When Rick Abline enlisted in the 3-112th Field Artillery of the NJARNG he was continuing a family tradition with nearly a century of combined military service.

Rick attended basic training in September at Ft. Jackson, but few of the recruits beginning their service this year have a family history of service like that of the Ablines.

The NJNG has had three of the five Abline brothers - George, Fred and Jim - in its ranks. Between them they have just about 100 years of service. All three brothers have served in the Passaic 50th Military Police Company after serving active duty tours in the Army. The three stayed close together as they each joined the 50th Adjutant General (AG) Company. Eventually, Jim and Fred would work their way through the ranks to become the only National Guard sergeant major brother duo in the nation. Although all three are retired, Jim and Fred have remained active in Guard affairs. Since retirement Jim has served as President of the NJ NCO Association and Secretary of the 50th AG Company Association. Fred has been the New Jersey State Retirees Representative, and is active in the NJNG Youth Camp Program.

George joined the regular Army in 1946 and was stationed in Tokyo as an MP during the Japanese occupation. After his discharge in 1949 he became a bus driver and joined an MP company in Newark. However, his job prevented George from participating on drill weekends and he was forced to take a long break from the military. Fifteen years later, George reenlisted in the 50th AG Company where he spent the rest of his career, retiring with 20 years service as a staff sergeant.

Fred joined the Guard, also as an MP, in 1948. He was drafted for the Korean War in 1951 and served for two years as a fire fighter in an engineering company in Japan, eventually being promoted to staff sergeant. When he returned to the states, Fred took eleven years off from military service before joining the 50th AG Company in 1964. Fred went on to make sergeant major in the 50th's personal service section.

"Camaraderie was what kept us going, we worked hard and we played hard," says Abline. Since retirement, Fred has attended several Guard conferences across the nation. Fred retired in 1990, with more than 30 years service.

Jim attended Basic Training in March of 1952 after joining the 50th MP Company in Passaic. Shortly after that, Jim was called to active duty during the Korean conflict and served at various duty posts in the United States. After leaving active duty in 1955, Jim rejoined his MP unit as a full time mechanic. After feeling the need for a change he switched to another full time job, unit administrator in the 50th AG Company. From there he went on to DISCOM serving in the same capacity.

Jim progressed all the way to Sergeant Major, retiring after a total of 42 years, 10 months and 10 days military service. Jim has been President of the NJARNG NCO Association and Secretary of the AG Association. About his lifetime of service to the Guard, Jim said "It was like family all those years."