General Joseph Jarrard Speaks at Smyrna Rotary Club

General Joe Jarrard, Adjutant General, Commander of the Georgia National Guard, spoke to a group of 40 at the Smyrna Rotary Club on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. The Guard, headquartered just up the street from Smyrna, is a tremendously important part of Georgia.

General Jarrard did a great job of informing attendees about the Georgia National Guard’s 11,000 troops who serve locally and abroad. Of particular interest is the Georgia-to-Georgia collaboration between the State of Georgia and the country of Georgia. Says Rotarian Jeff Mason: “It is always interesting to hear how many different roles the Georgia National Guard is involved in from a local level all the way to a global level.”

Also noteworthy was the fact that all 159 Georgia counties are home to one or more members of the Guard. "The Georgia National Guard is such a vital local resource in Cobb County and for all of Georgia. I appreciate the work that General Jarrard and all of his team are doing for our community," says Rotary’s Don Parkerson.

“I was particularly impressed with the real-money value that The Georgia National Guard brings to the state of Georgia,” notes visitor Patricia W. Huff, referring to the number of non-military jobs created and industry funded by presence of the Georgia National Guard. She adds, “Always ready, always there extends far beyond the act of service. It includes all the value these brave men and women bring to our state.”

Interestingly, America’s only Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS for short) aircraft unit is headquartered at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. These rather astonishing Boeing 707-based aircraft are force multipliers. That is, they don’t attack enemy assets, but they are the “eyes and ears” that see enemy aircraft and ground targets before most other airplanes do. The JSTARS can detect and track up to 600 targets at once, and then manage the aerial battlefield by vectoring friendly aircraft to their targets. The average plane is 45 years old, and one was even used by the air forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan before becoming an American plane once again. Some of the airplanes are older than the parents of the men and women who fly them! To put this in perspective, it would be like if the USAF had used modernized wood and canvas WWI biplanes during the Vietnam War.

Smyrna Rotary is always looking for the community's business and service leaders. For more information about the club or membership, please email f12@nfiweb.com.

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