Hello everyone the enclosed story was released to the media and can be found at the following links:

http://www.militaryconnections.com/news_story.cfm?textnewsid=1453
http://www.ngb.army.mil/news/story.asp?id=1511
http://www.vnis.com/story.cfm?textnewsid=1453

LTC Ronald E Strahle TN-ARNG

By Michelle Bohlen
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. -- The National Guard Family Program has formalized a partnership with the American Veterans as part of the National Guard Bureau's continuing efforts to better support service members' families. The partnership allows the two groups to share informational materials, leverage each other's resources, and work together to build a stronger network of volunteers.

LTG H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, and William A. Boettcher, AMVETS national commander, signed a memorandum of understanding March 23 at the National Guard Bureau's Joint Headquarters to make the partnership official.

The two organizations will use the AMVETS Family Support Network to assist National Guard members and their families.

The AMVETS Family Support Network is an essential tool for providing family support services, especially for Soldiers and Airmen isolated from normal military and civilian support networks because of the National Guard's unique structure, officials said.

Blum thanked Boettcher and AMVETS for their support of National Guard families and stressed how important this partnership is for helping the families of Guard members as well as families of all service members regardless of their component.

"The partnership has the potential of increasing the awareness of AMVETS " throughout the country, while allowing the "widest spectrum of support" for returning Guard members and their families," said Lt. Col. Anthony Baker, chief of Family Programs for the National Guard Bureau.

Baker added that the partnership is not meant to replace military family support programs or to circumvent the chain of command. It is intended to augment them to ensure that families get the support they need.

National Guard families are scattered across 4,000 communities nationwide, and AMVETS' 1,300 posts and 41 state departments are in a unique position to provide valuable assistance, officials agreed.

Many posts and departments have already helped Guard units by raising money for the Family Readiness Fund, sending care packages to deployed troops, and supporting family members at home while their loved ones are away.

"There's a lot we can do," said Boettcher. "And we're looking to do more - at all levels of the organization - to help those who are sacrificing so much."

The National Guard Family Program (NGFP) is a joint force initiative that provides a foundation of support to families of Army and Air National Guard members. A strong joint service family support network, organized in each state and territory by the state Family Program directors and wing Family Program coordinators at each Air National Guard wing, allows all units and states to readily communicate with one another and ensure, with appropriate support from community agencies, that no family falls between the cracks.

The 54 state Family Program directors and 88 wing Family Program coordinators are the primary providers of family readiness support to service members and families, regardless of component.

You can learn more about the NGFP or locate your state Family Program office by visiting the Web site www.guardfamily.org

Story Copyright to www.guardfamily.org