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
  Overseas Operations
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Military, civilian education key to future promotions, top Guard enlisted Soldier says By Capt. David Leiva, U.S. Army Central Command
 CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait - With budgets back home tightening and a renewed interest in leadership development, young National Guard Soldiers eligible to attend a leadership school or complete online requirements to be promoted should take every advantage while they are activated and serving in Kuwait, the top enlisted Army National Guard Soldier said. "Anything worth achieving is worth making sacrifices to accomplish your goals," Command Sgt. Maj. Brunk Conley, the top enlisted Soldier in the Army National Guard, told a group of enlisted Guardsmen at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, April 6. In Kuwait to attend the Warrior Leader Course graduation ceremony of Soldiers who will soon pin on the rank of sergeant, the former Army Ranger also made his rounds visiting Soldiers during a 52-hour blitz of gatherings over Easter weekend with his target audience - the 67 percent who make up the National Guard. Those ranks are sergeants and below. Of the 350,000 National Guard members on the rolls, about two-thirds of them come from the ranks of junior enlisted, a fact he said that makes him passionate about watching out for the interests of those with "the least experience." "You are the muscle of this organization because you do all the work. I want you to be smarter than I was, smarter than what I did early in my career. If I'm not representing your interests, I'm worthless. The most important Soldiers to me are the 67 percent," said Conley, a high school physics and chemistry teacher from Oregon who was tapped in 2012 to represent and advise the Army National Guard on policies and actions that affect enlisted Soldiers of the Guard. Conley was accompanied by two other top National Guard officials, including Chief Warrant Officer 5 Peter Panos, the command chief warrant officer for the Army National Guard who assumed his post in February, and Sgt. Maj. Brian Soper, who serves in the Guard's operations branch. The National Guard Affairs directorate located in U.S. Army Central at Camp Arifjan handled the arrangements of the visit. Spc. Tylor Reed, 26, a military policeman, was one of about 100 Soldiers in the audience listening to Conley during one of the gatherings. Reed, a cable technician from Cleveland, Tennessee, was the sole junior Soldier to accept Conley's challenge to ask a question. He was rewarded with a commemorative coin - the only one given out during Conley's visit. Sgt. 1st Class Gerald Smith, 46, had the opportunity to see Conley in action several times as part of a team of escorts from the National Guard Affairs directorate. Smith marveled at the way the command sergeant major connected each time with a group nearly half his age. "He knew how to talk to this generation. He had their attention," said Smith, who has nearly 27 years in service. "It was a good conversation. He's the right man for the job." With plenty of anecdotes and a penchant for teaching, Conley impressed upon the importance of continuing civilian education and military requirements that can be completed online, even if it meant doing it off-duty. During his deployment to Afghanistan, the command sergeant major said he managed to complete his master's degree. But Conley saved his most fervent discussions for the role that reserve component Soldiers play in the defense of the nation, even, removing a pocket-sized version of the Constitution he keeps on him to illustrate his point. "You're a Citizen-Soldier. You should wear this as a badge of honor. It's noble. It's romantic. It's honorable," he said. "We are in the Constitution." Conley said as Guardsmen revert back to their traditional training, that will mean returning to the community, and be ready at a moment's notice, like their predecessors, the Minutemen. He relayed his own story of where he was the day of the terrorists' attacks of September 2001. He said he was at school preparing to teach his class when he saw the news playing out on television. After informing the principal and on his own initiative, he got in his car and hurried to the armory, where he was a first sergeant, some 45 minutes away. He said he believes that is what the Minutemen did more than 378 years ago. "Nobody called me. There were no orders. The governor didn't order anyone there. Nobody said, 'come to the armory,'" he said. And, it was at that very moment when he pulled into the parking lot that he realized what it meant to be a National Guardsman. Eight of his Soldiers were already there; none of them had been given an order to report either.
 SHARE
 PRINT
 NY National Guard Strengthens Bonds with Allies in Morocco Overseas Operations • 6 days ago
 Alaska Guard Soldiers Honored Before Middle East Deployment Overseas Operations • 13 days ago
 29th Infantry Division HQ Heads Exercise Immediate Response Overseas Operations • 18 days ago
 134th Medical Company Joins Combined Resolve Exercise Overseas Operations • 19 days ago
 Guard Soldiers, Czech Partners Celebrate Victory in Europe Day Overseas Operations • 21 days ago
 2024 (24)  2023 (57)  2022 (71)  2021 (58)  2020 (41)  2019 (56)  2018 (55)  2017 (46)  2016 (31)  2015 (36)  2014 (48)  2013 (64)  2012 (134)  2011 (163)  2010 (179)
 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