|
DMA Military Newsletter | July 1, 2026 |
|
|  |
| Ready to serve ★ military.nj.gov |
|
| |
 |
Brig. Gen. Mays addressed the audience during the graduation ceremony for the NJ Youth ChalleNGe Academy on June 17, 2026. |
|
|
Leadership for the Future | |
June offered two opportunities to celebrate something essential to the mission of our organization: investing in young people and supporting their development into capable leaders, engaged citizens, and productive members of their communities.
On June 17, we marked the graduation of Class 61 of the New Jersey Youth ChalleNGe Academy. Over the course of 22 weeks, cadets committed themselves to a rigorous residential program focused on academic achievement, personal responsibility, physical fitness, and leadership development. Through discipline and perseverance, they pushed themselves to grow and to prepare for the opportunities ahead.
Their accomplishments speak for themselves. Together, the cadets completed more than 1,700 hours of community service, achieved significant academic milestones, and took meaningful steps toward their futures. Among the graduates were young men and women who enlisted in the United States Navy, earned acceptance into colleges and universities, and entered skilled trades apprenticeships. Their achievements demonstrate the power of determination when paired with opportunity and mentorship.
Just over a week later, I had the honor of serving as keynote speaker for the American Legion Jersey Boys State Class of 2026. For decades, Boys State has offered young leaders firsthand experience in government, civic engagement, and public service.
Every day, our Soldiers, Airmen, and civilian professionals serve our state and nation while strengthening the communities where they live and work. Readiness begins with people, and strong communities depend on leaders who embrace service, accountability, and teamwork.
Whether a young person chooses military service, higher education, a skilled trade, public service, or another path altogether, the leadership foundations they build now help secure a stronger future for New Jersey.
By investing in these young leaders today, we help build the next generation of citizens, professionals, and public servants our communities, our state, and our nation will depend on tomorrow. |
|
|
As always, thank you for staying connected to DMA.
We invite you to share ideas, events and feedback. Please email our team at outreach@dma.nj.gov.
Brigadier General Yvonne L. Mays
Adjutant General & Commissioner |
|
| | | |
Community Calendar | New events are added to the calendar on a daily basis so please bookmark and check back often. |
| View Full Calendar |
|
|
|
 |
Annual TrainingIn June, National Guard units across the state conducted annual training in order to enhance skills and build cohesion that will set the conditions for future mission success. |
|
 | 63rd Army Band
The New Jersey Army National Guard's 63rd Army Band traveled to Cyprus to celebrate 250 years of American independence. The "Battle Rattle" rock and jazz ensemble from the 63rd performed multiple times in the region, including at a celebratory event with Cypriot officials in Nicosia and a live public concert at Finikoudes in Larnaka.
The band's tour highlighted the deep bilateral ties and cultural exchange between the U.S. and the Republic of Cyprus, coinciding with widespread observances of the historic 250th milestone. The musicians supported U.S. diplomatic missions and engaged with local communities, enhancing the strong ties built through the State Partnership Program between the New Jersey National Guard and the Cypriot military. |
|
 | 177th Fighter Wing
On Father's Day, the 177th Fighter Wing performed a two-ship F-16C Fighting Falcon fighter jet flyover, during The Star-Spangled Banner, at the Barefoot Country Music Fest in Wildwood, NJ. |
|
|
Join Our Team | Service to Community & Country
100% Free College Tuition
Bonuses | GI Bill
Student Loan Repayment |
|
| |
|
 |
LTC Stuart Loy & LTC Vincent TirriLieutenant Colonel Stuart M. Loy and Lieutenant Colonel Vincent P. Tirri graduated from the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania on June 26, 2026.
The two New Jersey Army National Guard officers completed a two-year program earning them Military Education Level 1 and a Master of Strategic Studies degree. Brigadier General Arthur C. Roscoe and Colonel Omar T. Minott attended the graduation in support of the officers. |
|
 | High School Graduations
As graduation season comes to a close, the New Jersey Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion is proud to recognize the high school graduates who chose to become Citizen-Soldiers.
Congratulations to each of you for raising your right hand while reaching this important milestone. We look forward to seeing all that you accomplish as you take your first steps into this new chapter. |
|
|
| |
 |
NJYCA Class 61 GraduationThe New Jersey Youth ChalleNGe Academy held a graduation ceremony for Class 61 at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt, NJ on June 17, 2026.
The New Jersey Youth ChalleNGe Academy is an alternative education program designed to reclaim the lives of at-risk 16 to 18 year old youths and produce graduates with the values, skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as adults.
Congratulations to Class 61! We are proud of everything this class has accomplished and look forward to seeing what comes next. View Images |
|
|
| | |
|
|
 |
Carol Fowler
Assistant Curator
Carol Fowler has been a valued member of the New Jersey Department of Military Affairs since 2001, serving as the Assistant Curator for Oral Histories at the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey in Sea Girt. She first joined the department, through a self-designed internship at Brookdale Community College, which sparked her passion for preserving the stories of Veterans and their families.
Fowler comes from strong personal ties to the military. Her husband served in the U.S. Air Force in Southeast Asia and England during the 1970s, and both of their fathers were Army Veterans. Before joining the museum, she worked on the “Triumphant Spirit Series” documenting America’s WWII Generation and later interviewed veterans for the Center for WWII Studies and Conflict Resolution.
In her current role, Fowler leads the museum’s Veteran Oral History Project, conducting interviews and ensuring each story is preserved and accessible online. The video-recorded interviews become lasting legacies for Veterans’ loved ones.
Fowler, along with the NGMMNJ, Inc., our Public Affairs Office, Legislators from the area with personalized, individual Resolutions and the Manasquan Elks, have supported Veteran Oral History luncheons. Quilts of Valor have been presented to veteran participants at the museum.
Fowler and her Vietnam veteran T.J. Fearon played a pivotal role in expanding the Library of Congress Veterans History Project to include Gold Star families.
One of Fowler’s proudest accomplishments was reuniting Vietnam US Marine Corps veterans with their long-lost comrade who they wanted to see again for over 35 years. The reunion of combat buddies was arranged as a surprise during a Veteran Oral History Luncheon and helped the Marine begin to accept his long-buried memories from Vietnam.
Fowler has been recognized with the New Jersey Civilian Commendation Medal and has spoken at numerous community and professional events, such as the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
Outside of work, she enjoys time with her family, including her spouse, children and grandson, infant Leonardo. She is reassured in knowing the Veteran Oral History Project will continue through the dedicated intern graduates who she has mentored over the last 25 years. |
|
|
| | | |
|
| |
 | Paul Robbins
On June 15, 2026, Brig. Gen. Mays honored Paul Robbins at the Battleship New Jersey. Mr. Robbins is believed to be the last known WWII Veteran of the USS New Jersey and recently celebrated his 101st birthday.
Thank you for your service and for sharing your legacy.
View Images |
|
 | Specialist Four Carl D. Wadleigh
A ceremony was held to honor U.S. Army Specialist Four Carl D. Wadleigh and commemorate the addition of his name to the memorial wall of heroes at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial and Museum in Holmdel, NJ on June 22, 2026. View Images |
|
 | American Legion Jersey Boys State
The staff at the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey gave a lesson on the history of military weapons to the American Legion Jersey Boys State Class of 2026 at the National Guard Armory in Lawrenceville, NJ.
The delegates also received a class in unmanned aircraft systems from the cadre at the NJ National Guard's 254th Regional Training Institute. |
|  |
Habitat for Humanity ReStore
On June 26, 2026, volunteers from the 140th Cyber Operations Squadron spent their annual community service day at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Maple Shade, NJ.
Our dedicated Airmen rolled up their sleeves to organize donations, unload delivery trucks, and build items.
Proceeds from ReStore sales directly support Habitat for Humanity's mission to build affordable homes and provide safe shelter for families in need.
Outstanding job to our Guardsmen for protecting the networks and building up our communities! |
|
| |
 | 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 |
|
|
| |
 |
Clark's Battery Monument at Gettysburg. |
|
| 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. 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. The unit was commanded by Captain Adoniram Judson Clark. |
July 2, 1863 | At Gettysburg, New Jersey's Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh regiments were involved in heavy action, 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. |
|
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. |
|
|
Explore NJ Military History |
|
National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey |
One Museum | Two Locations
Admission Is Free |
|
|
 | Sea Girt |
Monday-Friday 10AM to 3PM
Closed: Weekends and State Holidays |
| Plan Your Visit |
|
 | Lawrenceville |
Monday-Friday 9AM to 3PM Saturday 10AM to 3PM
Closed: State Holidays |
| Plan Your Visit |
|
|
| | | |
 | We Are Hiring!
At the New Jersey Department of Military Affairs we take our work in support of Servicemembers and their families very seriously. The Department provides valuable services and can offer rewarding career opportunities to members of the public.
In addition, we have job openings for members of our military to serve in AGR and Federal Technician roles.
Subscribe to the MilVets Jobs Bulletin to stay updated on job openings.
| | Vacancies |
|
|
|
|
We hope you enjoy receiving our newsletter and find it both educational and engaging. If you have questions about our department, please visit our website at military.nj.gov to get contact information. |
| Contact DMA |
|
Please email us at outreach@dma.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. |
|
|
|  |
military.nj.gov NJ Department of Military Affairs 101 Eggerts Crossing Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
Privacy Notice
Disclaimer: The appearance of any non-DMA information or hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement of the products or services on the part of the NJ Department of Military Affairs. |
|
| |
|
|
