{"id":229677,"date":"2024-07-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=229677"},"modified":"2024-07-20T06:39:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T06:39:37","slug":"remember-why-you-serve-top-enlisted-guard-leader-says-in-south-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=229677","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Remember Why You Serve,\u2019 Top Enlisted Guard Leader Says in South Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony L. Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, presents coins of recognition to members of the 129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment from South Dakota. The SEA toured facilities and met with Soldiers and Airmen of the South Dakota National Guard during their drill weekend July 14-15, 2024. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Pena)
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RAPID CITY, S.D. – Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, toured facilities and met with Soldiers and Airmen of the South Dakota National Guard during their drill weekend July 14-15.<\/p>\n

Whitehead also conducted town halls at various units in South Dakota, giving hundreds of Guardsmen of all ranks the opportunity to engage with the highest-ranking enlisted member of the National Guard. The topics ranged from current issues facing the entire National Guard to state-level challenges and diversity within the Defense Department.<\/p>\n

One message remained constant from the top enlisted leader: \u201cJuly is the Guard\u2019s month of understanding and communicating why we serve,\u201d Whitehead said.<\/p>\n

At a visit to the 196th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, Fort Meade, Whitehead spoke to a group of Army officer candidate selectees during their initial moments at the academy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of a more fitting place to be than in front of the newest future leaders of our Army National Guard,\u201d he told the candidates.<\/p>\n

Whitehead emphasized that leading today\u2019s Guard members is never to be taken lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an officer in our armed forces is a huge responsibility. \u2026 The life and death of our Guardsmen are in your hands,\u201d said Whitehead. \u201cI know that seems intense, but you must hear this today. You must know we [the enlisted force] appreciate everything you have done to make yourself available to be the leaders for the next generation of those fighting our fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Dakota is divided by the Missouri River, with two-thirds of the units on the east side and one-third on the west. Whitehead visited units at Camp Rapid in Rapid City and the state\u2019s Joint Force Headquarters and 114th Fighter Wing on Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls.<\/p>\n

While at the 114th FW, key leaders briefed Whitehead on the newly acquired standalone virtual reality systems dedicated to enhancing training capabilities in the maintenance career field. These systems are available to wings across the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n

Staff Sgt. Brady Martin, an aircraft fuels systems mechanic assigned to the 114th Maintenance Squadron, briefed Whitehead on two F-16 Fighting Falcon jet seats recovered from aviation mishaps that are continuously studied to enhance safety during flying missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur maintainers\u2019 mission makes a difference daily in the aviation community,\u201d said Whitehead. \u201cThese forward-thinking approaches exemplify how our Guardsmen maintain peak readiness to support our 21st-century warfighters\u2019 ability to fly, fight and win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SEA also recognized Soldiers and Airmen for helping to keep America and its partners and allies safe and secure.<\/p>\n

\u201cDedicating one\u2019s life to service and the defense of freedom requires immense sacrifice,\u201d said Whitehead. \u201cI urge you to contemplate the profound purpose that drives you. Whether you\u2019re a mother, father, son, daughter, or a future leader of our nation, your commitment to safeguarding your country and fellow citizens is truly admirable. Regardless of your motivation, I express my heartfelt gratitude for your service.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Senior Enlisted Advisor Tony L. Whitehead, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, presents coins of recognition to members of the 129th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment from South Dakota. The SEA toured facilities and met with Soldiers and Airmen of the South Dakota National Guard during their drill weekend July 14-15, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229679,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229677"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229680,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229677\/revisions\/229680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/229679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}