By Maj. Gen. Paul J. Glazar -- The Adjutant General
We have just witnessed the
peaceful transfer of
power of the office of
President of the United
States for the forty-third
time since the founding
of this great republic.
This is due, in great part,
to soldiers and airmen
like you who have
pledged to support and
defend this country - and
have done so without
hesitation - since 1636.
The concept of the citizen-soldier is one of the
cornerstones of our democracy and we have
again seen that it is an
idea that still works after all this time.
In reading all of the holiday letters we get at this time of year I thought I would point out some of the things we have to be thankful for as we close out 2000.
Our pilots, aircrew, and support personnel from the 177th Fighter Wing successfully deployed to Saudi Arabia and returned from enforcing the no-fly zone over Iraq without incident.
We deployed task forces to the National Training Center in California, the Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena, Michigan; the Combat Maneuver Training Center in Germany, and to major exercises at Fort Drum without any serious incidents.
The success of the National Guard Association of the United States 122nd Annual Conference in Atlantic City - was due to your dedication and hard work.
We have dedicated the totally renovated New Jersey Memorial Home in Menlo Park, which gives us the ability to provide world-class service to our veterans in need of full time nursing care.
We dedicated a memorial to the veterans of the Korean War to insure that ihThe Forgotten Warlo will never be forgotten again.
We held eight New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal ceremonies in unit armories where we recognized more than one thousand combat veterans.
Your outstanding support of OPSAIL-2000 resulted in zero serious incidents.
We can be especially thankful for the safe return of our F-16 pilot who ditched his disabled aircraft at sea rather than over a populated area.
The greatest thanks goes to all of you - the soldiers, airmen, naval militia members, your families, and employers who work together to insure that the people of New Jersey and his great nation can be served at a moment's notice.
Thanks to one and all for another great year!