Our Veterans are a highly regarded and respected part of the Chamber Community so we wanted to let you know about this item that came in via Greg Echols, Chair of Aurora’s Veterans Affairs Commission and active member of our Defense Council. He passed the following along:

"Click here" For a VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement (OS&LE) bulletin containing an advisory from the National Guard concerning a group calling itself "Veterans Affairs Services." This entity, whose name and seal are similar to VA's, is said to be gathering personal information on Veterans. VA's OS&LE has requested dissemination of this advisory to make it clear that this group has no affiliation with VA and to prevent unwitting release ofPersonally Identifiable Information. The more you know about the threats that are out there the more you can protect yourself and your families.

National Guard (in Federal Status) and Reserve Activated as of January 3, 2012

This week the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard announced a decrease in activated reservists. The net collective result is 1,312 fewer reservists activated than last week. At any given time, services may activate some units and individuals while deactivating others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease. The total number currently on active duty from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 66,218; Navy Reserve, 4,410; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 9,683; Marine Corps Reserve, 5,141, and the Coast Guard Reserve, 761. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel who have been activated to 86,213, including both units and individual augmentees. "Click here" for a cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel who are currently activated.

The Department of Defense announced its recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for Fiscal Year-to-date 2012, Through November:

Active Component.

• Recruiting -- Year to Date. All four active services met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for fiscal year-to-date 2012, through November.
• Army -- 11,260 accessions, with a goal of 11,100; 101 percent
• Navy -- 4,457 accessions, with a goal of 4,457; 100 percent
• Marine Corps -- 3,959 accessions, with a goal of 3,949; 100 percent
• Air Force -- 5,030 accessions, with a goal of 5,030; 100 percent
• Retention. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force all exhibited strong retention numbers for the first two months of fiscal year-to-date 2012.

Reserve Component.

• Recruiting. Four of the six reserve components met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for fiscal year-to-date 2012, through November. >/li>
• Army National Guard -- 7,214 accessions, with a goal of 7,775; 93 percent
• Army Reserve -- 5,087 accessions, with a goal of 4,335; 117 percent
• Navy Reserve -- 1,302 accessions, with a goal of 1,302; 100 percent
• Marine Corps Reserve -- 1,716 accessions, with a goal of 1,501; 114 percent
• Air National Guard --1,120 accessions, with a goal of 1,275; 88 percent
• Air Force Reserve -- 1,292 accessions, with a goal of 1,292; 100 percent
• Attrition. All reserve components are on target to achieve their fiscal 2012 attrition goals.

Detailed information on specific recruiting data can be obtained by contacting the individual military recruiting commands at 502-626-0164 for Army, 210-565-4678 for Air Force, 703-784-9454 for Marine Corps, and 901-874-9048 for Navy. The reserve components can be reached at the following numbers: National Guard Bureau 703-607-2586; Army Reserve 404-464-8490; Air Force Reserve 703-697-1761; Navy Reserve 757-322-5652; and Marine Corps Reserve 504-678-6535



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