State Partnership Program

The state of Georgia celebrated the 26-year-anniversary of our partnership with the country of Georgia in 2020 and continued to build the four-year relationship with our second state partner, Argentina, which was established in November 2016.

The state of Georgia conducted seven in-person events with the country of Georgia prior to DoD restrictions due to COVID-19. The Ga. DoD worked with the Office of Defense Cooperation in Tbilisi to conduct 12 virtual engagements with Georgian Defense Forces. A standout event for Georgia was the in-person conduct of Exercise Noble Partner 20. We also selected, trained, and deployed a new bilateral affairs officer.

Overall, Georgia’s state representatives conducted more than 31 different events, meetings, exercises and bilateral discussions with Georgia (20 events) and Argentina (11 events), continually strengthening our partner nations’ bilateral ties with the United States, despite the restrictions of the pandemic.

In September, approximately 138 Ga. National Guard service members traveled to Tbilisi to take part in Exercise Noble Partner 20, a multilateral, multinational exercise in the country of Georgia. The Ga. National Guard provided the coexercise director as well as field artillery, engineering and exercise support personnel. Georgia was the only state in the U.S. to conduct a training event in Europe this year and reported zero cases of COVID-19 from exercise participants. GeorgianU.S. joint led multi-national training exercise for U.S., Coalition and partner forces continue to focus on readiness and interoperability in direct support of U.S. European Command’s four top lines of effort – Support NATO’s defense of the Euro-Atlantic area and counter Russian malign influence, advance and strengthen strategic relationships and enable U.S. global operations.

The State Partnership Program in the country of Georgia focused on several key areas in the Georgian Defense Forces (GDF) including sustainment, procurement and logistics, civil military emergency preparedness, family readiness, cyber security, inspector general operations and reserve component development. New areas of cooperation in 2020 were personnel retention, readiness reporting and junior NCO development. A new engagement area in 2021 will be brigade-level training management.

The country of Georgia remains the number. 1 non-NATO and per capita contributor to the Resolute Support mission. The state of Georgia is committed to working with Georgian Defense Forces to enhance their readiness and capability to defend their homeland as well as send troops on expeditionary deployments.

The partnership with Argentina continues to grow into new areas of cooperation including domain awareness events with the Argentinian Air Force and Navy. We conducted virtual training by leveraging mobile technology to conduct an innovative live interactive Light Medium Tactical Vehicle maintenance event from one of our field maintenance shops. The highlight of our partnership with Argentina this year was the continuation of our humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exchanges with members from all branches of the Argentinian armed forces participating in the Patriot South exercise. We continue to plan new events for 2021 and beyond. These events focus on new areas including cyber, officer and NCO professional development and joint participation in U.S, Southern Command exercises.

The Georgia Department of Defense response to the coronavirus marked the longest continual domestic operation in its history surpassing natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the 1994 Southwest Georgia Flood for size and breadth of response missions.

The Ga. DoD involvement with the state’s coordinated coronavirus response began February 28 with the appointment of Maj. Gen. Tom Carden to Georgia’s Coronavirus Task Force. Two days later, the first two cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Georgia

The first operations order with tasks related to COVID-19 operations was issued March 5 and tasked components and units with inventorying personal protective communications equipment.

On March 8, Governor Brian Kemp announced passengers from the Grand Princess cruise ship would quarantine at Dobbins Air Reserve Base for observation and possible treatment of coronavirus. The Ga. DoD coordinated with DARB and prepared to receive quarantine passengers at the Regional Training Institute lodging on the Clay National Guard Center.

By March 11, the Ga. DoD and DARB were prepared to receive 250 passengers. Peach State Starbase cancelled classes and President Donald Trump announced a 30-day travel ban. The next day the U.S. stock market fell more than seven percent. The President declared a national emergency March 13 and Governor Brian Kemp followed suit with a state declaration of emergency which authorized the mobilization of 2,000 Georgia National Guard personnel to assist with response operations. The first response mission was conducted March 15, when Ga. DoD personnel assisted with the transportation of cruise ship passengers quarantined at the CNGC.

The first 20 Ga. DoD personnel were placed on state active duty orders March 17 with five personnel providing support to the state operations center in Atlanta while 15 military police of the 170th Military Police Battalion provided security support to Hard Labor Creek Park which was to be used as a quarantine site.

On March 19, the Ga. DoD established Joint Task Force Ga. with Brig. Gen. Randall Simmons serving as JTF commander. The Adjutant General outlined a plan for a medical task force comprised of personnel with medical training and those who could perform critical health support tasks, such as monitoring ventilators. Eight medical response teams and two medical treatment teams were thus planned. The first medical support team reported to Grady Memorial Hospital March 26. The next day, fourteen MSTs comprised of 153 personnel were engaged at 13 hospitals across the state. Task Force 48 fielded eight teams in addition to a team comprised of medical personnel from the 165th Airlift Wing. Ten personnel from Task Force Hazard comprised a medical assistance team at Kennestone Hospital while three blended teams of Army and Air National Guard personnel supported three hospitals through Task Force Med. In addition to the MST mission, Guardsmen and Ga. State Defense Force volunteers supported SOC operations staffed isolation facilities in Albany, Cartersville and Forsyth, supplemented food bank operations and provided manpower to DPH warehouse operations and the Palmyra Nursing Home in Albany.

As contractors completed the disassembly of the quarantine facility at CNGC March 30, the Ga. DoD was about to embark on its most ambitions mission assignment of the coronavirus response. Colonel John Till, safety officer for the Ga. DoD developed a facility disinfecting process based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Protocols and had successfully cleaned Ga. DoD facilities. On March 31, Till, and an infection control team comprised of Citizen Soldiers from the 138th Chemical Company were dispatched to Albany, Ga. to conduct the first of thousands of facilities disinfecting missions that would follow.

The Ga. DoD response role expanded in April with the hospital entry control mission. Teams of National Guard personnel augmented hospital operations to screen visitors for COVID symptoms in order to allow hospital staff to focus on patient treatment. April also marked the beginning of Ga. DoD support to food bank operations as 22 volunteers from the Ga. SDF assisted food distribution

support at Thomasville County Central High School. Throughout the month of April, The Ga. DoD completed 890 disinfectant missions at long-term care facilities and other critical sites. While the Ga. DoD ended support to isolation missions in Cartersville and Albany, additional personnel were assigned to assist ECT and MST missions. The MST mission peaked April 8 with 228 personnel assisting 18 hospitals around the state.

Till and the Ga. DoD safety office began training state agencies in disinfectant protocols while the Ga. SDF expanded its role in food distribution by manning a point of distribution in Tifton April 9. By April 11, the Ga. DoD was supporting 13 COVID-related missions with the addition of Ga. DPH courier support by the Ga. ANG and cold storage construction support. The next day, Governor Kemp announced the contract to build a 200-bed hospital at the Georgia World Congress Center.

On April 14, Task Force Hazard was tasked to support the Rockdale County Law Enforcement with traffic control at a specimen point of collection (SPOC) site in Rockdale County. Fifty personnel of the Decatur-based 170th Military Police Battalion began supporting the first SPOC mission April 17.

On April 17, Soldiers from the Canton-based Troop B 1-108th Cavalry Regiment administered COVID-19 tests to 100 staff members and patients at the Woodstock Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Woodstock. This marked the first iteration of what would become the mobile testing team (MTT) mission.

By April 20, there were 36 test sites across the state with 67 Ga. DoD personnel manning 20 sites. This marked the first day of the Ga. DoD support to the DPH SPOC mission. On this date, the Ga. DoD had six mobile testing teams and had begun a partnership with Augusta University to provide testing sites.

Task Force Guardian and Task Force Air began supporting Augusta University data entry operations April 22nd. On that date, the total personnel responding to Coronavirus exceeded 3,000 for the first time.

The impact of the Ga. DoD involvement in testing was immediate as Georgia moved from 48th to 40th in testing on April 23rd. At the time, the Ga. DoD was supporting 14 of 45 DPH testing sites with 67 personnel.

On April 28, the death count from COVID-19 in Georgia exceeded 1,000. The next day, the Ga. DoD completed disinfection of 722 of 790- nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Georgia.

On May 1, Ga. SDF volunteers moved 23,000 pounds of rice in support of food distribution operations. The Ga. SDF had distributed 199,000 pounds to date while also supporting testing sites.

The Ga. DoD coronavirus response peaked on May 2 with 3,228 personnel assigned. The following day, the 874th Engineer Utilities Detachment mobilized from its home station in Toccoa, Ga. for overseas combat operations. Governor Brian Kemp attended the departure ceremony for the engineers and would again visit with deploying Guard Soldiers of Company A, 221st Military Intelligence Battalion on May 4.

By May 5, the Ga. DoD had facilitated 21,521 tests and collected 21,000 test kits while 57 infection control teams had completed 1,130 disinfection missions. In Fulton County alone, the Ga. DoD had distributed nearly 500,000 school meals.

On May 12, Governor Brian Kemp set an ambitious goal for the testing of all nursing homes over the next 14 days. On that day, the Ga. DoD received 138 mission requests from GEMA- the highest single day total of the response.

By May 19 only one MTT remained on station in Augusta while four ECTs remained on station. The 139th Chaplain Detachment reached Fort Hood prior to mobilization to Kuwait.

The Ga SDF ended support of the ICT mission on May 21. That same day, during its Memorial Day observation, the Ga. DoD dedicated a plaque in honor to Master Sgt. Mark Allen on the Memorial

Wall at the Clay National Guard Center marking the first addition to the Memorial Wall since 2010. Soldiers of the 170th Military Police Battalion worked through the Memorial Day weekend supporting infection control operations at the Pruitt Health Facility in Brookhaven and Covington.

By May 27, the Ga. DoD had completed disinfecting missions at 730 of 790- long-term care facilities with 60 facilities declining assistance. On May 28, GEMA officials inspected the Milledgeville YCA campus to determine if it could serve as a possible temporary medical unit. The next day, the final Medical Reserve Corps mission ended at Monroe County Hospital. Georgia DoD ICTs begin training nursing home personnel on disinfectant procedures. Over the weekend, the Ga. DoD ended support to MST and ECT missions and withdrew from DPH warehouse and nursing home support in Albany.

At 7:50 pm May 29, after hours of peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis, an assembly of citizens at the CNN Center in Atlanta turned violent as individuals began to deface buildings, throw rocks and climb on police cars. Local and national television stations aired footage of a police car burning in the street in front of the CNN Center as protests raged around the country. Just minutes before midnight, Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in Fulton County at the request of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and authorized activation of 500 Georgia National Guard troops. Approximately 160 Soldiers of the 201st RSG, mobilized to the CNN Center and Lenox Mall to secure property and deter looting in the early hours of May 30.

The JTF SPOC mission ended May 30 with 214 personnel supporting nine SPOC sites. The JTF sites accounted for 17,507 tests. Support for DPH warehouse operations also ended with eight personnel assisting in Albany, and Kennesaw.The final MST and ECT missions concluded as did the 2-121st Infantry support to Palmyra Nursing Home in Albany.

Over the next several days, the Ga. DoD augmented law enforcement in Athens and multiple locations around Atlanta. Georgia National Guardsmen of Task Force Hazard, Volunteer and Air assisted Atlanta Police and Georgia State Police in curfew enforcement at the CNN Center and Centennial Park and provided security to protect public property and ensure citizens had a safe environment to assemble and have their voices heard. While law enforcement deployed tear gas to disperse crowds per the mayor’s curfew, the presence of Ga. DoD personnel deterred further property damage until July 5 when the GSP headquarters was vandalized overnight. From that point on, the Ga. DoD maintained a steady presence at the state capitol and provided an intermittent presence at the governor’s mansion and GSP Headquarters to deter further vandalism. The Ga. DoD continued to support COVID-19 missions through support to foodbank operations.

By December, Ga. DoD service members began transitioning from active-duty orders. Some personnel had been on orders since March.

Georgia National Guard members may qualify for federal and state education benefits, such as:

GI Bill: There are three chapters of this statutory entitlement administered by the military services and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). Guardsmen may receive up to 36 months in any one VA educational assistance program, or 48 months of combined benefits if eligible for two or more programs. The rate for the GI Bill for the Selected Reserve (MGIBSR) is $397 per month (full-time student rate). https://www.benefits. va.gov/gibill/.

GI Bill Kicker: An incentive providing additional education payment to encourage Soldiers to enter into specific units or skills to meet and sustain ARNG readiness requirements. There are incentives tailored to enlisted, officers, and officer candidates, each with specific criteria and rules, ranging from $200 to $350 per month (full-time student rate).

(Army TA): A benefit available to all components of the Army (Active, Reserve, and Guard). Soldiers utilize the GoArmyEd portal to request funds to pay for up to 16 semester hours per fiscal year, with a cap of $250 per hour, up to $4,000 per year. https:// www.goarmyed.com/.

Loan): An incentive for qualified men and women to join the GA Guard and to retain skilled, productive citizens within the state. It is a student financial aid program that pays 100 percent of undergraduate tuition at all Georgia public colleges and universities; scaled rates for higher degrees. Your service cancels the loan. https://www. gafutures.org/, search: State Military Programs.

GA HERO Scholarship: A benefit available to Guardsmen attending an approved in-state college who have deployed to a combat zone, or to the spouse or children of those Guardsmen. Provides up to $8,000 over four years for you, and additional funds for your dependent children upon reaching college age. https:// www.gafutures.org/, search: HERO.

GA Military Scholarship: An incentive available to Guardsmen attending the University of North Georgia. Covers room and board, tuition and fees, uniforms, and books. Provides up to $76,000 over four years. https://www.gafutures.org/, search: State Military Programs.

State Service Scholarship: An incentive available to Guardsmen attending Georgia Military College. Covers room and board, tuition and fees, uniforms, and books. Provides up to $40,000 over two years. https:// www.gafutures.org/, search: State Military Programs.

Minuteman Scholarship: An incentive available to college students interested in joining the Guard through ROTC. Covers either room and board or tuition and fees, plus uniforms, books, and a stipend. Provides up to $22,500 over three years. Contact the school’s ROTC program directly.

Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD): An incentive available to college students interested in joining the Guard through ROTC. Covers either room and board or tuition and fees, plus uniforms, books, and a stipend. Provides up to $22,500 over three years. Contact the school’s ROTC program directly.

Program (SLRP): An incentive assisting Guardsmen with paying off existing federal student loans, designed to encourage Soldiers to enter into specific units or skills to meet and sustain ARNG readiness requirements. There are incentives tailored to enlisted, officers, and officer candidates, each with specific criteria and rules, with a maximum payout of $50,000 ($31,000 after taxes).

For more resources, visit National Guard Education: https://www. nationalguard.com/education, the Georgia Student Finance Commission: http://gsfc.georgia.gov/, and the Georgia National Guard Education page: https://georgiag1.net/soldiers/ educationBenefits.

Program that will pay up to $4000 dollars per fiscal year on any of the 1,600 plus Credentials that are listed in the Army Cool Program.

To get started visit: www. ArmyIgnitED to apply for Credentialing Assistance and find a list of more than 1,600 credentials on the Army COOL website: www.cool.osd. mil/army

The 122nd Regiment Regional Training Institute (RTI) Center of Excellence is located on Clay National Guard Center in Marietta with a command team of Col. Theodore Scott and Command Sgt. Major Patrick Eaton. The organization provides regionalized combat arms, leadership, military occupational specialty, additional skill identifier, noncommissioned officer education system and general studies training for the Army National Guard, United States Army Reserve and the active component of the United States Department of Defense. The RTI conducted 32 different courses and over 12,110 training hours for military occupational skill, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development, and additional skill identifier training, which resulted in 910 graduates in fiscal year 2020. The RTI plans and programs training within its region based on requirements identified by the individual training branch, the Army program for individual training and the training requirements arbitration plan. Ultimately the 122nd trains and educates the region’s all-volunteer forces in order to be technically current and tactically proficient as an expeditionary Army.

The RTI teaches Soldiers to operate in a joint-interagency, intergovernmental and multinational environment and to conduct full spectrum operations in order to protect national security and national defense strategies domestically and abroad.

Georgia Military College (GMC) is an accredited, liberal arts junior college open to high school graduates who are determined to earn a college degree. GMC serves students, with campuses located in Milledgeville, Augusta, Columbus, Fairburn, Madison, Warner Robins, Stone Mountain, Sandersville and Valdosta. Georgia Military College also offers online programs.

Students interested in the Corps of Cadets in Milledgeville may compete for one of 42 State Service Scholarships offered annually to Georgia Air or Army Guardsmen. This full scholarship is valued at over $22,000 each year. GMC is one of only four schools in the nation to offer the Early Commissioning Program that leads to a commission as a second lieutenant in two years. Enlisted Guardsmen may participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program while attending GMC. Through SMP, Guardsmen receive pay and accrue service credit while completing their studies. Qualified students may receive an ROTC Scholarship that covers tuition and books. Federal Tuition Assistance and Veterans Administration benefits are accepted.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) was created through the consolidation of North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College.

With five campuses in Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, Oconee County and Blue Ridge - and a student population of approximately 20,000 students, UNG is the seventh-largest public university in Georgia.

As a state designated leadership institution and The Military College of Georgia, it is one of only six senior military colleges in the United States and its Corps of Cadets numbers more than 750 students. UNG offers more than 100 programs of study, and has many benefits for the Georgia Guardsmen on its campuses. Georgia Military scholarships are awarded to 42 Georgia Army Guardsmen annually, offering a four-year scholarship including tuition, fees, books, meals and housing worth approximately $85,000. North Georgia also continues to improve its strategic language program offering languages such as the romance languages, Russian, Chinese and Korean, among many other languages and as academic majors or specialties.

The school’s Guard Partnership Program allows enlisted Georgia Guardsmen to serve as ROTC cadets while still drilling with their National Guard units. Members of the program are Simultaneous Membership Program cadets, and receive extra benefits, like an additional monthly stipend and elevated drill pay. Other programs like Federal Tuition Assistance, Veterans Administration benefits, and ROTC grants may also be available for those who qualify.

The Georgia Department of Defense public affairs program merges the joint efforts of federal and state employees, Georgia Army and Air National Guard personnel, and State Defense Force volunteers The combined efforts of these media professionals account for thousands of annual print and broadcast-ready products which include articles, press releases, photos, and videos. This content regularly reaches a wide audience of online followers through integrated social media channels that include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In 2020, Georgia DoD developed socially distanced practices to message our audiences and conduct community outreach events. By increasing livestreamed broadcasts, town halls, and other activities, Georgia DoD communications professionals were able to reach audiences that were limited in their ability to visit Ga. DoD facilities in person. By leveraging relationships with local and national media, the public affairs team kept the public informed regarding the Georgia National Guard’s role in pandemic response, civil disturbance support, and vaccine distribution.