News Release - New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

NJDMAVA NEWS
January 2000

New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

Celebrating a Century of Caring
The New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home at Vineland held a centennial celebration on Tuesday, January 4, 2000.
On January 2, 1900, The New Jersey Soldiers Home for Disabled Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and their Wives and Widows (the home’s original name) opened its doors in Vineland. The original residents worked on the home’s farm and helped prepare their own meals.
Today the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home at Vineland is one of three veteran nursing homes operated be the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NJDMAVA). The almost 300 current residents receive state-of-the-art, around-the-clock medical and nursing care, rehabilitative and recreational services, special dietary service and other amenities.
Vineland Memorial Home

New Jersey, the first state to establish a facility for disabled war veterans, opened the New Jersey Solider Home in Newark on July 4, 1866, to care for disabled Civil War veterans. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs currently operates three veteran homes with 950 beds. The facilities, all located near major roadways, are in Menlo Park, Paramus and Vineland. NJDMAVA encourages qualified veterans in need of long-term care to apply now.

Manto Awarded Medal of Valor
   At the Statehouse on December 3, 1999, Governor Christine Todd Whitman awarded Sergeant First Class Joseph Manto the New Jersey Medal of Valor.
   On September 3 1999, Manto, who is assigned to the 50th Main Support Battalion, rescued two police officers during the Hurricane Floyd emergency operation in Lodi.
   It was during the New Jersey National Guard’s relief operation that Manto saw the two men struggling to stay afloat after their boat collapsed. Manto grabbed an aluminum ladder and climbed across the rooftops of several homes and in through an attic to get to the officers. He then lowered the ladder from an open window onto the fence the policemen were clinging to, pulling them onto the ladder away from the swollen floodwaters.
   The Medal of Valor is awarded for performance involving personal hazard or danger and a voluntary risk of life in a life saving act on behalf of others.

Guard Sees Y2K Through

   On December 3, all major New Jersey Army and Air National Guard units notified that from December 28, 1999 to January 4, 2000, they would place selected personnel on State Active Duty.
    All 32 armories and both air bases had personnel available on a moments notice to ensure effective and immediate communication between the State Office of Emergency Management in West Trenton and the National Guard Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located at Fort Dix.
    Similar to the Guard’s response to Hurricane Floyd, additional personnel were available at Task Force North in Somerset and Task Force South in Atlantic City to ensure proper coordination of all Guard activities. All county emergency operations centers were in operation with on-site National Guard coordinators.
In addition to regular telephone communications, the 250th Signal Battalion, headquartered at the Westfield Armory, constructed a single side band wireless radio net between West Trenton, Fort Dix, and key armories and Air Guard Bases throughout the state. Even if there had been catastrophic computer failure, the system would have worked because none of the net’s computer components or chips were susceptible to Y2K related failures. As a “last resort” strategy, assuming total communications failure, all Guard personnel were instructed to report to their respective armories or air bases if they had not been contacted by midday January 1.
    From a National Guard standpoint, response to Y2K was no different from any other natural disaster, emergency, or catastrophe. The Guard’s training, equipment, and experience would have been used to the maximum extent necessary to address any problems or emergencies arising from Y2K or any subsequent problems.

College Tuiton Worries May be Over
   The New Jersey National Guard is offering “scholarships” at New Jersey state colleges and universities. A member of the NJ Guard in good standing can get a tuition waver which allows them to attend any state college or university at no cost. For students and parents who are wondering where funds for tuition will come from, this can be a great solution. Students remain responsible for room and board expenses, and must still qualify and be accepted into a college.
    Students who are Guard members receive pay and benefits as a drilling soldier or airman, may qualify for additional assistance under the new GI Bill, and also receive great skill training as well. After initial training, Guard members drill one weekend per month and two additional weeks per year. Most units have the flexibility to work schedules around a students’ academic calendar, so training does not interfere with school.
    High school students can enlist in the Guard in their junior year and split their initial training between summers after their junior and senior years.