Today Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Gary Pappas, Commander, Massachusetts State Defense Force, holds his commands colors during the Massachusetts State Defense Force’s activation ceremony at the Massachusetts National Guard Museum and Archives. The Guard was renamed the Massachusetts Military Reserve in June 1994; the State Guard name was restored during the groups reorganization after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Massachusetts State Defense Force went on inactive status in Feb 2008. However, due to the need for additional assistance in emergency management, and the shortage of state resources due to frequent deployments of the National Guard, the Massachusetts State Defense Force was reactivated on May 31, 2011.[11] Duties The purpose of the Massachusetts State Defense Force is to execute the state duties of the Massachusetts National Guard when the Guard is either partially or completely deployed. Since the MSDF cannot be deployed outside the state of Massachusetts, the Governor of Massachusetts always has military units in the state able to respond to an emergency. The primary responsibilities of the MSDF are to provide operational support to disaster relief, to provide professional support to the Massachusetts National Guard, and to aid in providing a medical response during and after a disaster.[1] State Guardsmen may also aid in color guards and military funerals.[11] On the recommendations of a steering committee involved in the reformation of the The Massachusetts State Defense Force in 2011, the MSDF is slated to expand into a number of different roles, including: Support or augment professional staff functions of the National Guard including legal, chaplain, public affairs, information technology, medical, dental, mental health, and other professional functions; Support operational capabilities of National Guard operations including DOMS, Joint Adaptive Battle Staff, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive (CBRNE) enhanced response force packages (CERFP).[12] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_State_Defense_Force
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 02:13:26 +0000
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