Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        National Guard Office of Special Victims' Counsel

    Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 GED Plus honors fallen Soldier at building dedication By Capt. Kyle Key, National Guard Patriot Academy
 NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark., - It was a day for celebration of new beginnings and solemn remembrance of those who gave all during a dedication ceremony for the military's only GED credentialing program and a new, state-of-the-art building complex here Oct. 21. "The purpose of this program is to give Soldiers ... a second chance," said Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard. "We are ... vitally concerned that these men and women have the opportunity to contribute to our organization, that they have the opportunity to apply their talents to service in this nation's military to protect the citizens of this country. "We are looking for bright, intelligent, young patriots to serve in this nation's military." Retired Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, a former director of the Army National Guard, was honored when the National Guard dedicated the program in his name. The Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn GED Plus Program was a vision of Vaughn. He considered the program as one piece of a larger educational initiative to help solve critical recruiting issues facing America. In 2005, a Department of Defense directive and subsequent National Guard Bureau policy memorandum authorized the establishment of the GED Plus Program. The program allows the ARNG to recruit, train, and retain quality applicants, who would otherwise be ineligible for service. This was a new and untapped recruiting source that would also contribute to American society by putting citizen-Soldiers back in the community with a GED, military training and a job skill. Vaughn told the audience that the benefits are real, but so are the sacrifices that each recruit makes when they raise their right hand. "It's not all a social program because at the end of the day, you ask these people to do what is the most solemn of all things, to pledge to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," said Vaughn. "And then we will honor all those and their families who make the supreme sacrifice." Lt. Col. Mary K. Maguire, the GED Plus commandant, said the program continues to grow leaps and bounds showing quantifiable success. "Our through-put continues to increase," she said. "We tested 2,791 Warriors with 2,752 passing which is the most in the history of the program for one year. During this last year, we have maintained an astonishing 98.5 percent pass rate." Since the beginning of the program, the GED Plus Program has tested 10,182 Warriors with 9,217 passing the GED test. The overall GED Plus success rate is 90.5 percent compared to the 71 percent national average. Maguire said the success of the program has helped to foster a partnership with the U.S. Army Accessions Command, which recently closed the U.S. Army Preparatory School for GED Students at Ft. Jackson, S.C. The Army Preparatory School was a pilot program which began in 2008. Army Accessions Command is scheduled to send recruits to the GED Plus Program during FY 2011. "This year will bring a new challenge when we increase the through put to 3,000 ARNG Warriors and incorporate 500 active Army warriors within our ranks," Maguire said. Carpenter told representatives from the U.S. Army Accessions Command that he looked forward to partnering with the active duty Army and Army Reserve components. "That really is a testament to where we have come in the Army," Carpenter said. The Sgt. Jeffrey W. Jordan GED Plus Complex was completed in June 2010 at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Ark. Lacey Jordan spoke to a crowd of more than 400 about her late husband, who graduated from the GED Plus Program after joining the Georgia Army National Guard on Sept. 11, 2006. "Jeffrey was young, strong, intelligent and extremely determined to build a good life for his family," she said. "The GED Plus Program was a chance for him to make a new start. It was an opportunity for Jeffrey to be picked up and placed on a level playing field. "In the Army National Guard, Jeffrey found out that it didn't matter what walk of life you came from, he recognized that the only limits were the ones you placed on yourself." Jordan attended the National Guard GED Plus Program from November 28 through Dec. 13, 2006. He later graduated from basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., and advanced individual training at Fort Gordon, Ga., where became qualified as a radio operator maintainer and multichannel transmission system operator. In 2007, Jeffrey and Lacey met at a party and began dating. His family stated that he often referred to her as his "Barbie Doll" and was eager to introduce her. The two fell in love and were married Sept. 22, 2007. When he learned that he would become a father, Sgt. Jordan cried tears of joy. Their son, Tailor Jeffrey Jordan, was born June 4, 2008. Not long after Tailor was born, Jordan's unit was alerted for deployment and began pre-mobilization training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and Camp Ripley, Minn. He flew to Afghanistan on April 10, 2009 and was assigned to Task Force Phoenix at Camp Blackhorse with the Georgia Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. With tears, Jordan spoke about the man whom she loved and misses every day. "Jeffrey was a loving husband and a wonderful father, and he is greatly missed," she said. "Jeffrey was killed on his son's first birthday, which makes it very, very hard to ensure that Tailor will know and understand how great his father truly was." Jordan, along with two of his crew members, was killed when Taliban militants detonated an improvised explosive device under his Humvee. His team was conducting a patrol in the Kapisa province of Afghanistan. "This honor that you are bestowing on Jeffrey this morning will serve to show Tailor just how wonderful a man and how great a Soldier his father was," Jordan said. "I look forward in time to the day that I can bring Tailor to this place and show him this building named in his father's honor. I know that Tailor would be as proud of his father then as I am now." The 90,000 square-foot complex named for Jordan was designed to ensure efficiency in time, money, and warrior movements. As a "green building," it features efficient building materials, smart lighting, computer regulated temperatures, and water conserving appliances. The complex features 22 classrooms, 12 barracks, faculty and staff offices, and a dining facility that also converts to an auditorium. The building also houses a small medical clinic with a supervising physician and additional medical staff to provide any necessary medical treatment. Maguire said they will be breaking ground soon on the addition of a physical training dome.
 SHARE
 PRINT
 
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course
 By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith,
  38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise
 By Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry,
  Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska
 By 156th Wing
  More
 Pennsylvania Army Guardsmen Complete Combat Lifesaver Course Guard News • 4 hours ago
 38th Infantry Division Soldiers Conduct Warfighter Exercise Guard News • 12 hours ago
 Puerto Rico Air National Guard Trains at Red Flag-Alaska Guard News • 12 hours ago
 Air National Guard Conducts Sentry Savannah Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 Hawaii Air National Guard Hosts Sentry Aloha Joint Exercise Guard News • yesterday
 2024 (196)  2023 (427)  2022 (526)  2021 (697)  2020 (936)  2019 (387)  2018 (323)  2017 (346)  2016 (245)  2015 (356)  2014 (399)  2013 (469)  2012 (556)  2011 (533)  2010 (1071)  2009 (357)  2008 (638)  2007 (295)  2006 (188)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil