Long appointed to lead Virginia National Guard

Issue #14, Volume 3 The Commonwealth’s Guardian
July 16, 2010
New leader has served in the Guard since 1964
On page 2: OCS excellence recognized
Long appointed to lead Virginia National Guard
Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr. takes the oath of office as
adjutant general of Virginia July 14 in Richmond as his wife
Diane looks on.
Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr. officially took the oath of office
as Adjutant General of Virginia July 14 in Richmond after being
appointed by Gov. Bob McDonnell July 9 to lead the Virginia
National Guard.
“We are honored that Maj. Gen. Long is assuming command
of the Virginia National Guard,” McDonnell said. He recognized
Long for his more than four decades of military service and his
breadth of experience in both peacetime and combat.
Long, a native of Stafford County, enlisted at the age of 18 in
the Virginia Army National Guard in 1964 in the Fredericksburgbased
Company D, 276th Engineer Battalion. He commanded at
the company, battalion and brigade level before commanding the
Fort Belvoir-based 29th Infantry Division from September 2002
until September 2004. He most recently served for three years
as the commander of Joint Task Force - Civil Support at Fort
Monroe.
Read more: http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/longappointment.html
Virginia National Guard News Headlines
Women’s Forum highlights careers of Va. Guard female Soldiers and Airmen
Soldiers and Airmen of the Virginia National Guard were invited by the Virginia
Guard Equal Opportunity Office to come together at the Women’s Museum at Fort
Lee July 7 to discuss their experiences as females serving honorably in the armed
forces during the Virginia Guard’s Inaugural Women’s Forum.
Read more: http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/womensforum.html
Freedom Salute recognizes service in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan
Virginia National Guard Soldiers from three different units gathered alongside
family members, loved ones and employers July 11 in Williamsburg to conduct a
Freedom Salute in honor of their service in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
Read more: http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/freedomsalute.html
Air Guard intelligence squadron reaches full operational capability
The 192d Intelligence Squadron, 192d Fighter Wing from Langley Air Force
Base declared full operational capability June 30, 2010, and celebrated the
milestone in a ceremony July 10, 2010.
Read more: http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/192ISfoc.html
116th BCT exercises high tech command and control systems
The Virginia National Guard’s Staunton-based 116th Brigade Combat Team
conducted a training exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap June 5-19 that is the third
and final event to complete the fielding of the U. S. Army’s Command Post of the
Future command and control system.
Read more: http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/june10/116thFIG.html
Mark Your Calendars!
July 17: Concert at Fort Pickett
The Fort Pickett Morale Welfare
and Recreation Office will host a
free Concert of the Jim O’Ferrell
Band Saturday, July 17 for Soldiers,
Airmen, family members and Fort
Pickett employees. The event will be
at the Post Stadium and start at 7:30
p.m. The public is also allowed to
attend at a $2 entrance fee.
Joint Family Support Assistance
Program Regional ReachOuts
JFSAP is sponsoring informative
workshops for all military service
members and their families on the
following date:
Thursday, July 22 at 7 p.m at
the Military Family Support
Center at their new lcoation at the
CommUNITY Church at 901 Russell
Drive in Salem, Va.
For more info contact Kaye Carney
at (804) 926 -7604.
Visit http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/ for more information about the Virginia National Guard

Page 2 The Commonwealth’s Guardian July 16, 2010
OCS receives “Institute of Excellence” accreditation
The Fort Pickett-based 183rd Regiment, Regional Training
Institute’s Officer Candidate School earned the U.S Army Training
and Doctrine Command’s highest level of accreditation for a
training course during a March 2010 inspection. Subject matter
experts from Fort Benning’s Officer Candidate School rated
the OCS as a “Learning Institution of Excellence” during their
inspection conducted March 26-28.
The OCS has achieved the “Learning Institution of Excellence”
rating for two consecutive assessments. This is unprecedented in
the history of the RTI. The previous inspection was completed
October 2008.
“This rating is a direct result of the high level of support
the OCS program has received and continues to receive from
our higher headquarters, 183rd RTI, notably the S1 (personnel)
and S4 (logistics) sections working through administrative and
logistical issues and looking past their own staff sections to ensure
the success of the Regiment as a whole,” said 1st Lt. Carlos
Maldonado, Virginia’s OCS training officer.
The inspection is a comprehensive look at all of the
accreditation standards with emphasis on conduct of training
and training support. There are 18 standards under 6 categories:
Doctrine, Organization and Proponent Function, Training, Leader
Development, Personnel and Facilities.
The OCS received the rating by successfully meeting all criteria
for all 18 standards and received an overall rating of 98%.
During the process, inspectors interviewed some of the staff
and candidates. They observed training on Army Warrior Tasks
and Battle Drills, as well as administration of the tactics exam.
The accreditation record was conducted in accordance with the
TRADOC Record of Evaluation of Accreditation Standards.
This achievement was not an easy task for the OCS. The
organization had its share of obstacles to overcome. The OCS
changed commanders in 2009, hired a new full time training
officer in February 2010 and incurred a 100% staff turnover
within a few months prior to the inspection.
“This accomplishment is even more notable in light of the
OCS company change of command and reassignment of the full
time OIC this year,” said Col. Marie Mahoney, commander of the
183rd Regiment, Regional Training Institute. “This is a testament
to the strength of the Virginia OCS program, as well as to the
dedication and hard work of the entire 183rd RTI team.”
Scoring is based on how well the school meets the standards
set by the officer candidate school proponent at Fort Benning, Ga.,
which also conducts the evaluation.
TRADOC and the proponent branch develop the criteria.
Approximately 30 areas can be inspected. To get the highest
rating, each school must maintain excellent student/training
records and fully certified instructors, while also conducting
training to standard and according to the program of instruction,
with the necessary equipment and facilities.
Officer candidate schools are normally evaluated once
every three years and are scored as Candidate for Accreditation
Soldiers from the Blackstone-based 183rd Regiment, Regional
Training Institute’s Officer Candidate School Class 53A
graduated and pinned on second lieutenant bars April 17
in a ceremony held at Fort Pickett. The Virginia Guard OCS
program earned “Learning Institute of Excellence” recognition
after an inspection by Training and Doctrine Command.
(0-59 percent), Conditional Accreditation (60-79 percent), Full
Accreditation (80-94 percent) or Learning Institute of Excellence
(95-100 percent).
The RTI has a campus full of new buildings currently under
construction on Fort Pickett. As the final stages of construction are
complete, the RTI with the OCS is scheduled to move into their
new buildings this fall.
“OCS is looking forward to hanging this rating proudly in
our new building this fall,” said Maj. Thomas Klump, OCS
commander.
Read more: http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/ocsLIOE.html
MORE ON THE WEB
29th Division Band treats Virginia with concert series
http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/29thbandconcerts.html
Air Guard JAG Office recognized
http://vko.va.ngb.army.mil/VirginiaGuard/news/july10/192jag.html
Unit States Army Women’s Museum
http://www.awm.lee.army.mil/
Virginia National Guard on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaGuard
http://www.facebook.com/vaguardpao
Virginia Guard Public Affairs Flickr Photostream
http://flickr.com/photos/vaguardpao
Virginia Guard Public Affairs YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/vaguardpao
Virginia Guard Public Affairs on Twitter
http://twitter.com/vaguardpao
The Commonwealth’s Guardian newsletter is produced by the Virginia National Guard public affairs office on a bi-weekly basis. Please send any feedback or story
ideas to Mr. Cotton Puryear at cotton.puryear@us.army.mil.