NJ State Command Sgt. Maj. Jerome Jenkins (left) was the guest speaker at the NJ National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe Academy's graduation ceremony on Aug. 26. More than 100 students graduated from the program. Photo by Sgt. Shawn Morris, 444MPAD.

Like my predecessors, as your fifth State Command Sergeant Major, I will continue
the tradition of working hard for our joint forces and their families.

Following in the footsteps of Command Sgt. Maj. Adkins is a very difficult task. He was an outstanding Soldier who truly cared for our Soldiers, Airmen and their families. He is the true keeper of the colors and a Soldier who provided strong leadership during our time of need. I am proud to have had him as a senior enlisted advisor and mentor over the years.

Most of you are aware that I had little time to celebrate and/or get comfortable in the position. With an intense transition, including a trip to Afghanistan, my walkcrawl
days were quickly over…I am up and running.

As the National Guard transitions, so must we as noncommissioned officers. Every NCO must mentor our Soldiers and Airmen to keep our Guard trained and ready to serve. I will do my part to ensure that we have the right Soldiers in place to run our formations.

After visiting our Soldiers in Afghanistan, I am confident that we have the right Soldier as the senior NCO for the 50th Personnel Service Battalion as Command Sgt. Maj. Vander Clute accepted the task. The 50th is having a highly successful deployment and
continues to put the mark on the wall. Their success is clearly an indication of what good leadership, combined with an outstanding command team can do. When I came
aboard, you immediately saw changes in the Senior NCO ranks at the Major Subordinate Commands. In the near future, there will be more new faces in units across the state.

As Joint Forces, Army and Air National Guard, we have accomplished a lot when you consider our response to the devastating hurricanes on the Gulf Coast last year and the recently completed deployment of Soldiers and Airmen to the Southwest Border in
support of Operation Jump Start.

I am working closely with my counterpart from the Air Guard, Command Chief Master
Sgt. Paul M. Gunning and we are working together to make sure that ‘Joint Forces’ is not just a spoken or written phrase. We want to insure that ‘Joint Forces’ means just that, an active partnership between our most important assets, the men and women that wear the green and blue suits. We will continue to leverage our forces and take advantage of the unique skills each entity brings to the mission.

In closing, I am looking forward to working with our leaders in our effort to build and maintain a reliable, relevant and mission ready force. You can count on me to be a strong voice for our enlisted Soldiers, Airmen and their families.