FY05 Annual Report Final - STATES - The National Guard

Adjutant General down through all levels of command to the individual
Soldier. EMS is instrumental in meeting a primary objective
of the Massachusetts Guard; enhancing military readiness while safeguarding
the environment.
Inspector General
The Inspector General (IG) Office serves as
an extension of the eyes and ears of The Adjutant
General.
The four major functions of the IG are: Assistance,
Inspections, Inquiries and Investigations,
and Teaching and Training.
The Inspector General is an impartial fact-finder for The Adjutant
General, providing a continuous assessment of the efficiency, discipline,
morale, esprit de corps and readiness of units in the Massachusetts
National Guard. Contacting the Massachusetts National
Guard Inspector General Office is a right of all Airmen, Soldiers,
civilians and other members of the Massachusetts Guard team.
The IG shop is a seven-person unit organized to maximize the high
level of talent and experience of its team members. Directed by a
colonel, the IG section is composed of an investigation team, an
assistance team and an inspection team.
Fiscal year 2005 was a busy year for the IG Office. The section
processed more than 218 requests for assistance from Massachusetts
National Guard Soldiers and Airmen. These requests involved
resolution of issues concerning promotions, pay, deployment problems,
medical concerns, retirement points and domestic situations.
Inspectors from the United States Army Forces Command
(FORSCOM) IG team visited Massachusetts in April 2005 to inspect
the state's Intelligence Oversight (IO) Program. The
FORSCOM inspectors deemed the IO program of the Massachusetts
National Guard to be the "best program inspected, regardless
of component."
The IG inspection team visited 14 units in Massachusetts during the
year, examining Soldier readiness issues for The Adjutant General.
During fiscal year 2005, the IG investigation team conducted eight
investigations and/or inquires of serious incidents at the direction of
The Adjutant General.
The IG goals and objectives for 2006 include:
- Incorporation of Vision 500 into all aspects of the inspection program
- Increasing field contact by the Inspector General to all armories in
the state
- Reducing case processing time by 25 percent for assistance cases
- Increasing involvement of the IG in teaching and training
As in the past, the Airmen and Soldiers will remain as the number
one mission priority in all aspects IG performance during the coming
year as the office seeks to uphold its motto, "Your IG - Our
Guard - One Army!"
Selective Service
The mission of the Selective Service System
is building public trust in registration and
sustaining a registration base in peacetime.
To accomplish our mission the Selective
Service System is ready to:
- Furnish personnel to the Department of
Defense for military service in the event of a
national emergency declared by Congress or the president.
- Provide a program of alternative service for those from the
manpower pool who seek and are granted conscientious objector
status.
- Maintain a program to conscript health care personnel when
directed.
The Massachusetts Selective Service Detachment’s mission is to
recruit, initially train and annually conduct continuation training
for civilian board members who, in the event of a draft, would handle
and make a determination on any requests from individuals being
drafted for reclassification (due to hardship, or other reasons) to
avoid or delay induction into the military. The board members would
evaluate a claim and make a determination to either reclassify or
not reclassify an individual based on proof of the claim.
In the event of a draft, the officers in the section would be activated,
establish area offices within the commonwealth, and start hiring
and training civilians as their replacements, re-training the board
members to ensure they know their duties and responsibilities, and
initially getting inductees to the processing stations, hearing claims
until the boards are functioning. The officers would also continue
to recruit and train board members for those boards who are not at
100 percent manning.
Looking to the future, our goal this year is to maintain and improve
our already impressive 97 percent board member status and training,
which is among the highest in the Northeast.
Office of the Judge Advocate
The Massachusetts National Guard Judge
Advocate General (JAG) structure consists of
personnel (officer and enlisted) at the Joint
Force Headquarters, Camp Edwards and the
26th Infantry Brigade.
In fiscal year 2005, as has been the case since
Sept. 11, 2001, the JAG office was engaged
in the mobilization and demobilization of units and individuals from
Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sinai and the Balkans.
During the pre-mobilization phase, Soldiers were provided with
wills and powers of attorney as needed, as well as assistance with
landlord/tenant, financial and other matters that impact on their
individual readiness to deploy. Working in conjunction with the
Massachusetts National Guard Family Program Office, the Office
of the Judge Advocate participated in briefing family members of
deploying National Guard units.
2005 Annual Report 29