Miller Receives Harry S. Truman Award for Distinguished Service in Support of National Defense

Harrison Township, MI – U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-10) today received the Harry S. Truman Award from the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS).  The Truman Award is the Guard Association’s highest honor, and Rep. Miller receives this award following her successful efforts to give the Head of the National Guard Bureau a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and to protect the Air National Guard from disproportionate cuts in the 2013 budget which would have meant the elimination of the 107th Fighter Squadron of the Michigan Air National Guard based at Selfridge.  Rep. Miller also becomes the first women ever to receive this award.  Rep. Miller was presented the Truman Award by retired Major General Gus L. Hargett Jr., the President of NGAUS, and Major General Gregory J. Vadnais, Michigan Adjutant General, at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base Community Council meeting.

“I am honored and humbled to be the recipient of this year’s Harry S. Truman Award.  Throughout my career in public service and particularly in Congress, I have been proud to stand with the Guard,” Rep. Miller said.  “I always remind myself that the first and foremost responsibility of the federal government is to provide for our national defense, and the foundation of our national defense throughout our nation’s history has been the brave service of the men and women of the Guard.  It is the responsibility of every member of Congress to hear that Minuteman call and to support the mission of our Guard.  I sincerely appreciate and am humbled to receive this recognition from an organization that I value so greatly.”

“The Truman award is more than just our association’s highest honor, it is recognition of inclusion in a special fraternity of patriots, people who have made a difference in the institutions that defend our nation,” said retired Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., the NGAUS president.  “Candice Miller is such a patriot.  Thanks to Representative Miller and her colleagues, the Guard now has a seat at the table and a voice in final Pentagon decision-making we have long needed.  And the President now has unfiltered access to advice on Guard response capabilities during a domestic emergency.  It’s obvious the National Guard is special to Rep. Miller.  Her husband is a retired Guardsman.  She knows what it takes to be a citizen-soldier or -airman. She knows what we do and what we need.  And she has made it her personal mission to say so.  Our nation is blessed to have leaders with her insight, wisdom and tenacity.  Such people truly are patriots.”     

“Rep. Miller is well deserving of the Truman Award.  She led the successful battle to put the Chief of the Guard Bureau on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is currently fighting to stave off the disproportionate and devastating cuts proposed by the Pentagon to the National Guard.  She is one of the National Guard’s strongest advocates in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Maj. Gen. Gregory J. Vadnais, Michigan Adjutant General.  “Even though Selfridge is in her back yard, she stands up for every Guard installation in Michigan and fights on behalf of all the courageous men and women in the National Guard.”

“The Guard is not only a part of our lives; it is an important part of our community.  I have consistently fought to ensure that the National Guard receives equal recognition as a fighting force for our nation,” said Miller.  “I have worked in Congress to ensure that members of the Guard receive equal pay, equal benefits, equal equipment and equal training; the same as their active duty counterparts do when called to the service of our country on battlefields across the globe.  I fought along with my colleagues in Congress to enact the Guard Empowerment Act which finally gave the Guard the seat it so rightly deserves on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  And this year I fought in the name of our Guard against the proposed cuts to the Air National Guard that made absolutely no sense from a budget perspective or a readiness perspective, and that would have forced the Air Guard to bear a disproportionate share of proposed cuts.

“I’m pleased that we won each of those fights because the Guard has immense support across the entire Congress, as well they should.  Much of that is due, not only to the great respect members of the Guard have earned, but because of the great Guard leaders across this country communicating with their representatives.  Every member of the Guard has stood tall in defense of freedom.  I applaud and thank them for their service, their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families who endure separation from their loved ones, as well as their dedication to our state and the nation as our defenders of freedom.  I also extend my thanks the countless employers who support their workers and their families who have been called to duty in the defense of freedom.  The honor, the professionalism, and the courage that members of the National Guard have shown in battle, brings the thanks of our fellow Americans and strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies,” Miller concluded.

Rep. Miller presented with the Harry S. Truman Award by retired Major General Gus L. Hargett Jr., the President of NGAUS (right) and Major General Gregory J. Vadnais, Michigan Adjutant General (left).

Harry S. Truman Award presented to Rep. Candice Miller.  The award comprises 13 pewter sculpted minutemen, representing the 13 original colonies.

HARRY S. TRUMAN AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN SUPPORT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE:
The Harry S. Truman Award, authorized by the NGAUS Board of Directors in 1968, is the highest recognition conferred upon an individual by the Association.  Recipients have made sustained contributions of exceptional and far-reaching magnitude to the defense and security of the United States in a manner worthy of recognition at the national level.
The individual to be selected based on sustained contributions of exceptional and far-reaching magnitude to the defense and security of the United States in a manner worthy of recognition at the national level.
The Truman Award is intended for the civilian and military leaders of America at the national level. Past recipients have been Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors and senior general officers.

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