Washington, Nov 6 -  

Committee on Government Reform

Tom Davis, Chairman

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release Contact: Brian McNicoll

October 25, 2006 (202) 225-5074www.ngb.army.mil/news/archives/102706-Davis_award_test.aspx

Davis receives Sonny Montgomery Award

for Service to National Guard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) received the Gen. G.V. ‘Sonny’ Montgomery Award on Wednesday, which recognizes those who have demonstrated exemplary service to the National Guard at the national level.

Davis, who received the award at a ceremony on Capitol Hill, was honored for a long list of accomplishments on behalf of the Guard, highlighted by his efforts to rectify problems that led to Guard members receiving incorrect pay, address inadequate care for wounded veterans and attempt to raise the profile of the Guard within the Department of Defense.

Davis, who served in the Virginia National Guard in the 1970s, told the crowd that the National Guard provided 50 percent of all combat forces abroad, 60 percent of all combat support missions abroad and, as Hurricane Katrina proved, was vital to 95 percent of all homeland security missions. Yet, it receives just 10 percent of DOD funding. "This gaping imbalance is an injustice and a grave threat to future efforts to protect the American people from a foe we know will strike us here at home," he said.

As chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, Davis also has looked into the readiness of the Guard to meet its new challenges in the post-9/11 era, as well as improving pay, personnel and medical processes for Guard soldiers and airmen.

In addition to the problems with incorrect pay and care of wounded soldiers – which led to some recovering soldiers having to fend off collection agencies – Davis and his committee investigated deployment problems, administrative personnel and process difficulties, training, the Guard’s ability to meet its homeland obligations, air defense responsibilities and the dangers posed by state guard units leaving military equipment abroad.

The award recognizes those whose performance exceeded the normal scope of public or private service in support of the nation’s defense, who demonstrated skill and initiative to introduce new policies or procedures that advance the mission of the Guard and who exhibit integrity, competence and the ability to inspire others.

Davis received the award from Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau. Past recipients include the award’s namesake, Sonny Montgomery, who served in the Mississippi National Guard from 1946 to 1980 and in Congress for 30 years; Sens. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Daniel Inouye, D-Hi. and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, as well as Reps. David Hobson, R-Ohio, Gene Taylor, R-Miss., and James Gibbons, R-Nev.

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