Adjutant General's Testimony

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Adjutant General's Testimony COVER PHOTOS Top to bottom: Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Brig. Gen. Michael L. Cunniff, the Adjutant General of New Jersey, joined the New Jersey National Guard leadership and more than a dozen veterans’ organizations to honor New Jersey’s fallen service members at the State Memorial Day ceremony at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in North Hanover Township, N.J., May 23, 2015. The Cemetery, dedicated in 1986, is New Jersey’s sole state-operated veterans’ cemetery and is managed by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. It is the busiest state veteran cemetery in the nation, averaging more than 3,000 interments each year and is the final resting place for more than 65,000 veterans and family members. (Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released) Soldiers with the 3-112th Field Artillery, New Jersey Army National Guard, fire the M777A2 lightweight 155 mm howitzer during a live fire exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Aug. 26, 2015. These are the first M777A2 howitzers the NJARNG has received. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released) The sun rises on KC-135R Stratotankers with the 108th Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Feb. 7, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released) 1 NJDMAVA FY 17 Soldiers with the 1st Squadron, 102nd Cavalry, on a roving patrol Wing Airmen are assisting New Jersey civil authorities and the Del- provide security on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, located between aware Port Authority with security during Pope Francis’s visit to Camden, N.J., and Philadelphia, Sept. 27, 2015. The joint New Jersey Philadelphia Sept. 26-27. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master National Guard task force comprised of 1-102nd Soldiers and 108th Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released) Thank you for the opportunity to appear before this com- But first, I’d like to talk about the critical and often un- mittee to discuss the Department of Military and Veterans sung work our Soldiers and Airmen do to make New Jersey a Affairs’ Fiscal Year 2017 budget. safer and better place. I consider it a privilege to come here and represent the In September, more than 200 of our Soldiers and Airmen 8,600 Soldiers and Airmen of the New Jersey National Guard were on the ground, helping civil authorities during the visit and a DMAVA civilian workforce that never stops working of Pope Francis to Philadelphia. It was an historic event – for our veterans. and a monumental security challenge. Our Soldiers and Air- The men and women of team DMAVA once again had a men played key roles on our side of the river by assisting record year in terms of the services they have provided to our law enforcement with traffic control and security. Our 21st state’s Veterans, especially in terms of securing the federal Civil Support Team provided authorities the expertise needed entitlements those men and women have earned through their in the event of the unthinkable, an attack using chemical or service. I will elaborate on that in a few moments. biological weapons. The work of our Soldiers and Airmen I consider it a privilege to come here and represent the 8,600 Soldiers and Airmen of the New Jersey National Guard and a DMAVA civilian workforce that never stops working for our veterans. 2 NJDMAVA FY 17 helped make the pontiff’s visit safe for the thousands of pil- One of the ways we are doing that is by seeking new op- grims who entered the event from New Jersey. portunities by adding new capabilities. Since I last appeared But even as Pope Francis was appearing in Philadel- before this committee, our Army Guard has added the 104th phia, our Soldiers and Airmen were also assisting authori- Brigade Engineering Battalion, which will give our troops ties at the other end of the state for an event that drew fewer better maneuverability and survivability on the battlefield. headlines but was also a top national security imperative. For Our Air Guard has added a cyber defense mission that will three weeks, New Jersey National Guard elements assisted bring our Airmen new skills and put our troops on the front the U.S. Secret Service with security for the United Nations lines of what many consider the battlefield of the future. General Assembly as it convened in New York. Security for The Army National Guard budget – which underwent a the event, which draws leaders from 193 nations around the nine percent reduction from Fiscal Year 2014 to Fiscal Year globe, is considered by the Department of Homeland Secu- 2015 – held steady at $120 million for Fiscal Year 2016. The rity to be a potential target for terrorist attack. Once again, Air National Guard Budget, which suffered a similar decline our Soldiers and Airmen responded to the call. from Fiscal Year 2014 to Fiscal Year 2015, remained essen- Even as it protects the homefront, the New Jersey Nation- tially unchanged for Fiscal Year 2016 at $96 million. In both al Guard continues to play a key role in our nation’s defense. cases, the addition of new units offset losses. Last month, more than 100 members of the Army National Guard’s 328th Military Police Company returned to their home armory in Cherry Hill after a yearlong deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, upon completion of a high-profile mission in which they oversaw the safe, humane, transparent and legal custody of detainees. A Tactical Air Control Party Airman with the 227th Air Support Opera- tions Squadron Airman fires at enemy positions on day three of Oper- ation Morning Coffee, a joint exercise with the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard and the Marine Corps Reserve on Warren Grove Gunnery Range, N.J., June 18, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released) Proactive engagement at the local, state and federal More than 120 Citizen-Soldiers with the 328th Military Police Com- pany, New Jersey Army National Guard, were welcomed home level is the only way to ensure we maintain New Jersey’s March 16, 2016 by senior military leadership, friends and family at military infrastructure and missions. It’s for that reason the the National Guard Armory at Cherry Hill after a nearly year-long Department continues to support the Administration’s initia- mobilization to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (NJDMAVA photo by Kryn Westhoven/Released) tives to safeguard New Jersey’s military installations, which provide employment for tens of thousands of people, who in The MPs from Cherry Hill are part of a force that has turn contributed billions of dollars to the state’s economy. never been stronger. The Army National Guard is at 102 The military is New Jersey’s second largest employer and its percent strength and the Air National Guard’s 108 percent people and their missions must be protected from possible strength is among the top three in the nation. future base closures and realignments. These strength numbers are more than just bragging I remain optimistic about New Jersey’s ability to safe- rights for New Jersey among the 54 states and territories. guard its assets. And I remain inspired by the young men and These strength numbers are the best way to maintain the New women who chose to serve our country. Jersey National Guard as strong, viable and modern in an Last month, I had the opportunity to travel to Fort Ruck- era where the Department of Defense budgets are growing er, Alabama, for an historic graduation ceremony. For the tighter. The National Guard Bureau has made it clear that the first time in the Army’s history, three brothers graduated from states and territories with the highest strength and readiness the same class of the Initial Rotary Wing Training course to will lose the least force structure. It is our goal to mitigate the become UH-60 “Black Hawk Pilots.” loss of funds and the readiness of our force. Warrant Officers Alvin, Daniel and Tu Bui are of course, 3 NJDMAVA FY 17 Those opportunities are growing in the National Guard. In a year when the first two women graduated from the Ar- my’s Ranger School, the New Jersey Army National Guard got its first two female combat engineers and its first female field artillery officer. Second Lieutenant Jennifer Wain be- came New Jersey’s first female combat arms officer in the organization’s history in August with her graduation from the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. Staff Sergeant Antonell Ng and Sergeant Linenette Rodriguez graduated from the physically-intense combat engineer course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in November. “To know that I’m making history and I’ve helped lead the way for other females – I feel honored.” New Jersey Army National Guard Warrant Officers Tu Bui, left, Daniel Bui, and Alvin Bui in front of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at Fort Rucker, Ala. On March 3, 2016 the brothers became what are believed to be the first brothers to graduate on the same day from the U.S. Army Initial Rotary Wing Training course to become Army aviators. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Wayne Woolley/Released) part of the New Jersey Army National Guard family. The young men from Toms River joined the National Guard as soon as they were old enough to enlist and made it through the tough pilot training program by leaning on each other.
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