A Defense Department retail board has given the green light to a plan to open online exchange shopping to all honorably discharged veterans, with hopes of starting the program on Veterans Day in 2017.

The move, originally proposed by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service in 2014, was approved by the Executive Resale Board early this month. The board unanimously voted to ask the Pentagon to update its policy regarding patronage rules.  The board’s decision was announced in an Aug. 12 email newsletter from the American Logistics Association, which lobbies on behalf of companies that do business with the exchange and commissary systems.

Opening the Exchange to the about 20 million honorably discharged U.S. veterans comes with a strong business case, Exchange officials have said.  The move could produce between $226 million to $1.13 billion in annual sales, according to the 2014 proposal. It could bring as much as $108 million annually in support for MWR programs, which rely on exchange dividends for the bulk of their funding across the services, it says.

However, opening commissary shopping to honorably discharged veterans isn’t included in the proposal.

Welcome to the landing page for the 2017 SGAUS Conference!

For information about the conference and the workshops offered: Information.

For hotel registration: Hotel.

Hotel and area video: Video.

For family activities and area attractions: Activities & Attractions.

SGAUS 2017 Annual Conference Corporate Sponsors

On behalf of the Executive Board and all the members, we wish to express our gratitude for the great partnership our Corporate and individual sponsors have established with our Association.  Please take the time to view the list and visit their web sites by following the link below.

Sponsors

Medical Training Academy

SGAUS is planning to institute a Medical Academy. There will be an organizational meeting at the upcoming SGAUS Meeting in Myrtle Beach, SC.  The meeting will be held on Saturday 23 Sep 2017, 1000-1200.  All Medical personnel attending the SGAUS convention are encouraged to participate in this initial meeting.  Personnel invited include physicians, dentists, nurses, advanced nurse practitioners, veterinarians, medical service corps officers, behavioral health professionals, physicians assistants, EMTs, and paramedics as well as any other interested parties.  The purpose of this meeting is to determine the types of medical organizations existing in the various State Defense Forces and to develop plans for appropriate medical training which can and should be offered by SGAUS as well as to develop a sharing of concepts and cooperation between medical activities of the various state defense forces.  This initial meeting will last approximately 2 hours.  Register NOW at … Register.

If you wish to discuss your state defense force organization, audio visual equipment to allow short power point slide presentations will be available.  If you know you are going to attend and especially if you would like to add to the formal discussion, please contact:

David J Cohen MD, FACS

BG, TXSG (ret)

Chair, SGAUS Medical Academy

Cell phone: (210) 241-4675

Email: dcohen@satx.rr.com

Improving Unit Partnership

During the April 9, 2017 regular scheduled drill, COL Edward L. Vaughan, 156^th Airlift Wing Commander and COL(PR) Jesus Delgado, 1^st Air Base Group Commander signed a Memorandum of Understanding solidifying the working relationship between the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and the Puerto Rico Air State Guard.

“Our partnership with the Puerto Rico Air State Guard is stronger today than ever.” said Vaughan. “In every way the 1st Air Base Group has been able to help us, they’ve done an outstanding job. Their dedication to our community and the 156th Airlift Wing is vital to our mission readiness. While State Guard Airmen work side by side the 156^th AW Airmen on our regular scheduled drills, there were legal hurdles to mutual aid that weren’t solved. This MOU resolves a lot of those issues and shows our commitment to the outstanding relationship between the 156th AW and the 1st ABG, now and for years to come.”

COL(PR) Delgado said “For all of us in the 1st Air Base Group, signing this MOU is the culmination of years of efforts to formalize our relationship with the 156th AW. This is a historic milestone, and the beginning of a new era of partnership and joint work amongst us. Thanks to COL Vaughan, COL Figueroa, and all the 156th AW leadership and Airmen for believing and trusting in the integrity and capabilities of the 1st ABG’s Airmen.”

For more information … http://sgaus.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/156AW-and-1AB-MOU.pdf

Unit Public Affairs Representative (UPAR) Training and Conference will be held at the 2017 State Guard Association of the United States (SGAUS) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on 22 September. This will be the first training and conference for SGAUS UPAR personnel, and it will be modeled on trainings held for the Military Emergency Management Specialist (MEMS) and Judge Advocate Generals (JAG). Content for this full day training will cover topics such as National Incident Management System (NIMS) Basic Guidance for Public Information Officers, best practices for State Defense Force (SDF) PAOs at headquarters and unit level, recommendations for table top exercises for UPAR personnel, and additional trainings and information.

The rationale for the training is to heighten awareness of duties of UPAR personnel in SDFs. In the 21^st century the role of the UPAR with respect to public information, especially with a rapidly changing social media environment and the role that SDFs play in disaster relief, is increasingly important. To function professionally the UPAR should begin to work toward an attitude of a professional information officer, and training and best practices of UPAR will be shared to help achieve this end.  SDFs can improve in getting the story of SDFs and their mission to all Americans, and these techniques can be learned and practiced.  The way to do this is to begin the development of a professional UPAR corps.  Doing so will have a positive affect on public perception, influencing state legislators and recruitment as well as creating a sense of community among SDF forces.

Examples of content that will be discussed include how to run social media inside an SDF unit (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram); write articles for SGAUS and SDF magazines and newsletters; shoot photo’s, post-process pictures, and maintain an archive; shoot and edit video and upload to DVIDS and maintain an archive; produce commemorative items (t-shirts, poker chips, photo books, coins, and other paraphernalia); and keep a history of the unit.

Register NOW at … Register.

More information on the UPAR Conference and Training can be had by contacting 1LT Steven Estes at LTSteven.Estes@icloud.com.

EXPERIENCE SCUBA
The State Guard Dive Team will be offering a short introductory in water SCUBA experience to State Guard members and their spouses. This program is NOT a SCUBA certification course. It is designed to provide interested guardsmen and spouses with a short class, pool dive, and the opportunity to see if they would like SCUBA diving. After a short class on SCUBA gear and a safety briefing each SCUBA inexperienced diver will don SCUBA gear and will be accompanied by a SCUBA certified dive team member underwater.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR to attend the conference and don’t forget to register to Experience SCUBA!  Register NOW at … Register.

For more information, LTC(SC) Scott Malyerck at scott.malyerck@sg.sc.gov