To: EANGUS Members
From: EANGUS National Office
Please share the following Roll Call: Drill Weekend Talking Points with other unit members
TRICARE Coverage for all Reserve Components
Health care coverage for National Guard Servicemembers is a top Priority for Senior Leaders of the National Guard. In 2020 alone more than 100,000 National Guard Servicemembers deployed. A large portion of these mobilizations were for domestic missions such as COVID-19, civil disturbance, and natural disasters. Ensuring that National Guard Servicemembers are medically deployable is critical in ensuring that that force can respond when called upon. Additionally, providing health care coverage also ensures that our Servicemembers can get the medical services needed when they have a medical issue regardless of the type of military status they are under. By providing paid health care coverage to our National Guard Service members and allowing each individual Servicemember the ability to add their families at their own expense allows the National Guard to have higher levels of readiness and deployability, ensure continuity of medical coverage regardless of military status, and offer a tool to increase recruiting and retention within the force.
EANGUS has supported extending TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) to military technicians as a recruiting tool for the military. EANGUS strongly believes that providing Health Care coverage for all Reserve Component Service Members to include Dual Status Technicians and federal employees, is critical in order to ensure our Military Servicemembers are medically ready and deployable. With that stated, EANGUS realizes the biggest hurdle with this legislation is the offset of appropriations that is needed for DoD to fund it. However, we believe that the benefits of paid health care for our Servicemembers far exceed the expense.
On 25 May 2021, legislation was introduced into the House of Representatives that would provide paid Health Care to all Reserve Component Servicemembers. However, there is no corresponding legislation within the U.S. Senate currently. EANGUS is diligently working with Senate Offices to educate them on the importance of health care overage for our Servicemembers in an effort to get this type of legislation introduced.
Hazardous Duty and Aviation Career Incentive Pay
The ‘‘National Guard and Reserve Incentive Pay Parity Act of 2021’’ is legislation introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 3626) as well as the U.S. Senate (S.1859) that would mandate paying National Guard and Reserve servicemembers with the same pay schedule as the Active Component for Hazardous Duty Incentive Pay and Aviation Career Incentive Pay. Currently, Reserve Component members only receive 1/30th pay of the monthly rate the Active Component receives even though they maintain the same standards.
This issue is an EANGUS legislative priority, and our Association has worked diligently with other organizations in order to communicate the need for this legislation to Members of Congress. EANGUS and our fellow coalition associations will continue to communicate this issue to Members of Congress in order to gain more support and ensure that this critical legislation gets passed into law.
EANGUS will celebrate its 50th Anniversary Conference in Alburquerque, New Mexico in August 2021. This year’s conference will include special recognition of our history and other commemorative activitiesthat our members, National Guard leaders, and guests won’t want to miss. We hope you will join us in the Land of Enchantment!
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
EANGUS Membership Video Competition
Show us the importance of membership. Individual and group prizes for winners.
The Foundation has received funding from USAA for Phase 4 of the We Care for America COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant.
The WCFA COVID Emergency Relief Fund was established to provide financial assistance to current and former National Guard members who are experiencing financial hardship due to having lost their primary income, or who have an increased financial burden as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant funds should be utilized for basic household needs such as food, housing, utilities, medical services, childcare, and other essential family support items which have become difficult to afford as a result of the national pandemic. In order to assist as many National Guard members as possible, grants are capped at $500.
Has the COVID-19 Pandemic hit you?
The EANGUS We Care for America Foundation may be able to help with a zero-interest loan. Loans are available in amounts from $500 to $2,000.
OPERATION VETCARE
Operation VetCare was established in 2017 by EANGUS as a program designed to assist Military Service Members, Veterans, and their families who faced special issues or challenges associated with military service. This program has continued to grow over the last several years. Assistance provided through this program may vary based on the limited funds available but may assist by providing support in the form of gift cards for food, clothing, and other necessary items during a service-related crisis. Through this program, EANGUS has been able to assist hundreds of people during a time of significant need. Click button for more information on how you can support this initiative through donations or to request assistance.
The 2021 National Guard Education Guide & Almanac
presented by the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS)
This year’s publication includes two sections:
An Education Section includes information about scholarship opportunities and other resources available to National Guard members.
The Almanac Section highlights key National Guard leaders for each of the 54 States, Territories, and the District of Columbia as well as their State Association contact information and State benefits.
We thank Grantham University for its sponsorship of this publication. We are proud to continue our partnership with Grantham and have highlighted information in the Education Section regarding their educational programs and the two scholarships they are offering this year.
We are also extremely grateful for the continued partnership and scholarships offered to our EANGUS members, their spouse, and dependent children by Colorado Technical Institute, Grand Canyon University, and the University of Phoenix. Along with Grantham University, these institutions provide a total of eight full-tuition scholarships, which are a significant benefit to those selected as recipients each year. We are also appreciative of the additional funding provided for scholarships at Excelsior College, and the scholarship funds provided by USAA, AFBA, and the CSM Advisory Council which can be used by the recipient at the college or university of their choice.
On behalf of the EANGUS Executive Council, we trust that you will find this information of value and we wish the best to our members pursuing their dreams of higher education.
