THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS

      The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, under the direction of the Adjutant General of New Jersey, is both the Headquarters for the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard and the governmental agency responsible for the administration of veterans programs and services within the state. We are preparing the department to enter the 21st century with the right personnel, the right systems in place, the right facilities, and the right tools and skills we need to be a viable and relevant part of the New Jersey economy. The National Guard is positioning itself for the next century by shifting force structure and units to those areas that can support unit strength. Our force eductions and major reorganizations have been accomplished. Though there still will be minor adjustments, the New Jersey Army National Guard has stabilized at approximately 7,500 authorized positions and the New Jersey Air National Guard at approximately 2,500 authorized positions.

      Veterans services provided by the department include operation of the Veterans Memorial Homes at Paramus, Menlo Park (Edison Township) and Vineland; Veterans Haven, a transitional housing program for homeless veterans; and the only state veterans cemetery, the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery located in Arneytown. There are also 15 Veterans Service Offices throughout the state which provide outreach and assistance to the estimated 735,000 veterans residing within the Garden State.

      The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA) is a unique blend of federal and state missions which brings $4.1 federal dollars for each state dollar expended in its annual operating budget. The department is staffed by state employees, federal technicians, military technicians, federally funded state employees, AGR (Active Guard/Reserve) personnel and active duty military personnel all with different work hours, holidays, pay scales, benefits, and position descriptions.

      The New Jersey Army National Guard currently maintains 32 active armories in 20 of the state’s 21 counties; Passaic County currently is the only county without an active armory. In 1997, we concentrated most of our construction efforts on improving life safety and accessibility which improve the quality of life and availability of these facilities for multi-purpose or joint use with community and governmental agencies. The department is continuing the process of inviting other state agencies and community organizations to use the available space in the armories for their activities. Some examples of expanded use in 1997 include: major motion picture filming using the Jersey City and Teaneck armories, motor vehicle testing sites at Dover and Morristown, the Drug Enforcement Agency’s use of Lodi, Department of Labor’s training facility at the Franklin and Flemington armories; the Department of Education’s use of Phillipsburg armory as a school and the shared use of facilities at Sea Girt with the State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice. We continue to seek community organizations to use our armories for various activities such as motion pictures, blood drives, voting locations, computer and antique shows, scouting, Civil Air Patrol, and other youth organizations. Our message is clear. The Guard is also a community organization and as good neighbors we want to reach out and be involved. We draw our strength from our communities and we return that in service to state and nation.

      The New Jersey Air National Guard is headquartered at McGuire Air Force Base, with its two primary subordinate commands, the 108th Air Refueling Wing at McGuire AFB and the 177th Fighter Wing at Atlantic City Airport in Egg Harbor Township. The New Jersey Air National Guard continues to provide a worldwide presence in support of many varied and substantial missions in the interest of national defense. In 1997, the Air Guard supported NATO’s historic peace-keeping efforts in Eastern Europe, most recently flying refueling missions in support of OPERATION DENY FLIGHT over Bosnia and NORTHERN WATCH over Iraq. The 108th Air Refueling Wing continued to deploy worldwide to Japan, Turkey, Israel, Australia, Iceland, and many other nations in support of its worldwide mission. The 177th Fighter Wing deployed to Howard Air Force Base in Panama for OPERATION CORONET NIGHTHAWK, carrying out its counterdrug role. Every day of the year, F-16’s from the 177th provide coastal air defense for the continental United States from Long Island to Virginia.

      In its role as a state militia, the National Guard responds to emergencies within the state upon the declaration of a state emergency or limited state of emergency by the governor, who serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the New Jersey National Guard (NJNG). This emergency response mission is unique to the National Guard and distinguishes the Guard from the Active military and Reserves.

      1997 marked the third year of our very successful New Jersey ChalleNGe Youth Program. As one of only 15 states involved in this program, New Jersey and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs have taken the lead in investing in the citizens of our future. The New Jersey ChalleNGe Youth Program is a federally funded, 22-week program for at risk youth ages 16 through 18. These youth are unemployed, high school drop-outs who are drug free and not in trouble with the law. The program gives these youth a chance to obtain their G.E.D., develop a positive self-image and discipline, and achieve the skills necessary to function as contributing members of society.

      The New Jersey National Guard continued its war on drugs in 1997 Our Counterdrug and Support Operations and Drug Demand Reduction Program employs a staff of over 66 full-time National Guard soldiers, 100 percent paid by federal dollars. These soldiers work directly with federal and state law enforcement agencies at the Port of Newark and other ports of entry to assist in the interdiction and seizure of illegal drugs. They also reach out to schools and community organizations serving as role models and guest speakers in various drug demand reduction programs. Over the past five years, over one billion dollars in contraband has been seized ensuring that a significant portion of illegal drugs and weapons never reach our state. Last year alone, over $430 million dollars in contraband was seized through this program. Guard personnel working in conjunction with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) played a key role in developing a software package which will help law enforcement officials to track and prosecute peddlers of illegal firearms.

      The Guard continues to expand both its global role and involvement in international affairs. In its expanded missions, the New Jersey Guard was an active participant in the “Partnership for Peace” program, in which the National Guard of various states are matched with former Soviet bloc or third world nations to assist them in their quest to reestablish themselves as free democratic societies. The New Jersey National Guard was partnered with Albania and South Africa. Delegations from both countries visited and observed New Jersey National Guard troops in training during 1997 and National Guard personnel from New Jersey visited these countries to exchange ideas and provide technical guidance in military organization, procedures, and operations. The goodwill established and expertise provided have laid the foundation for these emerging democracies to take their first bold steps in the new world order and enabled New Jersey National Guard personnel to play a significant role in the process.

      More than 60 percent of our state’s veterans are over 55 years old. Ensuring that they receive the highest quality health care is a prime concern of this department. Providing long-term health care at the three veterans memorial homes is the most visible of the department’s support to the state’s veterans. For many years, when funding was reduced, the first thing done was to cut back on the number of beds occupied in our homes to save money. But, in actuality, the state was losing money. About $70 per day per empty bed—in 1992 that was about $2.5 million. By keeping our veterans homes at 99 percent capacity, we are maximizing their usage, maximizing our revenue and maximizing our services to our veterans in need of long-term care. We have reduced the time a veteran is on the waiting list for a bed from 6 to 12 months to 2 to 4 months; and have cut our waiting lists in half.

      Progress in the construction of the new $42 million replacement facility for Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home is on schedule to open during the summer of 1999. This will be a state of the art facility with 332 beds and will also include a day care center for 32 veterans. We will be investing about $100,000 in construction funds to upgrade the veterans home in Vineland to Medicare standards.

      Over the past several years, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has worked to assist some of our most needy veterans through several initiatives aimed at addressing homelessness among our nation’s veterans. New Jersey has about 7,000 homeless veterans. We have been working to reduce these numbers through several programs and activities which include assistance through “Stand Downs,” Veterans Haven, and our office on homeless intervention.

      Our department continues to provide burial services at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery which assures dignity for the deceased veteran and compassion for the families. Over the past year we have increased the number of interments to over 1,900 annually. Our veterans cemetery is now the third most active cemetery in New Jersey and the most active of all state veteran cemeteries in the country.

The ChalleNGe Youth Program

      The Challenge Youth Program is a 22-week residential program located at Fort Dix, New Jersey, for youth who are high school dropouts, 16 to 18 years of age. The goal of this program is to give eligible students a second chance at life through education, life skills, leadership training, and employment training. It is a voluntary program aimed at developing educated, well-rounded citizens. After the residential phase is complete, each student is assigned a mentor for one year. The mentors provide guidance and advice and chart each student’s progress in the working world.

      Since its inception, the New Jersey National Guard Challenge Youth Program has graduated 494 cadets. Of those 494 cadets, 71 percent have obtained their New Jersey High School Diploma (G.E.D.). Challenge continues to strive for excellence in our eight core components. With a 71 percent pass rate of G.E.D. tests in five months, New Jersey Challenge is above the national average of 54 percent in a traditional educational setting. Several of our cadets have gone on to vocational, technical or four year colleges. Many are employed in various fields and a small percentage joined the armed forces. Several of our cadets are taking full advantage of the National Guard’s tuition assistance program and are reflected in all of our statistics.

      Challenge has worked with other state, local and military organizations over the past year. They received environmental training from the staff at Pequest Hatchery and went on orientation flights with the 108th Air Refueling Wing. One of the most prestigious duties that cadets perform is post retreat. Every Tuesday and Thursday Challenge cadets have the honor of lowering the national flag at Fort Dix as the post Sergeant Major looks on with great pride. Although Challenge resides on Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base has provided invaluable job training skills in areas from outdoor recreation to aircraft maintenance.

      In the spirit of service, the Challenge Youth Program has conducted several blood drives at Fort Dix. “The Challenge kids are our largest donors in the area,” stated a representative from the Red Cross. Over 900 patients have benefited from their efforts. The New Jersey National Guard Challenge Youth Program will continue to plant the seeds of duty, honor and pride into the minds of New Jersey’s youth.

Total Quality Management

       During the past year, the Adjutant General’s Quality Center has taken great strides to imbed the principles of quality into the culture of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA). Growing from its inchoate stage as a training vehicle for the Adjutant General to introduce a more effective and efficient way to fulfill the department’s state and federal missions, it has become a recognized leader in Quality Management throughout New Jersey and the nation. An overview of its accomplishments are:

TRAINING: The Quality Center has provided various quality related courses to more than 2,400 individuals. Courses included: Fundamentals of Total Quality Management (TQM), Meeting Management, Statistical Process Control, Customer Focus, Baldrige Criteria Training and customized programs based on the needs of the department. These courses were given to both the department’s state and federal employees.

      In keeping with Governor Whitman’s desire to build a “Quality Culture” throughout New Jersey’s municipal and state departments, we have provided in-depth training to organizations and employees from numerous governmental agencies and departments. At the Adjutant General’s direction, the Quality Center provided Customer Focus and TQM training to “outside” groups such as the Township of Montclair, employees from the Department of Human Services, Department of Personnel and Woodbine Developmental Center, without charge.

      The Quality Center hosted two Facilitator Certification courses at its Fort Dix facility. We now have 45 trained facilitators that service not only DMAVA but also provide assistance to various agencies and departments in New Jersey.

      In keeping with the governor’s focus on education, customized classes are provided for each class of New Jersey’s Youth Challenge Program. The New Jersey quality philosophy was also exported to other states. Our Quality Advisors have served as Quality Instructors at the Professional Education Center in Arkansas, Adjunct Instructors at the Center for Productivity and Quality in Virginia, Quality Examiners in New York and Quality Assessors for Governor Whitman’s Quality New Jersey Award Program.

PROCESS ACTION TEAMS: During the past year, the Quality Center has facilitated 12 separate Process Action Teams. These teams covered the entire breadth of this department to include the Union/State Partnership Agreement, the allocation of resources and equipment, scheduling, unit relocations, historical military preservation committees and various process improvements for both the military and veteran programs.

Through the direction and guidance of the adjutant general and deputy adjutant general, the Quality Center has been able to promote and strengthen the concept of the empowered “High Performance Team.”

COMMUNITY SERVICE: The staff of the Quality Center has taken a pro-active role in demonstrating the governor’s and adjutant general’s commitment to quality by becoming involved in various community efforts and organizations. Staff members have spoken on quality issues and taught groups such as Ocean County Community College and the Jersey Shore Quality Council. They have taken active roles in the governor’s Quality New Jersey Award Program by serving as Quality Examiners, becoming members of the American Society of Quality Consultants and serving on the executive board of the Jersey Shore Quality Council.

COMMUNICATION: The Quality Center produces and distributes a newsletter dealing solely with quality issues, called “Quality Times,” which reinforces the DMAVA philosophy of continuous improvement. This is distributed to DMAVA employees as well as a number of other departments and the governor’s cabinet. It has established a website on the internet as part of the DMAVA homepage.

National Guard Militia Museum

       Just as today’s New Jersey National Guard provides assistance to our citizens during floods, storms and other states of emergency, the Militia of yesteryear was always there to protect and serve our citizens. Over the course of more than three centuries, New Jersey’s “Minutemen” were always ready to leave their homes and families to take up arms in our defense; from within our own boundaries to numerous campaigns overseas during our nation’s wars, your Minutemen were there.

      The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey continues working to preserve this proud heritage and provide an exciting experience for visitors. Our mission is to “preserve and explain New Jersey militia history and to enhance public understanding of how armed conflicts and military institutions have shaped our state and national experience.” During this past year, the museum was open to the public every weekend and some weeks during the summer, two weekends each month during the rest of the year and for several scheduled tours.

      Located at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, the museum is located midway between the post entrance and the ocean. New to the outside displays of tanks and aircraft is an OH-13 helicopter. This wonderful bird, which will be familiar to many as the rescue helicopter from the television series MASH, was flown by the New Jersey Army National Guard. Also new is a 40-foot long box trailer which will house the museum’s mobile display that will travel to public events across the state. Several more vehicular exhibits are expected this year so the repeat visitor will not be disappointed.

      Inside the museum, time goes way back. Original and replica uniforms of centuries ago, weapons dating back to the Civil War, World War II vehicles, battle flags and personal possessions of soldiers are but a few of the displays which can be observed. The visitor will realize that many of the soldiers and units of our nation’s conflicts were National Guard, or State Militias. Once again, since our last report many new exhibits have been added to delight the repeat visitor.

      The members of the museum staff serve in the New Jersey National Guard. The trustees of the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, Inc., a support organization, together with the staff are working constantly to improve the exhibits to educate the residents of New Jersey about its Militia. Come visit!

Installations Division

The following projects were started or con- tinued during 1997:

• Continued construction of the $43 million dollar replacement home at Menlo Park. It is currently at 65 percent completion.


• Continued construction of a $5.2 million dollar consolidated Headquarters Building at Fort Dix. This project is currently at 90 percent completion.


• Started construction of a $2 million addition to the Training and Training Technology Battle Lab at Fort Dix.


• Designed, bid and awarded $2.1 million of federal dollars for quality of life projects at National Guard Armories and federally supported facilities throughout the state.


• Recycled the amount of hazardous waste production from parts cleaners by over 90 percent.


• Completed radon testing at all New Jersey Army National Guard facilities.


• Received no Department of Environmental Protection Agency violations or fines for the second consecutive year.


• Reduced natural gas energy cost by 10 percent.


• Developed and produced a lease/rental marketing plan for the department’s National Guard armories.


• Sold the East Orange Armory.

Awarded over $3.2 million for various construction and renovation projects for all Department of Military and Veterans Affairs facilities. These projects include:

• Contracted for $1,920,500 in renovations and repairs at the Teaneck Interactive Community Resource Center (ICRC).


• Contracted for $802,200 for major drill hall construction and window replacement at the Newark ICRC.


• Contracted for $1,200,000 for major drill hall renovations, window replacements, fire suppression and alarm installation at Jersey City ICRC.


• Initiated repairs to the Vineland Veterans Memorial Home elevators, started construction of a “Canteen” and installed a fire suppression and alarm system in Building 3 all totaling $564,000.

Personnel Division

      The Department’s Divison of Personnel reported the following accomplishments during 1997:

Represented the Adjutant General on the state Employee Recognition Committee, concluded a successful New Jersey State Employee Charitable Campaign (97.7 percent of goal), implemented a new state motor vehicle accident reporting system, initiated safety and training newsletters and prepared to provide Workers Against Violence Efforts (WAVE) training to department employees.

Employee Relations Office

      The Department’s Office of Employee Relations settled 11 disciplinary matters in 1997, at a cost savings of $7,200 per case. The estimated projected total cost savings for the year, as projected by the Department of Personnel, Division of Appellate Practices and Labor Relations, was $79,200.

Affirmative Action Office

      Our department partnered with the Department of Community Affairs Center for Hispanic Policy Research and Development’s “Hispanic Interns in Community Service” Program. We were privileged to have the opportunity to have two talented interns working in the Office of Government Relations and the Office of Information Management. Our department conducted several special emphasis programs this year which included: Federal Women’s Program, Black Employment Program, Hispanic Employment Program, and “Take Our Daughters To Work Day.” The department’s Affirmative Action Office handled eight formal and seven informal discrimination and sexual harassment complaints with a cost savings to the department.

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