ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Guard Bureau Office of Resource Management and Comptroller held its inaugural National Guard Bureau J8 Summer Gala here Aug. 15.
Jessica Wright, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, was the keynote speaker for the event, which aimed to promote morale and esprit de corps within the NGB community.
“We wanted to build a tradition by bringing National Guard members and families together … in an atmosphere of camaraderie, good fellowship, and social rapport,” said Air Force Maj. Scott Anderson, branch chief of Resource Oversight and Analysis, National Guard Bureau J8.
“We wanted to support the goals of our most recent climate assessments … and to increase unity … through the joint staff transformation,” he said.
The Guard has undergone transformations since its inception and, according to Wright, has always performed its missions well despite the naysayers.
“From time to time, and on some occasions, the National Guard meets with some skeptics – some about [its] abilities, and some about [its] readiness,” said Wright, who is also a retired Army National Guard major general and former adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
“But since 1636 [you] have done three things well in the Guard: [you] fight our nation’s wars, protect the home front, and build strong and enduring partnerships at home and abroad,” she said.
Anderson said finding the perfect keynote speaker, such as Wright, who had a personal connection to the Guard, was the biggest challenge of the event’s planning.
“We didn’t stop searching … her remarks were right in line with our [theme and] vision for the night,” he said, which was ‘Infinity and Beyond.’
Wrights remarks also included the importance of family for Guard members.
“I’ve said it before and it rings so true, that family members … are there to celebrate the really good times with their Guard members and the really bad – they are the glue that holds [the Guard] together,” Wright said.
Anderson added that Wright’s remarks about family illustrated their importance throughout the many challenges the Guard has faced and could face in the future.
After coming together so well – and with the perfect keynote speaker – Anderson said the event was a huge success, and hopes to see it continue for years to come.
“Our desire is that we continue this tradition by allowing another directorate to promote their community,” he said. “I do believe that this will become a yearly tradition and it will continue to be the NGB social event of the year.”