CW4 John Ball


3rd EANGUS President

State Association:  South Dakota
Term:  1976 – 1978

Organizational Achievements

Prior to the first official conference, John Ball was the first Vice-Chairman of EANGUS during the formative years, with Virgil Williams as the acting Chairman of EANGUS, and they stayed that way for a couple of years until the 1972 National Conference where officers could be elected. Conducted the 5th Annual Conference which was attended by 295 Guardsmen with 149 delegates from 39 charted State Associations. The delegates passed 25 resolutions. By 1977, they had 27,000 members and 40 chartered associations. Many of the State Adjutant Generals were very supportive of EANGUS during this timeframe, and they encouraged EANGUS to ride with them to the meetings so that EANGUS could meet at no cost. Without this support, EANGUS would have struggled for a much longer period of time, and may not have survived at all as an organization.

Organizational Challenges

Early in his Association career, he traveled to surrounding States to help them get organized. Later on, he was instrumental in citing concerns with DOD’s focus on the quantity of personnel in units rather than focusing on the quality of training and readiness levels. National Guard Bureau was typically not involved in the EANGUS Conferences, however, in 1976, that changed and they were given speaking and presentation times, which continues to this day. During this time period, EANGUS planned a Legislative event in Washington D.C., and many of the EANGUS leaders had rented an RV and driven from South Dakota to Washington D.C. There was a farm bill being discussed at that time, and 12,000 farmers drove their tractors to Washington D.C. and blocked access to the Capitol and every Congressman’s calendar was booked solid. Without the internet, even commercial phone calls were expensive and communicating with States and State Association Leadership to keep them informed and solicit input was a challenge.

Legislative Accomplishments

During the formative years of EANGUS, E-4 and below that were unmarried were not authorized quarters allowance, and it was the State Associations and their level of organization, that led to legislation that solved that issue, and the States saw how effective a voice could be if we had a National organization. Legislation passed to initiate an enlistment bonus pilot program for the NG/RC. It was noted that many of EANGUS’ legislative goals were almost identical to those of NGAUS, and that they frequently used grassroots efforts like letter writing, phone calls and telegrams to Congressmen and key committee members. Efforts were successful to authorize presidential mobilization of up to 50,000 National Guard and Reserve servicemembers without declaring a national emergency.