By Marguerite Cleveland

The COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly impacted the mission of Honor Flight to bring America’s veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials that are dedicated to honor those who have served and sacrificed for our country. “Sadly we’ve had to suspend flights due to COVID-19 but we are closely monitoring state and federal guidelines as well as those of the District of Columbia. We intend to continue our Honor Flight trips as soon as it’s safe to do so,” said Carol Harlow, Public Relations for Honor Flight Network.

Currently the program serves veterans from the WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War eras as well as terminally ill veterans who served in any era. Unfortunately, these veterans fall into the high risk category in regards to COVID-19.

The network consists of independent hubs that work together to support the Honor Flight Mission. The common goal is to show our nation’s veterans appreciation and honor they deserve for their service to our country. With no cost to the veteran, an Honor Flight trip allows them to share their experience and stories, and to remember friends and comrades lost. It is a very significant occasion for them.

According to Harlow until the program is safe to run again, “many of our 130 Hubs across the country are running virtual programs for veterans. They’re also spearheading socially distant drive by’s or “parades” within the community to keep veterans spirits up.  We also have Hubs placing yard signs in Veterans yards thanking them for his or her service and reminding them they will participate in an Honor Flight as soon as it’s safe to do so.”

“Here at the national Honor Flight office, we’ve arranged for several celebrities and high-profile individuals to record messages to the approximately 23,000 veterans who would have flown on a Honor Flight this year.  We refer to this initiative as Operation Reassurance.  We will post the video messages on our social media (Facebook: Honor Flight Network and Twitter: HonorFlightNet) from November 1 through November 10 culminating with a compilation video on Veteran’s Day that hubs can use to send to the veterans who were unable to fly this year – reassuring them they will receive an opportunity to experience a Honor Flight as soon as it’s safe to do so,” she added.

If you’d like to assist the program Harlow said, “We encourage your readers to reach out to his or her local Hub to participate as a volunteer or to sign up a veteran to participate on a Honor Flight.  We are currently accepting applications from veterans who served in WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the service periods in between.  We also highly encourage terminally ill veterans of all service eras to participate in our Lone Eagle Program which is administered via our national office along with a program to fly veterans who do not live within 120 miles of an existing Honor Flight Hub.  They can find the nearest Hub and more information on all of our programs at, www.honorflight.org”

By Marguerite Cleveland

The Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy recently announced a new emphasis on people. To give junior leaders more time to build their teams it will now be the Army’s top priority. “Just as we did with readiness, we must invest in people,” followed by readiness and modernization, McCarthy said during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition. “The time is now.”

“Army leadership will continue to put ‘people first’ as they work to balance operational tempo requirements and make policy changes”, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. James C. McConville.

McCarthy acknowledged that the last 19 years of combat operations and global deterrence has come at a cost. People are the Army’s greatest strength and senior leaders released an action plan the will prioritize people and teams.

According to this new plan Army leaders will work to determine the level of total Army readiness necessary to meet operational requirements. This information will help to pursue options that will hopefully reduce the Army’s current cycle of heel-to-toe deployment rotations. “We are taking a look at rotational deployments and working with the [combatant commanders] to see how we can accomplish the mission in innovative ways,” McConville said.

Another new change is the new Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, or ReARMM, slated to be released in the next few months. Its purpose is to balance op tempo requirements with dedicated periods for mission, training, and modernization.

The Combat Training Center (CTC) rotations are also reevaluated as part of the action plan. “Our CTCs are the gold standard for preparing our organizations for large-scale ground combat operations, especially in this time of great power competition,” McConville said, adding the Army must strive to balance its CTC rotations with other training opportunities.

According to the plan soldiers at brigade and battalion levels training will consist of tactical exercises without troops, command post exercises, and fire support coordination exercises “We will pursue options for the brigade combat training centers that are a mix of ‘in the box’ organic battalions, command post exercises, and heavy and light rotations,” McCarthy said. “These efforts will buy back time at home for our units to invest in their Soldiers and families.”

Leaders have the opportunity to waive a CTC rotation requirement if the unit is scheduled for a noncombat rotational deployment on the condition, they will conduct similar training while deployed. “There is no intent to reduce the number of CTC rotations,” McConville said. “We are discussing the prerequisites required to go to a CTC and how they fit into” the rotational-deployment model.

The Army has faced many challenges in 2020 beginning on New Year’s Eve with an unexpected deployment of soldiers from the 82^nd Airborne Division to the Middle East. Other challenges included a global pandemic and massive civil unrest. The government response to COVID-19 led to 45,000 active-duty, National Guard, and Reserve Soldiers being called to help step the pandemic.

“As one crisis tapered, another one began. Following the murder of George Floyd, massive civil unrest that had been simmering across the country for decades reached a tipping point,” McCarthy said. The National Guard worked to protect the safety of citizens practicing their constitutional right to protect. He added, “As civil unrest grew, Soldiers watched as peaceful protests turned violent, hijacked by outside actors.”

The murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen by a fellow soldier shocked the country and sparked the Army to add procedures to clarify what happens when a Soldier fails to report for duty. Under the guidance which will soon be published, the Army will consider them missing and take immediate action.

“Through this sort of reckoning, we realized that some of the same barriers and threats still exist within our formation. We must be accountable, and we must act. This year, and its series of events, has hardened our resolve to create enduring change,” McCarthy said. “The Army is taking rapid, positive, and meaningful steps towards reducing systemic and symbolic inequities, while safeguarding every person in our formation.”

The Army’s Project Inclusion initiative will ensure “that we have an organization that is truly inclusive and makes everyone feel like a valued member of the team,” McConville said. In addition the “This is My Squad” initiative led by Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston will continue the Army’s focus on people first.