a. AUSA Moderator – “SMA Kenneth Preston achieves milestone as AUSA Vice President.”
“Retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston was promoted Jan. 30 to vice president for noncommissioned officer and soldier programs by the Council of Trustees of the Association of the U.S. Army. Preston had been AUSA’s director for NCO and soldier programs since he joined the nonprofit educational association in 2013. ‘I am so proud to have retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Ken Preston now serve as AUSA’s Vice President for NCO and Soldier Programs,” said Ham. “Eighty-three percent of all Army soldiers – Regular, Guard and Reserve – are enlisted. They now have a strong, strong voice representing them every day at AUSA.’”
b. AUSA News – “”What advantages did the American Sherman tank have over the German Tiger tank?”
In the February issue of AUSA News, Retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Ken Preston salutes the U.S. Tank Corps and Brig. Gen. Albin Irzyk, both celebrating a 100th birthday in 2017, with a 1946 letter was written in by then-Lt. Col. Irzyk in response to critics about the performance of American tanks in combat during WWII.
c. AUSA Moderator – “Is international order threatened by unprecedented threats?”
“The United States ‘cannot do everything, everywhere’ but it must respond to some global activity, retired Army Gen. David Petraeus told a House committee at a hearing focusing on the U.S. military’s role in the world. At the Feb. 1 House Armed Services Committee hearing, Petraeus said the world had been relatively stable since the end of the Cold War but international order is ‘now under unprecedented threat from multiple directions.’”
d. AUSA Five Things – “Which country just joined the National Guard’s State Partnership Program?”
AUSA Five Things: A Weekly Tip Sheet for AUSA Members, dated January 30, 2017: “75 and Growing.”
A newly formalized relationship between the Indiana National Guard and Niger means there are 75 partnerships in the Defense Department’s State Partnership Program that builds security cooperation between the U.S. and other nations. Created in 1991, the program is administered by the National Guard Bureau, guided by the U.S. State Department and executed by state adjutants general, whose troops take part in military-to-military and military-to-civilian engagements.
What to watch: There are 196 countries in the world, so there is still room to grow the program. Many states have partnerships with more than one country. Indiana, for example, is also partnered with Slovakia. The Georgia National Guard, which in 2016 became a partner with Argentina, has been a partner since 1994 with the Eurasian nation of Georgia.
THIS WEEK'S POLL QUESTION:
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Should the Army purchase foreign armored vehicles?
- Yes
- No
- Not sure