Assistant Secretary of the Army John Newman visits Missouri

By Nancy K. Lane
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - On a recent trip to Missouri, John Newman, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Readiness and Reserve Affairs, turned his focus to investigating how federal funding of three educational facilities in the state were helping the Missouri National Guard lead the way.

The first stop of the day at Fort Leonard Wood was a multi-faceted purpose.

The visit provided Newman situational awareness about the Missouri National Guard presence at Fort Leonard Wood and to see firsthand the positive relationship between the Guard and the base.

The tour included the new Army Aviation Support Facility, the 1200 area that houses the older units and the site of the new Regional Training Institute.

The tour provided Newman an opportunity to see the positive impact construction funds made on improving and expanding Missouri National Guard's capabilities.

The new facilities previewed are more adequate than previous undersized, outdated, WWII units. As a result, one objective was to demonstrate the need for continued and more fairly and equitably distribution of construction funding to support the Regional Training Institute which is currently housed in the older buildings.

"It was an outstanding opportunity to brief someone that has the ability to influence some of the highest levels of decision making for this nation," said Lt. Col. Brent A. Beckley, construction and facilities management officer for the Guard. "If this visit increased his awareness of the positive impacts being made by the Missouri National Guard given our current level of resourcing, and left him with the impression of even greater impacts that could be made with increased funding, then the visit was a success."

Newman's next destination was Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Mo.

Wentworth is a private co-educational military high school and two-year college. It is one of only five schools in the country to offer a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army after just two years of college. As such, it was selected to be part of the National Guard Service Academy Pilot Program.

Lt. Col Michael J. Fayette, J9 Director Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, stated, "Traditional Army commissioning programs do not adequately support National Guard requirements. The Army National Guard is experiencing record company-grade officer shortages. A formalized, accredited four-year academic institution that confers accredited bachelor degrees to graduates and new company-grade officers is essential to the mitigation of this problem."

Through federal funding, Wentworth was granted an opportunity to be a part of the National Guard Service Academy Pilot Program. By spending time touring the campus and meeting with students and faculty, it was the hope that the value of the program would be realized and that funding would be continued.

The final stop of the day was in Jefferson City were Newman toured Lincoln University to view the latest Department of Defense research projects being undertaken by the university's faculty.

Newman visited the Laser Acoustic Laboratory under the direction of Dr. Sunder Balasubramanian, Assistant Professor of Physics. Balasubramanian currently has a grant with the DoD to help the military develop laser-based ultrasound detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Dr. James Rooney, Department of Defense Programs Coordinator, outlined other ongoing projects including the second series of DoD suicide prevention DVDs and work conducted with the Agri-Business Development Teams that have been deployed to Afghanistan.

Maj. Gen. John D. Havens, retired adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, said, "Lincoln University has the capability to conduct research and training for the US Army. Our goal is to bring the research and the troops together creating a safer environment for our Soldiers."

Accompanying Newman on his state-wide tour were Ct. Col Thomas C. Perison, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) and Col. David Newman, commander of the 157th Air Operations Group out of Jefferson Barracks.

The tour gave Newman the opportunity to see federal funding not only helping the Missouri National Guard but also helping Missouri lead the way in national security at home and abroad.



For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.