and remember the men and women who 22April 2017 served our nation and selflessly surrendered the precious gift of life so that others could live free. We are united in remembrance because we know that Freedom is not free. We owe a great debt and repay that debt through our service as State Guardsmen serving with honor and dignity to help others besides ourselves. BG(PR) Carlos M. Martinez President State Guard Association of the United States National Guard and State Defense Force Participate in Alaska Shield 2016 The exercise included a mock plane crash in AK the North Slope Borough due to a cyber- attack. Upon request for support from the state, 36 Guardsmen from Headquarters and Headquarters Company; B Company, 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment; and A Troop, all with the 297th BFSB, responded by providing transportation, security, shelter and medical support to the simulated plane crash carrying 61 passengers in the vicin- ity of Barrow. Simultaneously, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Manage- ment's State Emergency Operation Center was stood up, housing personnel from numerous agencies in a central location to consolidate and streamline interagen- cy coordination for the response. The National Guard also stood up a Joint Oper- ations Center to respond to requests for and coordination of Air and Army Guard. Reports later began filtering to participating organizations about an active shooter at a high school in Cordova. Guardsmen with Headquarters and Head- quarters Co., and 1-297th Reconnaissance and Surveillance Squadron's Head Quarters and Head Quarters Troop and C Company, all with the 297th BFSB, pro- vided communications and assisted with post shooting mortuary affairs. The city of Palmer was notionally evacuated in response to a simulated hazmat incident of a bus carrying 13,000 gallons of fuming liquid sulfuric acid at the Palmer fairgrounds. Alaska Guardsmen with the 38th Troop Command launched into action. The 103rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team provid- ed HAZMAT response to include survey, decontamination and communications. The 297th Military Police Company assisted local law enforcement by providing security at the point of distribution, the local hospital and a temporary shelter. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation, were used to provide notional casualty evacuation support. Medical personnel from civilian and government agencies worked to help sustain simulated casualties. Approxi- mately 20 members of the Alaska State Defense Force provided assistance with casualty evacuation and medical support. During the exercise, members of the Mongolian Ministry of Defense and Mongo- lian National Emergency Management Agency observed the DMVA's participa- tion with visits to Anchorage and the Matanuska Susitna Valley. Several other communities throughout the state practiced a variety of emergency scenarios including Craig, Fairbanks, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Ketchikan, Kodiak, North Pole, Sitka and Valdez. Leadership and the Janitor by James Moschgat, USAF (Ret.) William “Bill” Crawford was an unimpres- sive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us re- ferred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor.Army Master Sergeant William J. Crawford (Ret.), poses for a photo for a Denver Post photographer shortly be- fore a Fourth of July parade in Denver, Colo- rado. Photo courtesy of Beverly Crawford- Kite. While we cadets busied ourselves preparing for academic exams, athletic events, Satur- day morning parades, and room inspections Army Master Sergeant William J. Crawford -- or never -- ending leadership classes—Bill (Ret.), poses for a photo for a Denver Post quietly moved about the squadron mopping photographer shortly before a Fourth of July parade in Denver, Colorado. and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory. Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, “G’morning!” in his direction as we hur- ried off to our daily duties. Why? Perhaps it was because of the way he did his job -- he always kept the squadron area spotlessly clean, even the toilets and showers gleamed. Frankly, he did his job so well, none of us had to notice or get involved. After all, cleaning toilets was his job, not ours. Maybe it was his physical appearance that made him disappear into the back- ground. Bill didn’t move very quickly, and in fact, you could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury. His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets. And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny. Face it, Bill was an old man working in a young per- son’s world. What did he have to offer us on a personal level? Maybe it was Mr. Crawford’s personality that rendered him almost invisible to the young people around him. Bill was shy, almost painfully so. He seldom spoke to a cadet unless they addressed him first, and that didn’t happen very often. Leadership and the Janitor Cont. by James Moschgat, USAF (Ret.) Our janitor always buried himself in his work, moving about with stooped shoul- ders, a quiet gait, and an averted gaze. If he noticed the hustle and bustle of cadet life around him, it was hard to tell. For whatever reason, Bill blended into the woodwork and became just another fixture around the squadron. The Academy, one of our nation’s premier leadership laboratories, kept us busy from dawn till dusk. And Mr. Crawford... well, he was just a janitor. That changed one fall Saturday afternoon in 1976. I was reading a book about World War II and the tough Allied ground campaign in Italy, when I stumbled across an incredible story. On September 13, 1943, a Private William Crawford from Colorado, assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, had been involved in some bloody fighting on Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy. The words on the page leapt out at me, “in the face of intense and overwhelming hostile fire... with no regard for personal safety... on his own initiative, Private Crawford sin- gle-handedly attacked fortified enemy positions.” It continued, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, the President of the United States...” “Holy cow,” I said to my room- mate, “you’re not going to be- lieve this, but I think our janitor is a Medal of Honor recipient.” We all knew Mr. Crawford was a World War II Army vet, but that didn’t keep my friend from looking at me as if I was some sort of alien being. Nonethe- less, we couldn’t wait to ask Bill about the story. William Crawford's Medal of Honor Citation. Leadership and the Janitor Cont. by James Moschgat, USAF (Ret.) We met Mr. Crawford bright and early Monday and showed him the page in question from the book, anticipation and doubt on our faces. He stared at it for a few silent moments and then quietly uttered something like, “Yep, that’s me.” Mouths agape, my roommate and I looked at one another, then at the book, and quickly back at our janitor.