Hometown Military News for Aug. 17, 2015:
Illinois National Guard welcomes new adjutant general at change of command ceremony
CHATHAM – The gymnasium at Glenwood High School in Chatham was the backdrop for a ceremony filled with tradition as the Illinois National Guard bid farewell to the outgoing Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei of Springfield, Illinois and welcomed the new Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr., of Chatham on August 9.
The change of command ceremony is a time-honored military tradition which signifies the passing of a unit’s colors and the transfer of command authority from one commander to another. The ceremony also pays homage to the outgoing commander while, at the same time, demonstrates loyalty to the incoming commander.
Soldiers and Airmen, friends, family, and distinguished guests joined to participate in the event. Among the distinguished guests was Illinois’ Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti who presided over the event.
Sanguinetti bid a fond farewell to Krumrei.
“General Krumrei has devoted his life, his energy, his faith, and his force of courage and distinguished leadership to our military, our state, and our country,” said Sanguinetti. “As lieutenant governor of the state of Illinois, I say thank you, gracias. Illinois is forever grateful to you and your family for your service and sacrifice.”
Sanguinetti went on to welcome Hayes into his new position as Adjutant General.
“From a personal standpoint, I noticed right from the get-go his incredible humility and, at the same time, his immense leadership skills,” she said. “Due to his strategic vision, his vast strategic knowledge, and proven judgement, Governor Rauner and I are confident General Hayes is the right person in command at a time of change and challenge in the state.”
Following the lieutenant governor, Krumrei thanked everyone who he said gave him opportunities to succeed in his career.
“I thank all off the general officers, the staff, the commanders, the NCOs, the Soldiers, and the Airmen for all of your support over these many years,” said Krumrei.
Krumrei also thanked Hayes’ mother for raising the “the right man” for the job.
“He’s a good boy,” said Krumrei. “You done good; and as my first act as a retired adjutant general, on behalf of the Illinois National Guard, I would like to give you my coin. Thank you.”
Following his speech, Krumrei, Hayes, Sanguinetti, Illinois’ Land Component Command Sergeant Major, Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Bowman of Plainfield, Illinois and Illinois’ Air National Guard Command Chief Master Sergeant, Chief Master Sgt. John Jordan conducted the passing of the colors.
After receiving the colors, Hayes addressed the attendees.
“Humbled and honored beyond all belief I guess that’s how I would categorize this,” said Hayes. “I couldn’t be here without all of you here, and all of the Soldiers, Airmen, NCOs, and officers that have supported me.”
Hayes said his vision for the Illinois National Guard to be a relevant, integrated, community-based joint force; always ready and always there to protect our state, defend our homeland, and fight our nation’s wars when called upon.
Hayes also took a unique opportunity to present his challenge coin to Krumrei as a symbol of gratitude.
“This rarely happens in the military, where you actually get to coin your boss,” said Hayes. “I haven’t ever been able to coin a two-star, so I’m going to take advantage of it today. Thank you for your service to the state and to the Guard, general Krumrei.”
National Guard’s top official visits with Illinois soldiers and airmen
SPRINGFIELD – General Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited the Illinois National Guard August 9 to speak to commanders, give insight to the troops, and address new challenges with Illinois’ Adjutant General.
Grass first conducted an office call with Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr. of Chatham, Illinois, the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard. The two senior officers discussed some of the challenges facing senior leadership in the states and how best to address those challenges at all levels.
Following the office call, brigade commanders and staff directors were given an opportunity to speak with Grass at a working lunch. Grass spoke about the direction the National Guard is heading, his experience as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and some of the major topics that are discussed at the highest levels.
Grass said one of the main topics discussed is how best to use the National Guard to alleviate some of the demand on the active component.
“Today, 40 percent of the National Guard has not deployed,” said Grass. “We want to give the Guard a normalized and predictable deployment cycle. If we can get something predictable for the
Guard, we can meet any mission that the Department of Defense has for us.”
Grass also said that a normalized training and deployment cycle for the Guard is also a fiscally responsible choice.
“The National Guard has about a $25 billion piece of the $500 billion defense budget,” said Grass. “With that, the National Guard trains a force of around 455,000 to be ready at a moment’s notice to answer the call of duty. That’s the best bang for the buck the DoD has.”
Following lunch, Grass conducted a town hall with Illinois Soldiers and Airmen. He gave a broad overview of his vision for the National Guard, addressed budget concerns, and offered Soldiers and Airmen the opportunity to ask questions and provide input that Grass could take back to the pentagon. Grass also recognized the Illinois National Guard’s success.
Grass explained the Guard isn’t just about the federal and state mission, it is about partnerships, both in the community and abroad.
“Illinois is a premier example of that kind of partnership in your State Partnership Program,” said Grass. “Your state was one of the first SPPs 23 years ago. You started a partnership with Poland that had the first co-deployment with a partner nation; now the Guard has had 79 co-deployments with partner nations. You can be very proud of that.”
Hayes was honored by Grass’ visit to Illinois and was grateful for the opportunity to speak with him on important issues.
“I think that it’s a huge honor that he came here to meet with the Illinois National Guard and spend the day with us, I think it’s phenomenal,” said Hayes. “It’s a testament that he was willing to come here on such an important weekend to spend time with some of our Soldiers and Airmen to talk about some of the current issues from his stand-point and give us an opportunity to provide input back to him.”
Illinois National Guard Marksmanship team takes fifth consecutive Regional title
By Staff Sgt. Michael Camacho, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Army National Guard Marksmanship Team took first place in the Marksmanship Advisory Council Region IV combat championship June 25 to 28 at Camp Perry, Ohio.
This is the fifth year in a row the Illinois National Guard has taken first place in the MAC region IV competition.
Approximately 35 competitors from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin National Guard units competed in team and individual matches. The competition involved marksmanship with an M-16 rifle with and without optics at distances from 25 to 400 yards. The M9 pistol was used on targets from three to 30 yards.
Sgt. 1st Class John Stockton of Springfield, Illinois, with Illinois National Guard’s Joint Forces Headquarters placed second and Sgt. 1st Class David Perdew of Rushville, Illinois, with Illinois National Guard’s JFHQ placed third in combat pistol championship. Stockton also achieved the status if distinguished shot.
Staff Sgt. Jeffery Bugger of Springfield with JFHQ said the competition tested marksmanship skills using firearms in a variety of physical and combat related situations. Bugger said there is some running involved in addition to shooting from the kneeling, prone and sitting positions.
Bugger said the team trained for three days at the Illinois National Guard’s Marseilles Training Area in Marseilles, Illinois going over marksmanship skills and holding practice matches.
“We ran through different matches, different shooting positions and get the new guys familiar with the different type of positions and shooting techniques,” said Bugger.
Bugger said the training helped prepare the team for the competition as they went against teams of experienced marksmen from the region.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian Landon of Taylorville, Illinois, said training requires much more than what an average marksmen is taught. He said one difference is zeroing at multiple distances from 25 to 500 yards to know exactly where the rounds travel at the different distances.
Landon said the shooters train with both electronic sights and iron sights practicing fundamentals and advanced marksmanship skills.
‘We draw our personnel from the Illinois National Guard’s Adjutant General’s Rifle and Pistol Match,” said Landon “We take the best shooters, get them on the team and help them improve.”
Landon said there has been a high level of success in the Illinois National Guard’s competitive shooting team, which and resulted in five regional championship titles.
Perdew said the Illinois Soldiers competing at the regionals were a combination of veteran competitive shooters and Soldiers who performed well at last year’s Illinois National Guard’s Adjutant General’s Rifle and Pistol Match at the Marseilles training Area.
“The team performed very well despite challenging weather conditions, there was one day of sun followed by a severe storm with sustained 40 miles per hour wind and some flooding,” said Perdew. “Overall new and old shooters did very well and, despite those circumstance, we still took home a first place finish.”
In the last five years the Illinois National Guard has continued to place top in the regionals.
“Generally we do very well,’ said Perdew. “There’s a lot of skilled and passionate shooters who put a lot of their time both on and off the books toward improving the shooting team and we’ve won some regional championships and several of our team members have received distinguished shooter status.”
Including Stockton four of the team’s shooters have earned a distinguished shooters badge. The bade itself can take years to earn and is only awarded to the most skilled shooters with only a few thousand Soldiers and even fewer Guardsmen earning it since the award was established in 1884.
Perdew said distinguished shooter status is a much sought after and difficult to earn achievement for competitive shooters. Shooters earn points during matches with a maximum of 10 points per match. The badge is earned after earning 30 points.
The Illinois National Guard marksmanship team will go on to represent Regional IV in the national competitions.
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