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August 7, 2025 |  |
Ready To Serve ★ Proud To Have Served |
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 | 1-150th Aviation Regiment joins Wall Township's National Night Out. |
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Community Engagement |
I’m happy to report that this has been a banner week for our department’s engagement in community events across the state! From Boonton and Hopatcong to the Jersey Shore, our Veterans Service Officers, youth workers, and military aviators continue to demonstrate how valuable, and visible our service is to the people of New Jersey and the nation.
Let’s give a big round of applause to the Candidates of Class 60 of the New Jersey Youth ChalleNGe Academy, who successfully completed the Acclimation Phase! They are now officially Cadets, having overcome the critical transition from home life to the structured residential phase of this 22-week transformational program. As they begin academic instruction in math, science, social studies, and English language arts, they continue a proud tradition of growth and achievement. For more than 30 years, thousands of Cadets have passed through NJYCA’s doors in pursuit of a brighter future, and I’m incredibly proud of what Class 60 has accomplished so far.
I’m also encouraged by the positive feedback from recent veterans medal ceremonies, including those held in Trenton and Monroe. These ceremonies honor New Jersey’s nearly 300,000 Veterans for their service in conflicts past and present. Our state medals, including the NJ Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, POW-MIA Medal, Desert Storm Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Medal are a small but meaningful way to express our gratitude.
On Tuesday, the 1-150th Aviation Regiment of the 57th Troop Command supported National Night Out with UH-60 Black Hawk landings in ten communities across New Jersey. National Night Out promotes partnerships between neighborhoods and first responders, and I’m proud that our Guard could represent the very best of military professionalism and community connection. Thank you to our pilots, aircrews, and recruiters who made this a memorable experience for residents statewide.
As always, our Joint Operations Center continues its critical work this summer, closely monitoring the Atlantic hurricane season in coordination with the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. Their planning for domestic operations and emergency support both here at home and through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact ensures we remain “neighbors helping neighbors,” prepared for the worst while always hoping for the best. |
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As always, thank you for staying connected to DMAVA.
We invite you to share ideas, events and feedback. Please email our team at outreach@dmava.nj.gov.
Brigadier General Yvonne L. Mays
Adjutant General & Commissioner |
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DMAVA Calendar |
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. |
| View Full Calendar |
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Korean War Armistice CeremonyA ceremony commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the armistice signing was held at the New Jersey Korean War Memorial in Atlantic City, NJ on July 25, 2025.
The New Jersey Korean War Memorial was created to honor the 191,000 New Jerseyans who served in the conflict.
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 | Major Dolly Harris
Retired U.S. Army Maj. Darlene "Dolly" Harris, New Jersey Army National Guard, was selected to receive a specially adapted custom home by nonprofit Homes for Our Troops, officially presented in a ceremony at the Columbian Club in Jackson, NJ on July 25, 2025.
Maj. Harris enlisted in the New Jersey Army National Guard in 1988. In 2005, while serving in Iraq with the 42nd Infantry Division as a logistics officer, she began experiencing difficulties with balance and mobility and was later diagnosed with service-connected multiple sclerosis, a condition attributed to exposure to burn pits and damaged vehicles.
Maj. Harris' new home will be built in Howell, NJ. Learn more about her story at hfotusa.org/dharris.
The former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Maj. Gen. Lisa J. Hou, who deployed with Dolly and stayed close friends with her spoke at the event. View Ceremony Images |
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Farewell ceremony held for 42nd RSGA farewell ceremony was held for U.S. Army Soldiers of the 42nd Regional Support Group, New Jersey Army National Guard, at Franklin High School, Somerset, NJ on August 1, 2025.
More than 80 NJARNG Soldiers will deploy in support of U.S. Central Command’s Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve.
As Task Force Integrator, the 42nd RSG provides and conducts base operating support integrator and headquarters and headquarters battalion functions at designated CJTF-OIR locations by enabling coalition and joint partners to maintain the enduring defeat of Da’esh. View Images
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OCS Graduation The 68th class of the New Jersey Army National Guard Officer Candidate School graduated on August 3, 2025 at a ceremony held at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, NJ.
The ceremony was overseen by the leadership of the New Jersey National Guard and is the end of an 18-month training schedule to commission as officers in the Jersey Guard. View Images |
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 | Vehicle Maintenance Training
Vehicle mechanics from the Albanian Armed Forces, teamed with their counterparts of the New Jersey Army National Guard to conduct vehicle maintenance at the Combined Support and Maintenance Shops, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, July 15-31, 2025.
The 110,000 square foot CSMS facility and logistics hub provided a setting for the longtime State Partnership to share best practices across a spectrum of systems and maintenance operations. View Images
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NJ Army National Guard Recruiting
Brig. Gen. Yvonne L. Mays, the Adjutant General of New Jersey, stopped by the recruiting booth for the NJ Army National Guard at the Burlington County Fair. |
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Join Our Team |
100% Free College Tuition
Bonuses | GI Bill
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NJ Service MedalsThe New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs held a State Medal Ceremony at the Monroe Township Senior Center in Monroe Township, NJ on July 25, 2025.
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 | Get Connected to Resources & Services |
The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs has partnered with Unite Us to connect individuals and families to a wide variety of services and resources.
Unite Us is a coordinated care referral network of health and social service providers. Unite Us can connect our New Jersey military and veteran community to resources to obtain benefits, food assistance, housing, education, transportation, behavioral health services, peer support and more. |
| Learn More / Request Assistance |
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Veteran Homelessness | The mission of Bringing Veterans Home (BVH) is to effectively end veteran homelessness in New Jersey by enhancing existing systems, creating rapid access to housing, and ensuring homelessness becomes rare, brief and non-recurring.
BVH creates a clear path to stable housing for veterans experiencing homelessness through a coordinated network of services and support. |
| Learn More / Refer a Veteran |
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National Guard Training CenterThe NJ Department of Corrections Correctional Staff Training Academy recently hosted Family Day for Class 258.
Recruits’ loved ones were invited to the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, NJ where they witnessed the physical fitness requirements, activities, skills and training the recruits have received.
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Landmark VA Home Loan Act expands relief for Veteran Homeowners
President Donald Trump has officially signed H.R. 1815, the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, into law - delivering long-awaited support for Veterans at risk of losing their homes.
The bipartisan legislation modernizes the VA Home Loan program and creates a partial claim option to help Veteran homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.
Backed by organizations like the VFW, The American Legion, Mortgage Bankers Association, and Rocket Mortgage, this law is said to be a vital step in protecting Veteran homeownership and preventing foreclosure.
Learn More
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| VA offers yearlong community care authorizations for 30 services
VA is extending the length of new community care authorizations to one year for various specialty services. Veterans referred by VA for these types of care will receive 12 months of uninterrupted treatment at VA expense before having to obtain a VA reauthorization.
Read News Release | Watch Video |
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 | American Legion Department of NJ
The American Legion Family sponsored the 23rd Annual Barbeque at Veterans Haven South on July 27, 2025.
Thank you to all of those who attended and helped make this event possible.
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 | National Night Out
A big thank you to the townships that hosted us for National Night Out. We are proud to support community outreach and connect with New Jersey residents.
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New Jersey Fallen Heroes Memorial | In Honor of all those from New Jersey who gave their lives in the fight against terrorism during Operation Enduring Freedom & Iraqi Freedom.
In humble gratitude, we remember their sacrifice. | Memorial Inscription
"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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General Stephen Watts Kearny |
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| August 7, 1967 |
The first C-141 transport plane, dubbed The Garden State Starlifter, arrived at McGuire Air Force Base. | August 8, 1757 |
The garrison of Fort William Henry, on Lake George, including several hundred men from the New Jersey Provincial Regiment, known as the “Jersey Blues,” surrendered to the French. Many of the Jerseymen were kidnapped by Canadian Indians in the post-surrender massacre made famous in the Burlington, New Jersey-born James Fenimore Cooper’s novel Last of the Mohicans and its subsequent film adaptations. |
August 14, 1861 |
As New Jersey’s response to the outbreak of the Civil War picked up in response to a third call for troops, the New York Times reported that “Camp Olden, so named after the respected and popular Governor of the State of New Jersey [Charles Olden], promises soon to be the arena once more of a fine body of troops, as the five regiments now called for by the Government will begin soon to muster at the camp.” |
August 17, 1813 | “Andruss’ detachment,” of militia companies from Hunterdon, Middlesex, Sussex, Monmouth and Essex Counties, left the New Jersey militia base at Paulus Hook en route to garrison Fort Richmond on Staten Island during the War of 1812. The militiamen remained on duty there through September 25. |
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August 17, 1917 |
Construction began on Camp Merritt, a Bergen County transit installation for soldiers on their way to France in World War I. More than one and a half million men moved through the camp, where they spent ten days prior to leaving for Hoboken to board ships for Europe. A similar number stopped there on the return from Europe in 1919. | August 18, 1846 |
Newark-born General Stephen Watts Kearny, one of America’s preeminent frontier soldiers and commander of the Mexican War “Army of the West,” a less than impressive collection of Missouri mounted volunteer units, the Mormon Battalion, and some artillery, stiffened by his own regular army dragoon regiment, captured Santa Fe, New Mexico without a shot being fired. |
August 18, 1918 |
White soldiers from Mississippi marched into Bergen County’s Camp Merritt integrated YMCA building and forcibly ejected five black soldiers. Black soldiers who gathered to protest the ejection then faced off against a group of Southern white troops. Rumors of razor fights and other atrocities spread on both sides and as the situation verged on a full scale riot, Military Police moved in and broke up the hostile crowds with swinging nightsticks. Several shots were fired in the course of the ensuing melee. Two black soldiers were wounded and a third, Private Edward Frye of Kentucky, who was not involved in the disturbance and was sitting in his barracks, was killed when a stray bullet hit him in the chest.
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Visit Our Friends at JTJ |  |
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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.
Subscribe to DMAVA Jobs Bulletin to stay updated on job openings.
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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. |
| Contact DMAVA |
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Please email us at outreach@dmava.nj.gov with feedback and comments regarding the newsletter. If you would like to contribute with an item of interest to our subscribers, please email us your proposal.
Visit the DMAVA archives to view previous editions of our newsletter. |
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nj.gov/military NJ Department of Military & Veterans Affairs 101 Eggerts Crossing Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
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Disclaimer: The appearance of any non-DMAVA information or hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement of the products or services on the part of the New Jersey Department of Military & Veterans Affairs. |
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