FY05 Annual Report Final - STATES - The National Guard

Major Commands
Massachusetts Air National Guard
102nd Fighter Wing
Col. Paul G. Worcester
Chief Master Sgt. Roy H. Piver Jr.
104th Fighter Wing
Col. Marcel E. Kerdavid Jr.
Chief Master Sgt. Laurence D. Heller
Massachusetts Army National Guard
26th “Yankee” Infantry Brigade
Col. Jeffrey D. Greb
Command Sgt. Maj. John F. Helbert
42nd Division Artillery
Col. Eugene A. Dever Jr.
Command Sgt. Major Dennis J. Flynn
51st Troop Command
Col. Michael E. Chilson
Command Sgt. Maj. Michael F. Case
79th Troop Command
Col. Charles F. Maguire III
Command Sgt. Maj. Francis J. Walsh
Headquarters Camp Edwards
Army National Guard Training Site
Col. Steven E. Wujciak
Command Sgt. Maj. Hervey E. Constantine
101st Regional Training Institute
Lt. Col. John G. Chapman
Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory J. Burke
Cover photo by Maj. Winfield Danielson, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs
Back cover photo by Tech. Sgt. Sandra Niedzwiecki, 102nd Fighter Wing
Introduction
to the Massachusetts
National Guard
The Massachusetts National Guard was founded as the
Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia in December 1636.
Since that time, members of the Massachusetts National Guard
served the cause of freedom at Lexington and Concord, fought in
the trenches of France, stormed the beaches of Normandy and
Guadalcanal, kept the peace in Bosnia and endured the blazing
Middle Eastern sun.
Today, nearly 430,000 men and women in uniform are serving in
more than 172 nations, braving unfamiliar environments including
the mountains of Afghanistan and the sands of Iraq. Many are
Reserve or National Guard members on active duty, including
roughly 800 Soldiers and Airmen from our own Massachusetts
National Guard.
More than 6,500 Massachusetts National Guard Soldiers and Airmen
have been mobilized into federal service since September 11, 2001,
and more than 4,000 of those served overseas.
There are 7,500 Soldiers and Airmen in the Massachusetts National
Guard, serving in Air Force and Army units, in both combat and
support roles. The commonwealth gets a great deal of bang for its
buck out of the Massachusetts National Guard. The Massachusetts
National Guard’s combined annual budget is roughly $305 million,
and 97 percent of that is federally funded.
The Massachusetts National Guard has a unique dual mission: first,
to maintain properly trained and equipped units available as needed
to support the Department of Defense under the direction of the
President of the United States; and second, to provide trained and
disciplined forces for emergencies within the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts under the direction of the Governor of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts National Guard has always been there to support
the community in time of need. Massachusetts Guard members
were activated to protect life and property during the Blizzard of
1978, the airport security missions in 2001, the Democratic National
Convention in 2004, and relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
The Massachusetts National Guard is a citizen-soldier force that is
ready, reliable, robust and essential to the safety and security of the
commonwealth and nation. We have interstate compacts with the
National Guard from other states, so if we need an asset that we
don't have in Massachusetts, other states will lend us the personnel
and equipment.
The Joint Force Headquarters in Milford provides a ready command
and control center to manage homeland defense operations. During
the Democratic National Convention, the Joint Force Headquarters
managed National Guard, Reserve and active duty forces supporting
civil authorities in protecting public safety.
2005 Annual Report 3