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NJYCA Class 55 Graduation | June 22, 2023 | Lawrenceville, NJ |
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Deeds, Not Words!
| The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Youth ChalleNGe Academy (NJYCA) is small in terms of scope and size, however, the impact on the young men and women who graduate, their families and each community they hail from is immeasurable.
The Cadets from NJYCA Class 55 graduated on June 22, 2023. Thirty-three graduates walked across the stage at the Lawrenceville Armory in front of their families, friends, and many of DMAVA’S senior military and civilian leaders. View graduation images on our Flickr page.
In addition to completing the rigorous requirements of the 22-week residential program at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, NJ, the Cadets took advantage of personal and professional development opportunities.
Twenty-seven Cadets earned their GED/High School Diploma. Six graduates earned certificates in Logistics from Rowan College at Burlington. Five Cadets earned college credits with three of them currently enrolled in college and one enrolled at a Vocational Technical School. Five graduates are enlisting in the military: two in the New Jersey Army National Guard, two in the U.S. Marine Corps, and one in the U.S. Navy. Finally, the Cadets gave back by volunteering more than 1700 hours in service to communities across the state.
Director Earnest Williams and his Team are prepping to begin Class 56 on July 17, 2023 and walk alongside another group of New Jersey’s sons and daughters with the goal to redirect and empower them to be the best version of themselves.
Should you be interested in assisting in this no fail mission, we invite you to apply to be a volunteer mentor to assist these young Cadets in their journey.
Learn more at NJYCA.org. |
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Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and safe Fourth of July.
We invite you to share ideas, events and feedback. Please email our team at outreach@dmava.nj.gov.
Brigadier General Lisa J. Hou, D.O. The Adjutant General & Commissioner |
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August 21-22, 2023 9:00am - 4:00pm
GRANT MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP
Lawrenceville Armory
151 Eggert Crossing Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
DMAVA and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants management workshop.
This in-person training is for grant recipient organizations across all disciplines. Attend this class and you will learn how to administer government grants and stay in compliance with applicable rules and regulations.
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DMAVA is sponsoring or will participate in the events below. A DMAVA Veterans Service Officer will be present at many of these events. Please check details to confirm.
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We add new events to our calendar on a daily basis so please bookmark and check back often.
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44th IBCT “Jersey Blues” Complete JRTC | SGT Bruce Daddis | 44th IBCT Public Affairs | June 14, 2023
It’s hot, it’s humid, and there are critters everywhere. “The Box” at the Joint Readiness Training Center is the preeminent environment where Soldiers can be battle-tested in a high-stress, multi-domain setting against a near-peer opposing force, becoming a deployment-ready element.
Showing their resilience and modernized war-fighting capabilities, the New Jersey National Guard’s 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was up to the task, and made history as the first N.J. Guard unit to lead a rotation at JRTC.
Nearly 3,000 N.J. Army National Guard Soldiers from the 44th IBCT were assessed on the unit’s ability to conduct large-scale combat operations, maneuvering as a close-combat force. It was the organization’s largest training exercise in over a decade, with approximately 2,500 additional Soldiers from more than a dozen states and Puerto Rico participating in rotation 23-08.
Read Full Story
View Flickr Collection
View DVID Images |
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SGT Nutter Run | The Officer Candidate School of the New Jersey Army National Guard held their 19th Annual SGT Nutter Run 5K Fundraiser to benefit Army National Guard families in need on June 17, 2023.
View Images |
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Readiness Exercise Validation | U.S. Air Force firemen with the 177th Civil Engineer Squadron respond to an F-16C Fighting Falcon fighter pilot simulating disorientation during a wing readiness exercise validation (REV) on June 16, 2023, at the Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
The firemen are tasked with approaching, assessing and egressing the fighter pilot from the jet within agile time constraints. The REV is designed to test the 177th Fighter Wing's operational readiness in a deployed environment.
View Images |
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Join Our Team |
100% Free College Tuition
Bonuses up to $20,000
Student Loan Repayment |
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Veterans Outreach CampaignDMAVA and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission participated in a resource fair for Women Veterans hosted by the East Orange City Hall Senior Center in East Orange, NJ on June 17, 2023.
With our network of Veterans Service Offices, we are available to provide resources, services and support throughout the Garden State.
Check the Veterans Outreach Schedule to see when we will be in your area or contact your local Veterans Service Office. |
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NJ Service MedalsThe State of New Jersey awards medals to honorably discharged Veterans of the state who served in various conflicts and combat theaters.
State medals include the Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, POW/MIA Medal, Desert Storm Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Medal. Learn More |
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National Guard Militia Museum of New JerseyOn June 20-21, 2023, the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey in Lawrenceville hosted groups from the American Legion Jersey Boys State at Rider University.
The museum had many of their loyal volunteer docents on hand, including the always animated Joe Russo (pictured). Joe and the rest of the museum docents are always excited to talk about New Jersey National Guard history.
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NJ Youth ChalleNGe Academy DocuseriesAre you ready for the ChalleNGe?
In this nine-part docuseries, experience the 22-week residential program of NJ Youth ChalleNGe Academy's Class 55, from the first day at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, NJ to graduation in the summer of 2023.
View Video Playlist |
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Pride Month
Brig. Gen. Lisa J. Hou, D.O., The Adjutant General of New Jersey, welcomed Chairwoman Allison Chris Myers of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, who delivered a special Pride Month speech during an in-person DMAVA event on June 21, 2023.
Myers is the first known transgender person to serve as a Cabinet Member in New Jersey state history and was recently confirmed by the State Senate unanimously on June 20, 2023. View Images |
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Camden County Honors Vietnam VeteranDuring the Camden County town hall meeting on June 15, 2023, U.S. Navy Veteran Harry Glasco was honored. Glasco enlisted in the Navy in 1964, and during his military career, served in the Vietnam War, as well as being stationed in San Diego, California.
Glasco was recognized for his achievements in the service several times, earning the prestigious Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Champion Medal.
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Important deadline for PACT Act approaching
Applicants who submit a claim or their intent to file with the VA by August 9, 2023 may have their benefits backdated by one year if the claim is granted.
That means benefits would be backdated to August 10, 2022.
The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances. There is no deadline to apply for PACT Act benefits; filing by August 9, 2023 simply means you may get your benefits backdated for a year.
The PACT Act adds to the list of health conditions that we assume (or “presume”) are caused by exposure to these substances. This law helps the VA provide generations of veterans — and their survivors — with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.
DMAVA can help connect you to VA and other benefits. Contact your local Veterans Service Office or call us at 888-8NJ-VETS (888-865-8387). As a state agency that works closely with the VA, our services are free and confidential.
Learn more at va.gov/pact. |
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Survivor Benefit Plan Open Season
Congress provided for a Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Open Season in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The SBP Open Season began on December 23, 2022 and ends on January 1, 2024.
The SBP Open Season allows for retirees receiving retired pay, eligible members, or former members awaiting retired pay who are currently NOT enrolled in SBP or RCSBP (Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan) to enroll.
The SBP Open Season also allows eligible members and former members who are currently enrolled in either SBP or RCSBP to permanently discontinue their SBP coverage.
Learn More |
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National Parks Pass
There is a new lifetime pass for National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands, called America the Beautiful.
This lifetime pass for Gold Star Families & Veterans is being offered to demonstrate the country's immense gratitude and respect for those who have served and defended our country.
Learn More at VA News |
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VALife Insurance
Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) provides guaranteed acceptance whole life coverage of up to $40,000 to Veterans with service-connected disabilities. Lesser amounts are available in increments of $10,000. Under this plan, the elected coverage takes effect two years after enrollment as long as premiums are paid during the two-year period.
All Veterans age 80 or under with a VA disability rating of 0 to 100% are eligible for the VALife program and have no time limit to apply.
Learn More |
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Thrift Savings PlanIn these episodes of theSITREP, the host explores 32 different aspects of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The host is joined by U.S. Air Force Veteran, Mike Jerue, who serves as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Thrift Savings Plan.
View Playlist |
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#VetResources
| Subscribe to #VetResources to receive a weekly newsletter from the VA for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. |
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JBMDL Change of CommandUnited States Air Force Colonel Wes Adams relinquished command of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and 87th Air Base Wing to Colonel Anthony L. Smith, during a change of command ceremony at JBMDL on June 20, 2023.
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Honor Military VeteransThis new NJBIZ awards program will honor military Veterans who are making a significant impact on New Jersey business as well as continuing to give back to their community. Winners will be recognized during a virtual awards ceremony in November 2023.
Nomination deadline: August 20, 2023
Learn More |
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In Honor of all those from New Jersey who gave their lives in the fight against terrorism during Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In humble gratitude, we remember their sacrifice. |
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June 29, 2004
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Sgt Alan David ShermanU.S. Marine Corps Wanamassa, New Jersey |
July 1, 2003
Operation Iraqi Freedom 1SG Christopher D. CoffinU.S. Army
Somerville, New Jersey | July 1, 2006
Operation Iraqi Freedom A1C Carl Jerome Ware Jr.
U.S. Air Force Glassboro, New Jersey | July 4, 2012
Operation Enduring Freedom
SSG Raul M. GuerraU.S. Army Union City, New Jersey |
July 8, 2012
Operation Enduring Freedom SPC Jonathan BatistaU.S. Army
Kinnelon, New Jersey |
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July 10, 2004
Operation Iraqi Freedom
CPL Terry Holmes OrdonezU.S. Marine Corps Paterson, New Jersey |
July 10, 2007
Operation Iraqi Freedom CPT Maria I. OrtizU.S. Army
Pennsauken, New Jersey | July 10, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom SPC Carlos J. Negron
U.S. Army Lakewood, New Jersey | July 10, 2011
Operation Enduring Freedom
SPC Rafael A. Nieves Jr.U.S. Army Bayonne, New Jersey |
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"But on the battlefield their feet stood fast, and in an instant at the height of their fortune, they passed away from the scene, not of their fear, but of their glory."
~ Pericles |
| NJ Fallen Heroes Memorial |
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Clark's Battery Monument at Gettysburg |
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June 30, 1888
| “New Jersey Day,” was held at Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Governor Robert Stockton Green led an official delegation which formally dedicated most of the monuments erected on the field by the state to honor the New Jersey soldiers who fought and died there on July 1, 2 and 3, 1863. | July 2, 1863 |
At Gettysburg, the Newark boys of New Jersey’s Artillery Battery B, deployed near the Peach Orchard, fired 1,342 rounds, more than any other Union battery in the Civil War fired in a single day—and Battery B’s day started at 2:00 p.m. As the Union Third Army Corps retreated, Battery B successfully disengaged from advancing Rebels and managed to withdraw all six of its guns to Cemetery Ridge.
New Jersey's Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh regiments were also involved in heavy action that day, from Plum Run through the Wheatfield to the north of the Peach Orchard, with the Eleventh staging an epic fighting withdrawal from the Emmitsburg Road to Cemetery Ridge.
| July 3, 1863 |
The men of the Twelfth New Jersey regiment, firing “buck and ball” ammunition (one round ball and three buckshot) in their obsolete smoothbore muskets, helped wreck Pickett’s Charge on Cemetery Ridge. Some of the New Jerseyans took their paper cartridges apart and loaded as many as twenty buckshot pellets in their muskets. As the Rebels closed on the federal line, the Jerseymen rose up from behind the stone wall they were using for cover and delivered a crushing volley into the Twenty-sixth North Carolina, devastating that regiment and capturing its flag, which hung in Trenton until returned to North Carolina in the early twentieth century.
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July 4, 1812 |
Robert Fulton’s steamboat Jersey took part in a historic first, the transport of troops across water by steam-power. Fulton’s “most excellent machine,” two hulls connected by a single platform, ferried a battery of United States army “flying artillery” from Paulus Hook to Manhattan. It took four trips for the Jersey to get four guns, caissons, limbers, twenty-seven horses and forty men across the Hudson River. The ferry would serve as an important troop and supply transportation service throughout the war. |
July 4, 1813 | An American subterfuge of hiding an armed party of sailors below decks on a local fishing boat, the Yankee, succeeded in capturing the British schooner Eagle off Sandy Hook. |
July 9, 1864 |
The Fourteenth New Jersey regiment was part of a force that fought a delaying action along the Monocacy River, near Frederick, Maryland, against Confederate general Jubal Early’s march on Washington D. C., holding up the Confederate advance long enough to save the capital from possible capture. The Fourteenth lost more men killed and wounded, and fewer prisoners, than any other Union unit in the battle. |
July 9, 1892 | A five-hundred-pound shell fired from the United States ordnance testing range at Sandy Hook accidentally hit the schooner Henry R. Tilton and sank it. |
July 10, 1926 | The most damaging lightning strike in U.S. history hit the Naval Ammunition Depot at Lake Denmark in Morris County, part of the Picatinny Arsenal complex. Nineteen people were killed, thirty-eight were injured and an estimated $75,000,000 in damage was reported following the subsequent explosion. |
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National Guard Militia Museum of NJ
One Museum | Two Locations
Free Admission |
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Sea Girt | Monday-Friday 10AM to 3PM
Closed: Weekends and
State Holidays |
| Plan Your Visit |
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Lawrenceville | Monday-Friday 9AM to 3PM
Saturday 10AM to 3PM
Closed: State Holidays |
| Plan Your Visit |
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44th IBCT Builds’ Generational Readiness’ in JRTC Rotation | SFC Jon Soucy | National Guard Bureau | June 20, 2023
FORT JOHNSON, La. – Spc. Christopher Strawn sweated heavily under a glaring sun as he knelt beside an improvised checkpoint on a dusty gravel road. The checkpoint wasn’t much — concertina wire strung between spindly tripods of tree branches set up on either side of the road. But it would have to do for now.
Strawn’s unit, G Company, 250th Brigade Support Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, was arrayed in a rough semicircle nearby in the woods the road ran through.
His eyes darted left and right from under his helmet, scanning the area for anything out of place after a probing attack on the unit’s flank. As a mechanic, he was usually more likely to be found under the hood of a Humvee than pulling security on a seemingly deserted road in the middle of nowhere.
Read Full Story |
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In Albania, Hokanson Sees Committed Partner, Steadfast NATO Ally | SFC Zach Sheely | National Guard Bureau | June 21, 2023
TIRANA, Albania – In a country that spent nearly 450 years under Ottoman Empire rule, suffered fascist occupation during World War II, and endured a dictatorship for much of the 20th century, democracy emerged and NATO accession ensued.
The latter is due, in part, to the National Guard.
“Thanks to the partnership, we became a NATO country,” Albania’s president, Bajram Begaj, told the National Guard’s top officer during a recent visit here.
That partnership is the link between Albania and the New Jersey National Guard in the Defense Department National Guard State Partnership Program. The SPP, established in 1993, is intended to form cooperative, mutually beneficial relationships between the National Guard of every U.S. state and territory and foreign nations based on common interests, respect and trust.
Read Full Story |
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Airman Gabriel Sotelo | Airman Gabriel Sotelo works full-time at the 177th Fighter Wing as an Active Guard Reserve technician, assigned to the 177th Medical Group, and has been in the unit for one year.
As a member of the Medical Group Commander Support Staff, Sotelo serves as the main consultant to the Medical Group commander for all unit administrative support operations, maintaining and reviewing personnel records, and handling personnel actions. He administratively supports the 177th Medical Group to ensure they continue being capable to serve their mission.
In the community, Airman Sotelo serves as a Gloucester City Youth Soccer League referee.
A quote that is important to him: “Who’s going to carry the boats? And the logs?” - David Goggins.
Airman Sotelo is proud to be the first person in his family to join the military and start college.
Nice work, Airman! |
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Cadet Noah Coakley |
My name is Noah Coakley, and I am interning at the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs as part of a program to receive college credit. I am a rising senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in Peace, War and Defense with a minor in Military Science. My major generally focuses on international relations and conflict, and drawing connections between international actors and their actions.
I am also part of the New Jersey Army National Guard, enlisting about four years ago, and am now a Cadet, part of both the NJARNG and UNC Tar Heel Battalion. I hope to commission as a Second Lieutenant in a year as an Armor officer, and come back to New Jersey to continue my time in the New Jersey Guard.
My internship here has brought me all around DMAVA and the NJARNG, spending a lot of time under the Joint Staff, learning about New Jersey’s State Partnership Program with Albania and Cyprus. Coming up in July, Cyprus is making its state partnership status official, and planning for that event is underway.
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We Are Hiring!
At the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs we take our work in support of Veterans, Servicemembers and their families very seriously. Whether supporting our Veterans with nursing care, transitional housing, or assisting them in navigating access to their Veteran benefits, the Department provides valuable services and can offer rewarding career opportunities to members of the public.
We also have opportunities in facilities management and program management. In addition, we have job openings for members of our military to serve in AGR and Federal Technician roles.
Stay updated on job openings by subscribing to our Jobs Bulletin.
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We hope you enjoy receiving our newsletter and find it both educational and engaging. If you have questions about our department, our programs or your benefits, please visit our website at nj.gov/military to get contact information.
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| Contact DMAVA |
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We welcome feedback and comments from the public regarding the newsletter. If you would like to contribute with an item of interest to our subscribers, please email us your proposal. Contact the newsletter team at outreach@dmava.nj.gov.
To view previous editions of our newsletter, please visit the DMAVA archives.
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