Military Department

 

 

 

 

 

 

At a Glance

 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL THADDEUS J. MARTIN, The Adjutant General

Brigadier General Walter E. Lippincott, Assistant Adjutant General - Army

Statutory authority – CGS Title 27

Central office – State Armory, 360 Broad Street,

Hartford, CT  06105-3795

Number of state employees – 97

Recurring state operating expenses - $24,036,513

Federal expenditure - $257,747,898

 

Mission

The Military Department is a unique dual-status agency, having both federal and state missions.  The federal mission is to maintain properly trained and equipped National Guard units for prompt federalization in the event of war, domestic emergencies or other emergencies.  The state mission is to coordinate, support and augment federal, state and local authorities in emergency response, to provide emergency response planning and to conduct community service programs. 

 

Statutory Responsibility

     Title 27 of the General Statutes contains the Military Department’s statutory authority and responsibility.  The Department’s principal public responsibilities are (1) to train, resource and coordinate state emergency response assets, and (2) to plan for and protect citizens and their property in times of war, terrorism, invasion, rebellion, riot or disaster.  The Military Department serves as the Governor’s primary agency for ensuring public safety during emergencies.  The Military Department is functionally divided into four components: the Military Department, Army National Guard, Air National Guard and the Organized Militia.

 

MILITARY DEPARTMENT

 

Military Department Headquarters

 

     The Adjutant General administers and commands the four components of the Military Department through the Joint Forces Headquarters, located in the State Armory in Hartford. The Adjutant General also oversees the civilian employees who provide administrative support to the military personnel of the department. The Military Department employs over 1,000 full-time federal employees and nearly 100 full-time state employees.  The Adjutant General's Office provides leadership through the development of policy, the issuance of regulations and operational monitoring to insure the established standards set are attained and maintained.  The Adjutant General coordinates Connecticut’s military activities with the National Guard Bureau.

 

 

Joint Forces Headquarters (JFHQ)

 

     Joint Forces Headquarters is comprised of five staff sections which report to the Adjutant General through the Chief of Staff. Each staff section is responsible for a specific function of the Connecticut National Guard.   The “J” staff denotes the “joint” aspect of the staff, having personnel from both the Army and Air National Guard.  The numerical designation aligns to the corresponding staff section of the United States Army. Additionally, JFHQ has four major directorates: United States Fiscal and Purchasing Office (USPFO), Constructions and Facilities Management Office (CFMO), Counterdrug Directorate (CD) and the Public Affairs Office (PAO)

 

J-1

 

     The J1 is the National Guard’s Human Resource Office with the responsibility for processing all military personnel actions, including promotions, awards, accessions and transfers.  Through the efforts of 50 full-time military recruiters actively engaging Connecticut’s communities, the authorized military personnel strength of approximately 3,500 soldiers and 1,200 airmen is maintained.  RRC supports every unit deployment send off ceremony, supports numerous community events and countless public service visits to schools throughout the state.

     The J1’s Family Program manages Embracing Lonely Families (Operation E.L.F.). This program was created by then Lieutenant Governor Rell in 2003 to provide holiday assistance to the families of deployed Guardsmen. Family Programs also runs Breakfast with the Easter Bunny an annual Easter breakfast and egg hunt enjoyed by over 500 families in 2006. Family Programs also participates in the Pre-Mobilization Briefings for families to prepare them for deployment separation which provides information on benefits and entitlements as well as support and assistance services available while their Guardsman is deployed, Reunion Workshops for family members to explain post deployment resources and Relationship Enhancement Weekends to help couples reconnect and learn how to communicate more effectively with one another.

     Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is embedded within J1. ESGR promotes cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component members and their civilian employers and to assist in the resolution of conflicts arising from an employee's military commitment. During the 2005-2006 period ESGR participated in more than 40 unit mobilization and demobilization exercises providing specific Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) information to National Guard and Reserve members.  ESGR manages partnerships with other government agencies, Veterans Service Organizations and volunteer groups including the Department of Labor, Veterans Administration, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Give2TheTroops and others for the benefit of National Guard and Reserve personnel.

      J1 also includes the Military Funeral Honors Program, which provides qualified personnel to conduct military funeral honors at the funerals of Connecticut veterans.  A total of 152 soldiers assist in the duties of Military Funeral Honors. They are supported by 234 members of Connecticut’s Veteran Service Organizations. The Veteran Service Organizations provide the firing detail during the Military Funeral Honors service. There are fifteen firing details located throughout Connecticut. Connecticut averages approximately 256 honors each month.

 

 

J-3/J7

     The Directorate of the Plans, Operations and Training, (J3/J7), is the principle staff agency for plans, operations, training, military support, mobilization, counter drug operations, intelligence, security and interagency operability of the Connecticut National Guard. The J3/J7 has an essential role in providing trained and equipped forces, capable of mobilizing and deploying in support of Federal and State missions. The J3/J7 provides resources in the form of schools, training, ammunition and long range planning. In addition J3/J7 is responsible for providing force protection to all of the Connecticut National Guard facilities through anti-terrorism training, physical security and risk assessments. The J3/J7 is also responsible for integrating new force structure and training on new equipment as well as the coordination of all deployments.  

     The J3/J7 has accomplished the mobilization training qualification requirements of over 1,000 soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan over the past year, in addition to international deployments to Germany, South Korea and Egypt.  The J3/J7 is currently working on Operation Jump Start in support of the Southwest Border States security mission.

 

 

 

J-4

 

     The Directorate of Logistics (J-4) provides logistics management in the areas of supply, equipment management, transportation, maintenance and logistics automation to the State of Connecticut Military Department.  J4 insures that personnel are properly fed and equipped, that equipment is maintained and accounted for and that units are properly resourced to perform their State or Federal missions. J4 maintains 1,388 federally owned military vehicles by providing services and maintenance at 8 Field Maintenance Shops located throughout the state.

 

 

J-5

     The Director of Military Support, (J5), is responsible for the establishment and operations of the State level Joint Operations Center that provides Military Support to Civilian Authorities, conducts Community Support and Special Event Operations, coordinates and facilitates the deployment of the Weapons of Mass Destruction – Civil Support Team (WMD-CST), oversees the Counterdrug and Demand Reduction Programs, monitors threat information and conducts information operations as required.

     Due to July 7, 2005 London bombings, J-5 was tasked with providing threat assessments, presence patrols and physical security in mass transit terminals to include rail stations, bus terminals and ferry terminals and depots from 8 July – 6 August 2005 through Operation Nutmeg Sentry. CTNG provided Aviation, Security, Transportation, and Medical support to Mississippi and Louisiana from 30 August – 14 October 2005 as part of Hurricane Katrina support operations.

     The J-5 participated in 19 planning exercises throughout calendar year 2005. The J5 sponsored seven events as part of the State Partnership Program with the Uruguayan military. In fiscal year 2005 the J5 has provided coordination and support to the Connecticut State Veteran’s Day Parade, 117 Memorial Day Parades, 29 National Guard facility requests, 57 community support activities, National Guard equipment requests and band requests.

 

 

J-6

     The Department of Information Management, (J6), provides Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information (C4I) support for units of the Connecticut Army National Guard.  This includes the planning, acquisition, execution, management, and security of all automated resources within the command.

     The J6’s primary responsibility is to ensure the seamless flow of information for Connecticut Army National Guard units. This includes networked client-server technologies, electronic mail, telephonic communications, mail distribution, publication of documents, distance learning and video communications.  In addition the J6 provides the means for secure voice, video and data communications 30 Army National Guard facilities throughout the state managed through the Network Control Center at the Hartford Armory.  Over the past year the J6 continued the modernization of its network infrastructure which is part of the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Global Information Grid (GIG). In addition to the implementation of the GIG, the J6 is deploying Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies.

 

 

United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO)

     USPFO oversees federal funding and equipment supplied to the Connecticut National Guard.  In carrying out this mission, USPFO pays all National Guard personnel in the state, provides and accounts for funds and property, orders equipment and pays for operations and maintenance of buildings and equipment. USPFO makes returns and reports of those funds and property as required.  This year the Department of Defense has provided $257,747,898 to the Connecticut Army and Air National Guard.  Additionally the total federal property administered by the USPFO for both the Connecticut Army and Air National Guard is over $300,000,000. The USPFO is divided into functional divisions.

     The Comptroller Division is responsible for paying the bills of the Connecticut National Guard, to include travel vouchers, civilian and military payrolls and government purchases.  The Comptroller’s Division is also responsible for accurate accounting of the funds provided to the state for operation of the Connecticut Army National Guard.

 

     The Purchasing and Contracting Division makes all of the major purchases, solicits and awards contracts of all sizes for a wide range of goods and services, awards and administers large-scale/high profile National Guard projects such as facility construction and improvement and equipment procurement, manages Military Interdepartmental Purchase Requests, manages the Government Purchase Card Program, administers the State-Federal Cooperative Agreements, prepares Interservice and IntraGovernment Service Agreements and Memorandums of Agreement or Memorandums of Understanding and supervises the  Nonappropriated Fund Contracting Officer.

     The Transportation Division manages and directs the commercial traffic management programs for the Connecticut Army National Guard by providing technical traffic management advisory services, establishing operating requirements and formulating commercial traffic management programs and policies for the USPFO.

     The mission of the Data Processing Center is to support Production Services, Software Programming, Database Administration, Network Security and Systems Administration within a multi-user environment. Additionally, it provides technical reliability, security and customer support.

     The Supply and Services Division consists of four branches that allocate equipment and supplies for all units in the Connecticut National Guard. The Stock Control branch accounts for material in stock and oversees $33 million in annual funding, allotted for acquisition of supplies, equipment and services. The Property Asset Management Section maintains the accountability of over $190 (Army) million of major end items and equipment.  The Connecticut Supply Depot warehouses and distributes supplies to support daily operations of all Army National Guard units. It is responsible for the receipt, store and issue of equipment and supplies to the units of the Connecticut Army National Guard.

 

 

Construction and Facilities Management Office (CFMO)

     The Construction and Facilities Management Office supports the Connecticut National Guard by leasing, building, renovating, and maintaining 31 mission-enhancing facilities totaling 294 buildings of more than 3 million square feet. Nine federal employees, 19 state employees and one contractor staff the Construction and Facilities Management Office. The Construction and Facilities Management Office is comprised of engineering and design, environmental, resource, planning and program, construction, and maintenance departments.  The infrastructure supported has a value of approximately $600 million, and the Construction and Facilities Management Office has a $200 million capital program.  The Construction and Facilities Management Office annual budget is $10,000,000.

     Significant projects completed in the 2005-2006 period include the Stones Ranch Military Reservation Military Fire Station, East Lyme, (total construction cost $2,200,000) and the Newtown Military Working Dog Facility, Newtown Military Reservation, (total construction cost $2,500,000). The Facility Management Office also completed Federal Fiscal Year 2005/2006 Minor Construction Program with ten projects valued at over $1,200,000.

     The Southington Readiness Center’s $5,000,000 renovation, including alterations, renovations and new construction to the existing armory is 40 percent complete. The Camp Rell Readiness Center, designed to support a Military Police Law and Order Unit and a Chemical Battalion, is 95 percent designed. At completion the total value of this project will be $14,000,000. The Regimental Training Institute Academy, at Camp Rell, is 65 percent designed and will cost $26,994,000 at completion.

     Three new military construction projects have been approved for the State of Connecticut.  They include the East Haven Rifle Range improvements for $8,740,000, the Combined Support Maintenance Shop new construction for $32,000,000 and a New Aviation Transformation Readiness Center for $25,781,000. Two future projects submitted for consideration are the Civil Support Team Ready Building for $7,000,000 and a new United States Property and Fiscal Office with associated warehouse for $17,000,000. Official approval is anticipated in March 2007.

 

Counterdrug Directorate (CD)

     The Connecticut National Guard Counterdrug Program (Counterdrug) provided more than $1 million in federal support to Connecticut’s drug interdiction and demand-reduction activities. Counterdrug assisted 2,800 law-enforcement investigations and flew 250 flight hours in support of law enforcement operations. Our support efforts resulted in more than $47 million of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, crack, heroin, and ecstasy seizures. More than $4.9 million in currency/property was seized from drug trafficking organizations. Counterdrug coordinated the distribution of $5 million J4lars worth of excess Department of Defense property to state and local law enforcement agencies through the 1033 Program.  Counterdrug Youth Programs such as Drug Education for Youth, Weed and Seed, Aviation Role Models for Youth (A.R.M.Y), SAFEGUARD, Aviation Career Education and others provided anti-drug/leadership-development instruction to 18,752 children ages 6-18, and additional 14,775 family members and adults were also reached with drug prevention messages and/or training.

 

 

Public Affairs Directorate (PAD)

     The Public Affairs Directorate (PAD) is responsible for agency community outreach programs.  PAD publishes a monthly newspaper called the “Connecticut Guardian,” which has a circulation of 9,000, distributed to all members of the Armed Forces of the state, our military retirees and all of Connecticut’s public, college and high school libraries.  The primary focus of the Connecticut Guardian is media focus of all Connecticut Army & Air National Guard training events, mobilizations, and significant military events.  The PAD produces a quarterly recruiting magazine called “L.E.A.D.” (Loyalty, Education, Adventure, Duty) which has a circulation of 10,000.  The magazine provides information to high school and college students, as well as other potential service members about the missions of the organization, its operations, activities, history, benefits, career opportunities and related information.  The PAD produces a monthly cable program called “Our Connecticut Guard,” that highlights the men, women & families of the Connecticut National Guard.  The 30-minute program provides news, information and updates that impact the Connecticut National Guard.  The program is aired on 34 cable stations covering 154 towns.

 

ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

 

     The Connecticut Army National Guard consists of four major subordinate commands with 52 units stationed in 20 state armories and two Army aviation facilities. The Army National Guard has an authorized strength of 3,714.

 

143RD Area Support Group

 

     The 143rd Area Support Group (ASG) is a brigade-level command tasked with providing properly manned, equipped and organized units.  The 143rd Area Support Group is the Major Subordinate Command comprised of five battalions: 192d Engineer Battalion, the 242d Engineer Battalion, 118th Medical Battalion, 1st Battalion/169th Aviation Regiment and the 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.  Units of the 143d ASG that are currently deployed to Iraq are 1048th Transportation Company, the 143 Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, and the Headquarters of the 192nd Engineer Battalion.

 

85th Troop Command

 

     The 85th Troop Command is the brigade-level command, comprised of three battalions: 1/102 Infantry, 192 Chemical Battalion, and the 14th Civil Support Team. The Federal Mission of the 85th Troop Command is to provide properly manned, equipped and organized units. The state mission is to provide units manned, equipped, organized and trained to function in the protection of life, property and the preservation of peace, order and public safety in military support to civil authorities for disaster response, humanitarian relief, civil disturbance and Homeland Defense.

      In January 2006, 1/102 Infantry Battalion deployed to Afghanistan.  Other 85th Troop Command units currently deployed are the 634th Military Police Company (Germany), a platoon from the 134th Military Police Company (Iraq) The 85th Troop Command deployed military police, infantry and transportation units to the Gulf Coast to support Hurricane Katrina recovery operations. The 85th Troop Command operated five armories as Hurricane Katrina relief supply collection points.

Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD) and Aviation Operations

     The 1109th AVCRAD, located in Groton, provides limited aviation depot maintenance, back-up aviation intermediate maintenance, and back-up aviation unit maintenance for Army National Guard aviation assets in the Northeast fourteen states and the District of Columbia, to include 72 aviation units stationed at 23 Army Aviation Support Facilities.  While deployed, the mission of the 1109th AVCRAD is to operate the Theater Aviation Maintenance Program. Since the beginning of this fiscal year the 1109th has repaired 296 aircraft and 5,001 aircraft components. Through May 2006 the 1109th has processed 49,189 Class IX-Air requisitions. The 1109th was one of the first units in the Connecticut Army National Guard to respond in providing support after Hurricane Katrina struck the Southeastern United States.  The 1109th along with its fixed-wing element of Detachment 2, Company I, 185th Aviation Regiment, deployed 15 Soldiers less than 48 hours after hurricane Katrina struck to Gulfport, Mississippi to support its sister unit the 1108th Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot and flew missions in support of hurricane relief operations.

     The Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) provides a full range of military aviation support to the Connecticut National Guard. The Army Aviation Support Facility is located in two hangars with associated support buildings on 22 acres of Bradley International Airport.  AASF provides aviation specific training to approximately 350 Connecticut National Guard aviation soldiers in their respective military skill sets such as aircraft mechanics, fuel handlers, pilots and other air crewmembers. Extensive aircraft maintenance and logistics operations are conducted on a regular basis at the Aviation facility.  AASF supports five CH-47 Chinook heavy helicopters, five UH-60 Blackhawk’s and one C-12U turboprop airplane.  AASF provides in excess of 3,000 flight hours annually in support of joint training exercises, DEP, DHS, USCG, USAF, the Governor’s Office and the Office of the President of the United States and emergency forest fire fighting operations.

     Aviation units currently deployed to Iraq are G Company/126 Aviation and Detachment 3/1109th AVCRAD.

 

169th Leadership Regiment

 

     The 169th Regiment Leadership provides regionalized Officer Candidate School, Non-Commissioned Officer Education System, and General Studies, training for the Army National Guard and Army Reserve as well as Active Army components. The Leadership Regiment conducts Annual training for the Northeast Region at Camp Rell. This training supports approximately 80-100 students.

 

 

AIR NATIONAL GUARD

 

     The Connecticut Air National Guard consists of the 103d Fighter Wing in East Granby and the 103rd Air Control Squadron in Orange. The Air National Guard has an authorized strength of 1,206: 867 traditional part-time airmen, 93 Active Guard and Reserve full-time airmen, 242 full-time military technicians, and 4 full-time civilian technicians. The Air National Guard facilities are located on 170 acres of state and federal land.

 

103RD Fighter Wing

 

     The units of the 103rd Fighter Wing, Bradley Air National Guard Base, East Granby, have a total assigned strength of 323 full-time and 678 part-time Airmen totaling 1,001.  In 2005 individual and small groups of Bradley airmen deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. These airmen are the vanguard of a larger force which has deployed throughout 2006. Airmen who did not deploy spent the year training for next year’s deployments. This training and technical know-how served the State well as tons of supplies, equipment and personnel were expertly loaded and flown through the Bradley air base in support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations.

     In September 2006 the 103rd Fighter Wing will make a gradual transition from A-10 fighters to cargo airlift operations with the acquisition of eight C-21s over a two-year period. It will be used to provide both cargo and passenger airlift. The C-21 provides the flying bridge mission essential to getting the unit’s pilots and maintainers through to the Joint Cargo Aircraft promised earlier by the United States Air Force and National Guard Bureau leadership as part of Phase II of the Air Force’s Total Force Initiative.

 

103rd Air Control Squadron

 

     The mission of the 103rd Air Control Squadron is to provide ground Command and Control, Theater Air Defense and Air Tasking Order execution capability for the Joint Force Air Component Commander through the Air Operations Center the Control and the Control and Reporting Center. It provides tactical level execution as an Air Force element of the Theater Air Control System and supports the Joint/Combined Aerospace Operations Center, the senior element of the Theater Air Control System, by maintaining positive control of theater airspace and functions as a critical data link node. 

 

ORGANIZED MILITIA

 

     The Connecticut Organized Militia consists of four company-sized units, two companies of the Governor’s Foot Guard and two companies of the Governor’s Horse Guard.  Their combined strength is 227 militia members.  The Organized Militia may be called upon to augment the State’s military force structure during emergency situations with administrative and logistical support.  Additionally, the Organized Militia provides ceremonial escort for the Governor.  Each Militia Unit supports ceremonial and civic activities in their geographical areas.  These activities include parades and demonstrations, equestrian events, and scholastic and community educational programs.