2008 Annual Report - West Virginia Army National Guard - U.S. Army
2008 Annual Report - West Virginia Army National Guard - U.S. Army
2008 Annual Report - West Virginia Army National Guard - U.S. Army
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<strong>West</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong> <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2008</strong><br />
WEST VIRGINIA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD<br />
Joint Forces Headquarters<br />
J1 - Personnel<br />
The <strong>West</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong> <strong>Army</strong> <strong>National</strong><br />
<strong>Guard</strong> (WVARNG) Office of Manpower and<br />
Personnel (J1) is charged with providing high<br />
quality, value-added services to all members of<br />
the WVARNG extended family, which includes<br />
units, soldiers, family members and retirees, as<br />
well as members, families and retirees of sister<br />
services. The goal of the J1 office is to provide<br />
proactive, customer-focused solutions that result<br />
in successful, on-time personnel transactions.<br />
We believe a commitment to taking care of<br />
“our family” in the current high operations<br />
tempo environment is not only the right thing<br />
to do, but is imperative if we are to assist units<br />
as they strive to retain the best soldiers in the<br />
WVARNG.<br />
Timely and outstanding “soldier care”<br />
has helped improve retention and the J1 office<br />
is charged with a number<br />
of tasks that directly and<br />
indirectly impact the level of<br />
care the force receives. This<br />
includes promotions, awards,<br />
decorations, military occupation<br />
specialty qualifications, civilian<br />
education assistance, civilian<br />
testing services, Montgomery<br />
GI Bill services, family support<br />
programs, youth programs,<br />
orders, discharges, transfers, officer and enlisted<br />
boards, weight control, incapacitation pay,<br />
medical and dental bill processing, security<br />
clearances, officer/non-commissioned officer<br />
evaluation reporting and management, data base<br />
tracking, identification card production, military<br />
thrift savings plan program, bonus payments,<br />
student loan repayment and mobilization/<br />
deployment assistance. Through these programs<br />
and many others, the J1 office helps ensure<br />
maximum unit strength and personnel readiness.<br />
In Fiscal Year <strong>2008</strong>, the Education<br />
Services Office (ESO) processed over $1.7<br />
million in federal tuition assistance applications<br />
- more than any one-year period in WVNG<br />
history. The ESO also helped process over $4<br />
million in State Tuition Assistance Applications.<br />
ESO staff worked with the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Guard</strong><br />
webmaster to improve the WVNG’s Education<br />
website in order to make educational<br />
information more accessible to soldiers and<br />
airmen throughout <strong>West</strong> <strong>Virginia</strong>. This year the<br />
ESO also administered a greater variety and<br />
total number of educational exams than in the<br />
previous four years combined, which saved our<br />
service members thousands of dollars while<br />
expanding their available opportunities. ESO<br />
also organized two college/career fairs and an<br />
education administrator’s workshop, both of<br />
which helped to improve community relations,<br />
educational opportunities and recruiting efforts<br />
in the state. During this time the ESO continued<br />
to verify and process the GI Bill Program.<br />
In <strong>2008</strong>, the<br />
Health Systems Office<br />
(HSO) staff worked hard<br />
to identify and resolve<br />
medical and dental<br />
issues for all WVARNG<br />
Soldiers. If and when an<br />
issue cannot be resolved<br />
the HSO assists soldiers<br />
through the evaluation<br />
process so the soldier will<br />
know what to expect and understand possible<br />
levels of compensation for which they may be<br />
eligible.<br />
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