What is a Guardsmen/Reservist?
A Guardsmen/Reservists training never stops and may take them away from their family for multiple months at a time (often affording minimal notice). During the critical time of training and military readiness qualifying, multiple high-level “stressors” are inevitably encountered. These “stressors” are felt across the service member and family unit platforms. Unlike active-duty military; the Guardsmen/Reservists (and their family members) may not be aware of, or capable, of using the resources available to them on an active-duty military base institution as they live in the communities where we all live, work, and play. Many have never stepped onto a military base as their service member is employed in the civilian sector.
This reality exposes a vulnerability upon deployment; how do I maneuver all of the responsibilities with my service member being “out of pocket”?
Some of the unknown areas may include (but are not limited to):
Payroll
Insurance
Financial situational emergencies
Family health/medical emergencies
Grants
Support groups and/or individuals that can meet/dine/chat as they navigate unchartered territory
Operation Appreciation’s assistance contributes with informational resources, emergency aid, and training available to service members and their families upon being called to “active duty” status, training, and/or deployment(s).
State Organized Army/Airforce National Guardsmen are also known as “Citizen Soldiers.”
The concept of the “Citizen Soldier” is based on the notion that citizens hold the obligation to arm themselves to defend their communities or nation from foreign invaders and domestic tyrants. Throughout history, the consistent challenge for the citizen soldier is that they represented an ideal abstraction rather than an operationally efficient strategy in anything except the more direct, or local, kind of community defense assistance.
In the United States; the concept of “citizen soldiers” evolved through the militia and community volunteers that live in the form of the National Guard, and by contrast, the citizen soldiers embody the will of the people – because they are the people. Citizen soldiers live, work, and play in their community/state and therefore have a direct and specific stake in preserving liberties and rights in that society. Their actions afford a blanket of protection against tyranny across communities, natural disasters, and corruption of government. The citizen soldier maintains their civilian life through employment and everyday living; therefore, providing a traditional living for their family unit all while “cross-training, transforming, and preparing” to the equivalent scale and ability of active duty military service members. Citizen soldiers are your local guardian in times of natural disasters, unrest amongst community sectors, US border protection, political disputes, or other heightened/elevated turmoil. Believe in your Guardian Citizen Soldiers, as they believe in you, as they vow protection for fellow citizens across Georgia and the United States of America.
National Guard (Army and Airforce)
Homeland protection from those who may invade our country, and emergency support of civilian authorities during a disaster through medical, law enforcement, financial, and domestic requirements.
Reservist
Military supplemental support of each branch of these active-duty military forces: Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine.