Weekly Wrap Up

May 11, 2012

We bring this second week of May (already?) to a close with a weekly wrap up, our new Friday feature summarizing everything that's happened this week and a preview of what to expect next week.

What we've been up to....
-On Monday, NGAUS started a blog. Obviously. (Thanks for reading!)
-On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (HAC-D) passed the Defense Appropriations bill, which includes increased funding for the National Guard.
-On Wednesday, we sent a letter to the House and Senate defense committee regarding Army National Guard Abrams tanks.
-On Thursday morning at 2am (way past our bedtime), the House Armed Services Committee passed the FY13 National Defense Authorization (NDAA), which reverses the proposed cuts to the Air Guard. NGAUS applaudedthe move, and the National Governors Association also expressed approval.

What else happened...

-Head of the Vermont National Guard, Adjutant General MG Michael Dubie, was nominated to be the deputy commander of the U.S. military’s Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).

-Lawmakers say not no but h-e-double hockey sticks no to another BRAC round.

-Sequestration is.......still a total mess.

-The White House nominated Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and a former senior official at the CIA, to be the next Air Force chief of staff.

What's going on next week:

-The full House will take up the FY13 NDAA, and the House Appropriations Committee is expected to mark-up Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MILCON-VA) appropriations as well as Defense appropriations.

Enjoy this sunny Friday, hug your sweet moms on Sunday, and we’ll see you back here in a couple days.