Congressional, Military Leaders to Speak at Annual Guard Conference
WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lawmakers and senior defense officials top the speaking agenda for more than 4,000 National Guard officers and their guests from across the country at the 132nd NGAUS General Conference and Exhibition in Austin, Texas, Aug. 21 to 23.
The conference opens Aug. 21 with a performance by the nationally recognized Douglas MacArthur High School JROTC Drill Team from San Antonio, Texas; the colorful Roll Call of States; and speeches by Texas Gov. Rick Perry; Gen. Craig R. McKinley, the National Guard Bureau chief; and Dennis McCarthy, the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.
Featured speakers Aug. 22 include Lt. Gen. Michael L. Oates, the director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Defeat Organization; Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., the commander of U.S. Northern Command; Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas; and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, the recipient of the Harry S. Truman Award, the association's highest honor.
Other presenters over the three-day conference include:
- Gen. James D. Thurman, the commander of U.S. Army Forces Command;
- Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, the Air Guard director; and
- Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, acting director of the Army Guard.
Most speakers will address the conference theme, The National Guard: America's Solution, or any of a number of military and homeland security issues affecting the Guard.
These issues include overseas operations, domestic missions, military transformation, equipment modernization, the impact of the economy on future defense budgets, and Guard roles and missions.
The conference also serves as the annual NGAUS business meeting. This year, conference delegates representing every echelon of command nationwide will set a legislative agenda based on resolutions from the 54 states and territories and elect new members to the association's board of directors.
Also included in the event is a large trade show featuring an exhibition of the Guard-related products and services of more than 400 companies and organizations.
More conference information, the tentative business agenda and a complete list of exhibitors are available at www.ngaus.org.
Media: All major conference events will be held at the Austin Convention Center (www.austinconventioncenter.com). A press office will be established in the facility Aug. 20. Office contact information will be provided in a later release.
About NGAUS: The association includes nearly 45,000 current or former Army and Air Guard officers. It was created in 1878 to provide unified Guard representation in Washington. In their first productive meeting after Reconstruction, militia officers from the North and South formed the association with the goal of obtaining better equipment and training by petitioning Congress for more resources. Today, 132 years later, NGAUS has the same mission.
SOURCE National Guard Association of the U.S.
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