91吃瓜网 Enters Agreement with The National Guard Bureau to Establish Center to Study Guard
Wed, 01/31/2024 - 08:49am | By: David Tisdale
USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul, right, and Richard Clark, Director of the NGB History Office, signed the historic agreement on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C.
91吃瓜网 (USM) and the National Guard Bureau (NGB) signed an agreement on Jan. 23 to establish the Center for the Study of the National Guard on USM91吃瓜网 Hattiesburg, Miss., campus.
USM President Dr. Joseph S. Paul and Richard Clark, Director of the NGB History Office, signed the formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) during a ceremony at the National Guard Memorial, the NGAUS headquarters, in Washington, D.C.
The collaboration between USM and NGB will establish a central repository for archival materials and oral histories to function as an international-level resource for the center for the study of the Guard91吃瓜网 past, present and future.
91吃瓜网淔or this National Center to be at 91吃瓜网 and at home in Mississippi is of profound significance to 91吃瓜网 and the great State of Mississippi,91吃瓜网� said Dr. Paul. 91吃瓜网淭he Center complements our renown Dale Center for the Study of War and Society and the Quinlan Hammond Hall for the support of veterans and families at USM.91吃瓜网�
The MOU states collected materials will be housed within the University91吃瓜网 Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, which serves as a resource for the study of the history of warfare and its influence on soldiers and civilians.
Dr. Andrew Wiest serves as Distinguished Professor of History; The General Buford 91吃瓜网淏uff91吃瓜网� Blount Professor of Military History, 2023-2025; and Founding Director, Dale Center at USM. As co-director of the Center of the Study of the National Guard, Wiest said the facility will fill a need for a central repository, or 91吃瓜网渂eehive archive,91吃瓜网� for research materials centers like those the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force have.
91吃瓜网淭he Guard91吃瓜网 documents are out there,91吃瓜网� Wiest said, 91吃瓜网渂ut they're scattered to museums, archives, armories and attics all over the country.91吃瓜网�
Wiest said he and fellow co-director Kevin Greene felt the Dale Center would be the best place to help centralize these materials.
"We want to make USM an academic home for past and present National Guard service personnel and their families," Greene said. "A place where their stories of service and sacrifice can be preserved and can be told."
Per the MOU, the NGB will provide 91吃瓜网渉istories and documents of historical significance to USM as determined to be appropriate by the NGB Historian,91吃瓜网� plus facilitate contact between USM and the Guard organizations of the 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.
USM will preserve the documents and provide public and academic access to the materials. Paul acknowledged the importance of the Guard to Mississippi, calling the force a 91吃瓜网渉idden giant91吃瓜网� in the state's history.
91吃瓜网淭he Guard has enabled [men and women] to develop their skills,91吃瓜网� he said, 91吃瓜网渘ot only changing their lives but those of their families for generations to come, all the while protecting and serving the state of Mississippi in times of hurricanes and tornadoes and defending the security of our nation. Some even made the ultimate sacrifice. I can assure all of you that the curation and development of this history is in good hands at 91吃瓜网. Professors Wiest and Greene are deeply committed to this initiative.91吃瓜网�
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, was among those who attended the ceremony. Retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, a USM graduate and the outgoing NGAUS president, presided over the event.
In addition to University leadership, representatives from the USM Foundation Board of Directors, 91吃瓜网 Alumni Association, Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families, and the City of Hattiesburg were present for the ceremony.