then Add to Home Screen.
NGAUS ACTION
A sampling of advocacy in the nation's capital and other key locations.
MEETINGS
Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president, participated in a VSO/MSO roundtable April 7 with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in the Pentagon.
Jon Eisberg, the NGAUS vice president for government affairs, and Julian Plamann, the deputy director of government affairs, met April 7 with the staff of Rep. Gilbert Cisneros, D-Calif., the lead sponsor of the Duty Status Reform Act, the association’s No. 1 legislative objective.
Peter Boone, the Air programs manager, met April 7 with the staff of Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., to discuss NGAUS priorities for deliberations on fiscal 2027 defense legislation.
Eisberg met April 6 with the Office of General Counsel for the Office of the Secretary of War in the Pentagon.
Eisberg last week attended an MSO/VSO Transition Workshop hosted by Joy Craig of the VFW aimed to better address the challenges of service members transitioning to civilian life.
Plamann and Nina Reiss, the industry liaison, staffed a booth last week at the Louisiana National Guard Emergency Response Workshop in New Orleans. It attracted more than 200 leaders and planners from across the 54 and emergency management officials and industry partners.
Blaise Lemke, the Army programs manager, and Boone met last week with the staff of Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., to discuss NGAUS priorities for deliberations on fiscal 2027 defense legislation.
Lemke conducted a remote meeting last week of the NGAUS Army Aviation Task Force. Among the topics was the recapitalization of the Army Guard's UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter fleet.
Boone met with RTX officials last week about the avionics modernization plan for the Air Guard’s aging C-130H cargo plane fleet.
Alex Scaffo, a HillVets fellow on the government affairs staff, met with Josh Hilewitz, a congressional relations officer with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the staff of Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky. His focus is veteran issues as they relate to the Guard.
UPCOMING
Blaise Lemke, the Army programs manager, will attend the National Guard Association of Alabama Conference on April 10-12.
John Goheen, the director of communications, and Valerie Lucas, the membership and marketing manager, will attend the National Guard Association of Maryland Conference on April 10.
Peter Boone, the Air programs manager, will attend the National Guard Association of Delaware Conference on April 11.
NGAUS will host the first Capitol Summit of 2026 next week at the National Guard Memorial, the association headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event brings National Guard company-grade officers from each state and territory to Washington, D.C., for a first-hand look at the legislative process and the significant role NGAUS plays in it. More information.
Lemke and Nina Reiss, the industry liaison, will attend the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference, April 15-17 in Nashville, Tennessee.
—NGAUS Staff
