The Guardsman is the living embodiment of the term “citizen soldier”. The citizen soldier may be active or retired, young or old, air or army, and officer or enlisted. No single group can exist without the others as all are essential in shaping our future and maintaining the experiences of our past. The Guardsman also faces many additional challenges to include deployments and mobilizations, family obligations, military and civilian job requirements, and other community responsibilities. It is literally impossible for the Guardsman to do it alone.
The National Guard Association of Mississippi, a 501(c)(19) nonprofit organization, was established in 1932 to provide support for Servicemembers of the Mississippi Air and Army National Guard and their families and foster the role of the National Guard in our state and national security. Since its inception, NGAMS has carried the torch for Guardsmen of all ranks, from newly enlisted privates to veteran officers, on the state and national level.
The Patriot Partnership Program is a formal program of sponsorship that allows both individuals and corporations to donate on an annual basis. All financial support goes directly to the benefit of our Servicemembers. Specifically, these vital endeavors include:
The NGAMS Scholarship Program– Annually the National Guard Association of Mississippi awards two undergraduate and two graduate scholarships totaling up to $24,000 and $12,000 respectively. With this year’s award the National Guard Association of Mississippi has awarded $313,000 in scholarships to our Servicemembers and their families.
A total of 128 applicants have gone through the rigorous process. The selection criteria include an examination of six categories: Academics, Activities, Public Service, Military/Government Service, Employment, Awards, and Essay. The results have produced scholars that have since gone to study abroad, continued their educational journey to the doctorate level, started their own families, and progressed to the upper echelons of service in the Mississippi National Guard.
Learn more here: NGAMS Scholarship
Championing Legislation and Resolutions– Every year NGAMS advocates on behalf of our men, women, families, and communities of the Mississippi National Guard on the state and national level. Every year we specifically list on our website the successes for our Mississippi National Guard.
Learn more here: Successes
On the national level Mississippi is a leader in the resolution process. We pursue resolutions for the benefit of Mississippi to the National Guard Bureau, the Department of Defense and the Congress of the United States.
Learn more here: Resolutions
State Sponsored Life Insurance– NGAMS administers the federal SSLI program that provides immediate coverage for our Servicemembers in their most dire time of need. This includes $1,000 in free coverage for all active Service members and $10,000 free coverage for the first year for participants in the program. The goal of the program is to provide this benefit within 24 hours of notification of a death. The program averages over $1,000,000 of benefits paid to our Service and family members in their time of need.
Learn more here: State Sponsored Life Insurance
State and National Conferences- Each year we conduct State and National Conferences allowing attendance by the entire membership. These conferences are the only time that our members may gather for professional development and to interact with senior defense leaders, and legislative representatives. Further, the Annual Conferences are vital in providing Servicemembers of all ranks a forum to voice those issues that impact their daily lives and the lives of their families and community.
Learn more here: NGAMS Events
Almost every member of our Association has deployed to all points of the globe to include Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Southwest border with some doing multiple tours. Within the coming year we will again participate in deployments that will place Mississippians on the front lines in service of our country.
The link below outlines the different levels of participation in the program. These levels are designed to give those contributing partners some flexibility within their budgeting process. Additionally we have developed the National Guard Association of Mississippi mobile app. As a Patriot Partner your business contact information, to include phone, email, and website, may be listed. Exposure on our mobile app will reach subscribers throughout Mississippi and the surrounding states to include active and retired Servicemembers, their families, and friends. The National Guard Association of Mississippi is a 501(c)(19) non-profit organization, therefore contributions are fully tax deductible.
Learn more here: Why Give