Legislative | Enlisted Association of the National Guard of Montana https://eangmt.org The Source for MT National Guard Information Mon, 18 May 2020 16:34:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://eangmt.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2015/06/Logo-150x150.jpg Legislative | Enlisted Association of the National Guard of Montana https://eangmt.org 32 32 Testifying Before Congress… Part 2! https://eangmt.org/2020/02/20/testifying-before-congress-part-2/ Thu, 20 Feb 2020 16:06:44 +0000 https://mteang.org/2020/02/20/testifying-before-congress-part-2/ Back in October we were invited to testify about issues facing the men and women of the National Guard. We are proud to announce that we’ve been invited to testify again on March 10 to give our testimony on legislation that is being worked on as a direct result of our efforts!

Executive director of EANGUS SGM (Ret) Frank Yoakum will be presenting our verbal testimony. Thank you to Chairman Levin for looking to us as trusted voices for Veterans and especially those that serve in the Reserve Component of the Armed Forces. Thank you also to Justin Vogt, for ensuring that we had a seat at the table and our voice would be heard.

]]> Huge Win for the National Guard https://eangmt.org/2019/12/17/huge-win-for-the-national-guard/ Tue, 17 Dec 2019 13:46:25 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/12/17/huge-win-for-the-national-guard/ The Department of Defense (DoD) has changed an unfair policy that denied Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility to members of the National Guard even though they were serving side by side with Active-duty troops who were gaining eligibility. Over the last year, we have been sharing the stories of Student Veterans about how vital their benefits have been to their life after the military. We believe that these benefits are earned through the sacrifice and hard work of Troops who give up everything on behalf of our country. In spite of Servicemembers’ willingness to serve, many are all too often denied the benefits they deserve. Since 2018 we have worked to ensure the phrase, “Every Day in Uniform Counts.” would be recognized by policymakers in DC. We have submitted recommendations to Congress, we have helped introduce bills to the floor of the Senate, given interviews, and even testified before congress!  

All of this work has paid off because DoD is now going to begin granting eligibility towards Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for the time Guardsmen served at the southern border. We want to thank the House Committee on Veterans Affairs (HVAC) and the DoD for hearing our call for change and taking the first steps toward ensuring fair and equitable benefits for every service member who puts on the uniform regardless of duty status.

Read the Story in Stars and Stripes Here!

]]> Fighting for Veteran Status for Men and Women of the National Guard https://eangmt.org/2019/11/14/fighting-for-veteran-status-for-men-and-women-of-the-national-guard/ Thu, 14 Nov 2019 15:03:08 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/11/14/fighting-for-veteran-status-for-men-and-women-of-the-national-guard/ Our Legislative Director Daniel Elkins, spoke with KPBS about the issues facing the men and women of the National Guard that are serving at our southern border. Members of the Guard are being asked to serve alongside their active-duty counterparts doing the same job and accomplishing the very same mission but receiving very different benefits and pay. We are proud to continue to fight for those that tirelessly serve on our behalf.

Watch the Interview with Daniel:

We also testified before Congress on this very issue:

]]> PODCAST / VIDEOCAST – NOVEMBER 2019 https://eangmt.org/2019/11/12/podcast-videocast-november-2019/ Tue, 12 Nov 2019 20:32:11 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/11/12/podcast-videocast-november-2019/ On the latest episode of the EANGUS podcast/videocast, Adrienne Jackson, Army Legislative Program Manager at the National Guard Association of the U.S. joined Scott. Adrienne and Scott chatted about Adrienne’s Capitol Hill experience working for Senator Jim Inhofe, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Having joined NGAUS in June, Adrienne has traveled to conferences and will soon attend a few state association conferences. Adrienne and Scott discussed the most recent Secretary of Defense Roundtable Series and the #Knowyourmil and #Iserved campaigns, and provided a brief update on duty status reform.

Listen to Podcast

EANGUS podcast can be downloaded on Apple and Google podcast apps.
Please subscribe to both the EANGUS Podcast and the YouTube EANGUS National Office channel.

This podcast/videocast is sponsored by our EANGUS Platinum Corporate Partner – Grantham University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

]]> Testifying Before Congress: Every Day in Uniform Counts https://eangmt.org/2019/10/28/testifying-before-congress-every-day-in-uniform-counts/ Mon, 28 Oct 2019 18:06:04 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/10/28/testifying-before-congress-every-day-in-uniform-counts/ Recently, we had the distinct privilege of testifying before Congress about the unique hurdles facing the members of the National Guard. We are proud of our Legislative Director, Daniel Elkins for boldly standing up for his fellow brothers and sisters in arms.  We were able to explain the inequality in support and resources being given the National Guard compared to our Active Duty Counter-parts. We believe that anyone who puts on the uniform is deserving of our full support. We believe that “Every day in uniform counts.”

Read our full written testimony!

Watch Daniel’s testimony below:

 

]]> Bringing the Voice of The National Guard to Congress https://eangmt.org/2019/10/24/bringing-the-voice-of-the-national-guard-to-congress/ Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:54:46 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/10/24/bringing-the-voice-of-the-national-guard-to-congress/ Yesterday we had the honor of testifying before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. We were proud to raise the alarm on many issues that face the men and women of the National Guard that have gone unaddressed for too long. In the coming days, we will be sharing actual video footage of the hearing and the questions we were asked.

In the meantime, the Federal News Network wrote a great article that gives a pretty good synopsis of not only what we shared but what the other witnesses testified about as well.

]]> Making Your Voice Heard on The Hill https://eangmt.org/2019/09/18/making-your-voice-heard-on-the-hill/ Wed, 18 Sep 2019 20:10:30 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/09/18/making-your-voice-heard-on-the-hill/ Today, we are excited to announce that we have been invited to come before Congress and offer testimony to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs (HVAC). We are honored to have this opportunity to give our expert insight on the unique issues that face the National Guard, and the Reserve Component of the armed forces in general, and provide our recommendations on how to improve the livelihoods of the Servicemembers who consistently serve our country and their communities.

This invitation from HVAC comes on the heels of a lot of work from a newly formed coalition of Veteran Service Organizations who want to see more direct focus given to the Reserve Components and National Guard. The coalition is growing, and it currently includes the Enlisted Association of the National Guard, the Reserve Officers of America, the American Legion, and the National Guard Association. Many of these organizations were also invited to the hearing, and we are thrilled to see Congress taking such interest in the problems that are unique to the men and women of the National Guard and Reserves.

]]> PODCAST / VIDEOCAST – AUGUST 2019.2 https://eangmt.org/2019/08/27/podcast-videocast-august-2019-2/ Tue, 27 Aug 2019 19:30:02 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/08/27/podcast-videocast-august-2019-2/ On our latest EANGUS Podcast episode, Frank Yoakum, Executive Director and Scott Bousum, Legislative Director discussed the 2019 EANGUS National Conference highlights. Frank and Scott covered newly ratified resolutions, updated listeners about the National Defense Authorization Act, and Frank discussed his most recent experience interacting with attendees of the SGM Development Program in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Listen to the podcast.
Download on Apple Podcasts.

EANGUS Podcast / Videocast sponsored by Platinum Corporate Partner – Grantham University

Watch the Videocast.

Click here to subscribe to the EANGUS National Office YouTube Channel.

 

]]> PODCAST / VIDEOCAST – AUGUST 2019 https://eangmt.org/2019/08/21/podcast-videocast-august-2019/ Wed, 21 Aug 2019 23:13:44 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/08/21/podcast-videocast-august-2019/ Legislative Director Daniel Elkins highlights the EANGUS National Conference, gives a legislative update regarding Student Veterans, and shares an exciting new EANGUS partnership.   EANGUS is proud to be the first official organization with a MOA between the Department of Veterans Affairs on suicide prevention in the National Guard.  We have been working hard to fight this issue making sure all members of the National Guard get the same mental health benefits.  For more information on suicide prevention resources or college credit for military training please reach out to any of the EANGUS Staff.

Click here to listen to the episode.
Subscribe to the EANGUS podcast in the Podcast app.

Podcast / Videocast sponsored by EANGUS Platinum Partner
Grantham University

]]> EANGUS Legislative Update – MAY 2019 https://eangmt.org/2019/05/23/eangus-legislative-update-may-2019/ Thu, 23 May 2019 19:11:30 +0000 https://mteang.org/2019/05/23/eangus-legislative-update-may-2019/
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