Calling her “a friend of the Guard,” the president of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) on Saturday awarded Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono one of the organization’s highest honors, the Charles Dick Medal of Merit, for her long record of advocacy on behalf of the National Guard.
The Charles Dick Medal of Merit was established in 1988 and is designed to recognize the contributions to the National Guard by elected representatives to legislative bodies at the state and national levels.
Retired Major General Gus L. Hargett cited Congresswoman Hirono’s work in helping to secure a federal commitment of $5.4 million for design of a new training facility at the HawaiiArmy National Guard’s Kalaeloa location and her support of a Post 9/11 GI Bill. She supported the inclusion of members of the Guard as beneficiaries, and the elimination of the three-year deferment limit.
