ANNVILLE, Pa., April 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Veronica Daigle, principal deputy assistant secretary for Readiness for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) recently toured Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG) to see how the Pennsylvania National Guard (PNG) training operations and how the PNG helps to efficiently build readiness across numerous military components. The training at FTIG extends beyond PNG soldiers and airmen, and includes Reserve, active duty and civilian forces.

“We were grateful for the opportunity to show Secretary Daigle why Fort Indiantown Gap is the busiest National Guard training center in the nation and how efficient we are with the resources allocated to our facility,” said Maj. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). “Fort Indiantown Gap played host to more than 150,000 active duty, Reserve and National Guard service members in 2018, the most to ever train here since its inception in 1998. That capability is opening the eyes of our military supporters at the federal level.”

Daigle toured multiple schools and ranges where soldiers and airmen from National Guard, Reserves and active duty all train year-round. Those areas included the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, the training institute run by the 166th Regiment, and the Regional Equipment Operator Training Site.

Founded in 1747, the PNG is now the second largest National Guard in the nation and is comprised of over 19,000 soldiers and airmen, who reside in every county across the commonwealth. The PNG is part of the DMVA’s dual mission, which also includes supporting Pennsylvania’s nearly 800,000 veterans.

For more information about the DMVA, visit us online at www.dmva.pa.gov or follow us at www.facebook.com/padmva or www.twitter.com/padmva. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Joan Nissley, 717-861-8720

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs