Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Army Gen. William "Kip" Ward, commander, U.S. Africa Command, meet with National Guard adutant generals and Defense Department leaders at the 2010 National Guard State Partnership Program Conference at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany, on Aug. 11, 2010. The 62-nation SPP is a superb tool for Africa Command, the combatant commander has said. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

STUTTGART, Germany — National Guard adjutants general and Defense Department leaders here this week are hearing how the Guard’s 17-year-old State Partnership Program is boosting the partnership capacity of one of the nation’s newest combatant commands.

“The benefits … are many and impressive,” Army Gen. William “Kip” Ward, commander of U.S. Africa Command, said in his 2010 posture statement.

Adjutants general whose states are partnered with countries within AFRICOM’s 53-nation area of responsibility and leaders including Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Dennis McCarthy, assistant secretary of defense for Reserve Affairs, are here for the 2010 State Partnership Program Conference hosted by AFRICOM. Ward is scheduled to speak to the group today.

The SPP started with European Command partners in 1993 following the collapse of the Iron Curtain. EUCOM spawned AFRICOM in 2007, and there are now eight National Guard states partnered with African nations.

State partnerships foster military-to-military, military-to-civilian and civilian-to-civilian cooperation.

“The [SPP] delivers programs and activities that build broad capabilities with our African partners,” Ward said. “The habitual relationships this builds adds tremendous value to our efforts. This program is very valuable to [AFRICOM], and we look forward to expanding it as our African partners request greater participation.”

Army Maj. Gen. David A. Sprynczynatyk, the adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard, talks with National Guard troops assigned to Kosovo Forces 12 (KFOR 12), Multi-National Battle Group - East (MNBG-E), at Camp Bondsteel, near Urosevac in eastern Kosovo, on May 23, 2010, during a visit by National Guard and Defense Department leaders. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

PRISTINA, Kosovo – More than a decade into a National Guard mission to support Kosovo’s security and stability, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said he saw significant progress in the young nation during a late May visit here.

 “The mission has evolved over the years from a hot, kinetic fight to supporting … NATO forces … to a point where Kosovo can continue to be an independent country and can stand on its own two feet with good governance,” Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley said during his second visit here.

 “The reason I wanted to come back to Kosovo was to thank these forces – predominantly from North Dakota, but with 13 additional states – for this mission, because I think at times it does drop off the average American citizen’s radar screen,” McKinley said.

 Through the 1990s, this Delaware-sized new nation was wracked by Serbian repression of the Albanian majority and by an insurgency bent on independence. NATO intervention in 1999 ended the violence.

 U.S. troops, including the National Guard, have been part of a NATO and United Nations police force on the ground ever since. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17, 2008.

 “The National Guard is a tremendous instrument for smart power,” Missouri Sen. Christopher Bond said in March. Smart power is the application of a range of diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal and cultural tools to foreign-policy demands.

 Here in Kosovo, the National Guard assists in keeping the peace and helping a fledgling nation find its feet. This is one of numerous domestic and overseas missions simultaneously executed by Guardmembers who have seen a greatly increased operational tempo since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Guard’s transformation from a strategic reserve to an operational force.

Reporters surround Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, in Ramdan, Israel, on May 26, 2010. A National Guard delegation is visiting the country to strengthen a relationship with the Israeli Defense Force's Home Front Command and observe National Level Exercise Turning Point 4. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

TEL AVIV, Israel – Sirens wailed across Israel and residents took shelter today during a nationwide civil defense exercise carefully watched by a delegation of National Guard leaders.

The communication, collaboration and coordination National Level Exercise Turning Point 4 revealed between the Israeli Defense Force’s Home Front Command – roughly analogous to the National Guard – and local agencies set an example for the Guard, said Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau.

“While not exact – because our states and governors and adjutants general are really our commanders and they have a state affiliation, whereas the Home Front Command is a national member of the Israeli Defense Force – what I saw here was the integrated way in which the Home Front Command works with their local officials, down to the mayors of the cities,” McKinley said.

“We are doing the same missions,” said Israeli Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, the HFC commander. “We try to help and support the civilian population. Our main counterpart in the United States is the National Guard.”

Golan said the HFC – which also is a reserve force – respects the professionalism of the National Guard, which has many of the same capabilities as the HFC.

Geopolitical reality has forced a high level of readiness on the HFC. “This is a very dangerous neighborhood,” McKinley said. “They’re under constant threat of attack. Being ready next month or next week is not an option. You must be ready today for any eventuality.”

Army Maj. Gen. William Wofford, the adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard, and Army Capt. Tanya Phillips, the state's suicide prevention program manager, discuss a Soldier's case before visiting with him at the Central Arkansas Veterans Heathcare System's Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center on April 17, 2010. "It takes the strength and courage of a warrior to ask for help," Wofford said. The Arkansas National Guard has aggressively pursued innovative ways to help troubled Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen since leaders first noticed increased warning signs about two years ago. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – It’s 4:30 p.m., on a Saturday afternoon, and the adjutant general of the Arkansas National Guard has worked a 60-plus hour week, but he has one more meeting – with a lower-enlisted Soldier.

The Soldier does not know Army Maj. Gen. William Wofford is coming to visit him at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System’s Eugene J. Towbin Healthcare Center here, but the general has a message to deliver:

There is hope, and we care at the very highest levels of your chain of command.

“It takes the strength and courage of a warrior to ask for help,” Wofford says, echoing a Department of Veterans Affairs slogan.

The Soldier is being cared for and remains under close observation after the Arkansas National Guard received a phone call of concern from a civilian friend. The Guard, assisted by both local and national civilian agencies, went to extraordinary lengths to find him.

Resiliency is one key to preventing suicide, said Army Capt. Tanya Phillips, suicide prevention program manager for the Arkansas National Guard, seen here after leading training at Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Little Rock, Ark., on April 17, 2010. "The resilience is not learned as it might have been in past generations," Phillips said. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, Ark. – Two uniformed Arkansas National Guard Soldiers visit homeless shelters and food pantries in a Little Rock neighborhood, joined by a dozen police officers.

Someone has called to report concern about a servicemember’s welfare. Neither the Guard nor police nor other civilian agencies have been able to track down the troop, and it has come down to house-by-house inquiries in an area where a cell phone provider has reported the servicemember last used his phone.

“The Arkansas National Guard cares about every Soldier and every Airman and – our adjutant general has said – every servicemember that is in our state boundaries … and they served their country, we care enough to drop everything and help them,” said Army Capt. Tanya Phillips, suicide prevention program manager.

Arkansas is one of many National Guard states – others include California, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin  – that have gone above and beyond in responding to a spike in military suicides. Arkansas had one such death in 2008, seven in 2009.

What Arkansas has done in the last 14 months makes for a case study in response.

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

WASHINGTON – The National Guard is aggressively addressing a spike in Citizen-Soldier and –Airman suicides that reflects a trend throughout the military.

“We are alarmed by the suicide rates we’re seeing inside the Army National Guard,” Army Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, the component’s acting director, told the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on defense in March. “Almost half of the suicides we’re experiencing are from Soldiers who haven’t even deployed. There’s more to this than just the mobilization and deployment piece.”

Last year, 65 Army National Guard Soldiers killed themselves; 15 Air National Guard Airmen died by suicide.

The trend continues. The Army National Guard confirmed 34 suicides through April 26. The Air Guard confirmed six.

Of the 34 Army National Guard deaths so far this year, 20 had never deployed, Guard officials reported. Of the six Air National Guard suicides, four had not deployed.

The increases echo a spike throughout the armed forces.

“As I look at the numbers for each service, the rates have gone up per capita at about the same rate over the past four or five years for every service,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, said in January, according to American Forces Press Service. “This isn’t just a ground-force problem.”

As has happened in other medical specialties, such as trauma care, the military is making a leading contribution to suicidology.

“The subject of suicide is one of tremendous difficulty and challenge and understanding,” Mullen said. “Certainly, … with the rise in the numbers in all the services since these wars, [Defense Department officials have] started to really look at the causes and get to a point where we can prevent this and understand this.”

The Army and Air National Guard investigate every suicide.

“We do a detailed analysis on each one of these suicides because we want to know what happened in that individual’s life that caused them to think that suicide was the best option,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense in April.

“What we’ve found is that they’ve had some sort of significant event inside of their own life, either they lost their girlfriend, they lost their job,” Wyatt said.

The numbers of suicidal servicemembers who have not deployed and analysis of the apparent reasons behind suicides and suicide attempts led Army Col. Gregg Bliss, chief of the Army National Guard’s Soldier and Family Support Division, to conclude that while the National Guard’s expanding suicide prevention programs are important, instilling resiliency throughout the Guard is critical.

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. – Two Missouri Air National Guard C-130 Hercules transport aircraft with 47 crewmembers are en route to aid earthquake-ravaged Chile today.

The 139th Airlift Wing sent the two aircraft, crews and maintenance support personnel from Puerto Rico – where they had been supporting Southern Command – to Santiago, Chile, on Thursday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced in a press release.

The wing, which is scheduled to send additional aircraft and crews to Santiago in the coming weeks, has also supported earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, flying personnel and supplies to Port au Prince, Missouri Guard officials said.

“The men and women of the Missouri Air Guard are uniquely qualified to provide emergency response, relief and recovery services, both at home and abroad,” Nixon said. “I am especially proud of the skill and professionalism of our Air Guard units, and I know they will provide invaluable service to the people of Chile during this time of need.”

C-130 aircraft can fly human and airlift cargo long distances in all weather conditions day and night from low to high altitudes and land in inaccessible areas.

“The 139th Airlift Wing is again at the tip of the spear in supporting humanitarian relief efforts,” said Air Force Col. Michael McEnulty, the wing commander. “We are always leaning forward to come to the aid of those who have been affected by disasters, whether at home or abroad.”

Missouri is one state that is acutely aware of the need for earthquake preparedness. It sits on the New Madrid fault, named for the Missouri town hit in 1811 and 1812 by some of the strongest earthquakes in North American history.

Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, thanks Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, for their support of the National Guard during a reception for the National Guard adjutants general of the states and territories of the United States at the Vice President's Residence in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 22, 2010. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

WASHINGTON (2/23/10) – The National Guard has made a “gigantic contribution” in a seamless Total Force since 2001, the vice president told Guard leaders Monday.

“This ain’t your father’s National Guard,” Joe Biden said during a reception for the adjutants general of the 50 states and four territories at his official residence here. “This is a very, very different deal.

“General Patton used the phrase that pressure makes diamonds. A lot of your troops have been under an awful lot of pressure. They have met the ultimate definition of what it means to be a Citizen-Soldier.”

Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie, the adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard, receives an update on the African nation of Senegal at 17th Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on June 17, 2009. Vermont is paired with Senegal in the National Guard's State Partnership Program. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

GERMANY — In June 2009, the adjutant general of the Vermont National Guard sat in a wood-paneled brie!ng room at Ramstein Air Force Base for an update on the African nation of Senegal.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie was making office calls with staff at U.S. Air Forces in Europe and 17th Air Force.

For 14 years, the Vermont National Guard has been in the National Guard’s State Partnership Program with the Balkan nation of Macedonia, part of the former Yugoslavia, and now Vermont also is partnered with Senegal.

USAFE’s area of responsibility includes Macedonia, and 17th Air Force supports U.S. Africa Command, which includes Senegal.

Adjutant generals are increasingly looking to Africa as the National Guard’s 16-year-old, 62-nation State Partnership Program expands.

Seven nations in Africa Command’s purview have partnerships and two more are on the horizon. The seven include: California and Nigeria, New York and South Africa, North Carolina and Botswana, North Dakota and Ghana, Utah and Morocco, Vermont and Senegal and  Wyoming and Tunisia.

Partnerships with Liberia and Kenya are expected to be announced in the coming months, Guard officials said.

Adjutant generals view office calls like the one Dubie made as mandatory stops as they pursue SPP activities with their partner nations. The National Guard is one part of a larger team bent on improving partnership capacity.

Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, left, said Jan. 22, 2010, at the national States and Territories Hurricane Response Workshop in Tampa, Fla., that more agencies are communicating and collaborating better to prepare for domestic hurricane response. Also pictured are Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart, Jr., commander, Northern Command; Juliette Kayyem, assistant secretary, the Department of Homeland Security, and Rear Adm. Mary Landry, commander, 8th Coast Guard District. The National Guard Bureau and Northern Command co-sponsored the weeklong workshop hosted by the Florida National Guard. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt.Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

TAMPA, Fla. (1-22-10) – More agencies are communicating and collaborating better as a team preparing for the next hurricane response, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said here today.

Flanked by the commander of Northern Command and senior Department of Homeland Security, Coast Guard and other leaders, Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley said hurricane preparation is steadily improving.

“The more players we get at this table, the better we all are going to be,” McKinley said.

McKinley and Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander, Northern Command are scheduled to brief President Obama on the workshop, and the week’s work here is expected to be reflected in hurricane plans.