Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Mission
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Ready To Serve ★ Proud To Have Served
The mission of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs is to provide trained and ready forces prepared for rapid response to a wide range of civil and military operations, while providing exemplary services to citizens and Veterans of New Jersey.
Join the Unite New Jersey Veterans digital referral network!
Unite New Jersey Veterans is a digital platform designed to empower frontline Veteran service providers to quickly and securely refer New Jersey Veterans to the resources and services they need. The platform will modernize the way Veterans are connected to assistance with benefits, employment, education, housing, mental health programs and beyond.
New Jersey National Guard Pioneered the End of Segregation
Although history credits President Harry Truman with desegregating America’s military, the truth is that racial integration had already arrived in New Jersey, thanks to a governor and National Guard leaders who had stubbornly insisted on equality in their forces.
In the space of four months, from November 1947 to February 1948, the New Jersey National Guard changed history.
The story begins at a time when the New Jersey National Guard was growing.
World War II had been over for more than a year and the New Jersey National Guard was recruiting new members to fill the recently created 50th Armored Division. The National Guard Bureau, which fell under the War Department, had authorized New Jersey to organize the 372nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery group. Because integration did not yet exist in the military, the 372nd would reflect the United States Army’s policy toward Blacks – the unit was to be composed entirely of Black Soldiers.
And this is where the story would have ended except for one event. Read the rest of the story.
Dates in History
July 1917
The NJ National Guard assembled at Sea Girt for World War I duty, and then traveled to Camp McClellan, Alabama. Most NJ National Guard units were assigned to the 29th Division, which was organized at McClellan. The old NJ state identified units were reorganized and given new federal numerical designations, including the 113th and 114th Infantry Regiments, which still exist in the state’s National Guard.
January 1957
The New Jersey National Guard ceased to be an all-male organization when the first women soldiers in its history, two nurses, Captain Frances R. Comstock and 1st Lieutenant Lucille Valentino of Paterson, were sworn in as members of the 114th Mobile Surgical Hospital.
June 2009
The New Jersey Army National Guard closed its largest combat deployment since World War II - the 2,900 soldiers of the 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team served 10 months in Iraq - with a parade and celebration in downtown Trenton, NJ.
The Acting Adjutant General
Colonel Yvonne L. Mays
Colonel Yvonne L. Mays is the Acting Adjutant General of New Jersey and Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Colonel Mays commands the more than 8,400 Soldiers and Airmen of the New Jersey National Guard. She leads, directs, and manages the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs in the execution of federal and state missions. In addition, she manages all state veterans’ programs, commissions, and facilities in New Jersey.
Prior to being selected by Governor Philip Murphy on June 27, 2024, Colonel Mays served as the Deputy Adjutant General (DAG) for New Jersey.
