RALEIGH ó With nearly 5,000 North Carolina National Guard Soldiers and Airmen about to deploy early next year, and more than 11,600 deployed since 9-11 at home and across the world, the soldiers of the North Carolina National Guard celebrated its 372nd birthday a little early Friday. The actual anniversary date is Dec. 13.
In marking the anniversary for the nation’s oldest military arm, Gov. Mike Easley issued his annual proclamation making Dec. 7-13, 2008 as “National Guard Week” in North Carolina and called on all citizens of the state to honor North Carolinians who wear our nation’s uniform as part of the National Guard.
In a ceremony held at the Claude T. Bowers Military Complex in Raleigh, Brian Beatty, Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety, said if there are older organizations begun in America, none can be “more relevant or more needed than the Guard is today.”
Citing N.C. Guard participation in operations throughout the world, including places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti along the Horn of Africa and Kosovo, North Carolina Adjutant General William E. Ingram says that although the technology is different, the mission of the Guard has remained the same through the years as it meets challenges defending our homeland, meeting the call in response to natural disasters and ensuring our families and neighbors are safe.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the North Carolina National Guard has been heavily engaged in just about every aspect of the war on terror at home and abroad, with nearly all units having been called to active duty, actively serving or currently on alert.
The North Carolina Air National Guard also fought the American Southwest’s forest fires with its Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped C-130H Hercules cargo planes. It provided air support to hurricane relief efforts in addition to its wartime commitment in the Middle East, where it also has troops deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
Recognizing one of the Guard’s community interests as a significant contribution, the Guard received special recognition in the form of a banner presented by the Special Olympics Committee of North Carolina, in appreciation for the hours of support, equipment loans and assistance with transportation issues, according to Keith Fishburne, N.C. Special Olympics president and CEO. The banner was presented to Secretary Beatty and Maj. Gen. William E. Ingram Jr. by Special Olympic athletes Judy Nutter (track and field, swimming and bowling), Carl Hibbert Jr. (golf, swimming) and Theara Sanders (tennis).
The Guard remains committed to the roots it planted nearly 400 years ago on the village green of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Since that time, the citizens who fill its ranks have protected the lives, liberty and property of friends, family and neighbors. Though technology, weapons and geography may have changed, the mission remains the same.