Photo By Diana Nesukh | Nearly 200 attendees gathered at the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center, McGhee...... read more read more
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Nearly 200 attendees gathered at the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee for the first ever Air National Guard CE Readiness Symposium, June 25-28. The symposium provided a forum to inform leaders of changes in policy, military strategy, and CE Doctrine. Attendees included guardsmen and staff from Headquarters Air Force, the Air Force Installations Mission Support Center, Air Force Civil Engineer Center, United States Northern Command, and the National Guard Bureau Logistics Directorate.
The primary focus of the summit was around the pivotal role the Air National Guard will play in the Great Power Competition and strategies to enable guardsmen for the future fight.
Assistant Adjutant General - Air, Missouri National Guard Brig. Gen. Kimbra Sterr opened the event by acknowledging the opportunity it presented for the exchange of ideas and collaboration across wings. She underscored how crucial working together was for the future fight and assured that the ANG is working to equally spread equipment for contingency operations.
“The wonderful part [about the symposium] is the camaraderie across the ANG Civil Engineer community,” said Col. Joseph Sundy, National Guard Bureau Deputy Director of Engineering, who was in attendance. “This includes getting to meet people from all over the country and learning from the National Guard Bureau staff that planned this event.”
The event featured a brief on the National Defense Strategy by Col. James Oaksford, National Guard Bureau Readiness Division Chief. He emphasized how alliances and partnerships are key for any future conflict, especially the State Partnerships Program. Administered by the National Guard Bureau, the SPP is in direct alignment with the U.S. Department of States foreign policy goals.
“One of the many benefits to attending this symposium is the unique opportunity to enhance partnerships with other units across the United States,” reflected Maj. Jason Selby from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Civil Engineer Squadron, who attended the event.
The NGB currently has 88 partnerships with 100 countries enabling military-to-military engagements in support of defense security goals. Oaksford stressed that while the current goal is integrated deterrence, partnerships are in place to strengthen ties with countries that will stand side by side with the U.S. in time of conflict.
“Our job in the Department of Defense is to deter war and prevail in conflict,” said Sundy. “We know that in the Great Power Competition, we must learn to do things differently. Our trainings, as well as this readiness symposium, help us ensure that we are as ready as possible to defend our nation.”
Given the success of the symposium, NGB/A4 plans to host one every other year with the next one occurring May 2026.
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2024 09:49 |
| Story ID: | 475670 |
| Location: | MCGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 426 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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