CHATHAM, IL (08/13/2015)(readMedia)-- The gymnasium at Glenwood High School in Chatham, Illinois was the backdrop for a ceremony filled with tradition as the Illinois National Guard bid farewell to the outgoing Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei of Springfield, Illinois and welcomed the new Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr., of Chatham, Illinois August 9, 2015.

The change of command ceremony is a time-honored military tradition which signifies the passing of a unit's colors and the transfer of command authority from one commander to another. The ceremony also pays homage to the outgoing commander while, at the same time, demonstrates loyalty to the incoming commander.

Soldiers and Airmen, friends, family, and distinguished guests joined to participate in the event. Among the distinguished guests was Illinois' Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti who presided over the event.

Sanguinetti bid a fond farewell to Krumrei.

"General Krumrei has devoted his life, his energy, his faith, and his force of courage and distinguished leadership to our military, our state, and our country," said Sanguinetti. "As lieutenant governor of the state of Illinois, I say thank you, gracias. Illinois is forever grateful to you and your family for your service and sacrifice."

Sanguinetti went on to welcome Hayes into his new position as Adjutant General.

"From a personal standpoint, I noticed right from the get-go his incredible humility and, at the same time, his immense leadership skills," she said. "Due to his strategic vision, his vast strategic knowledge, and proven judgement, Governor Rauner and I are confident General Hayes is the right person in command at a time of change and challenge in the state."

Following the lieutenant governor, Krumrei thanked everyone who he said gave him opportunities to succeed in his career.

"I thank all off the general officers, the staff, the commanders, the NCOs, the Soldiers, and the Airmen for all of your support over these many years," said Krumrei.

Krumrei also thanked Hayes' mother for raising the "the right man" for the job.

"He's a good boy," said Krumrei. "You done good; and as my first act as a retired adjutant general, on behalf of the Illinois National Guard, I would like to give you my coin. Thank you."

Following his speech, Krumrei, Hayes, Sanguinetti, Illinois' Land Component Command Sergeant Major, Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Bowman of Plainfield, Illinois and Illinois' Air National Guard Command Chief Master Sergeant, Chief Master Sgt. John Jordan conducted the passing of the colors.

After receiving the colors, Hayes addressed the attendees.

"Humbled and honored beyond all belief I guess that's how I would categorize this," said Hayes. "I couldn't be here without all of you here, and all of the Soldiers, Airmen, NCOs, and officers that have supported me."

Hayes said his vision for the Illinois National Guard to be a relevant, integrated, community-based joint force; always ready and always there to protect our state, defend our homeland, and fight our nation's wars when called upon.

Hayes also took a unique opportunity to present his challenge coin to Krumrei as a symbol of gratitude.

"This rarely happens in the military, where you actually get to coin your boss," said Hayes. "I haven't ever been able to coin a two-star, so I'm going to take advantage of it today. Thank you for your service to the state and to the Guard, general Krumrei."

SPRINGFIELD, IL (08/10/2015)(readMedia)-- General Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited the Illinois National Guard August 9 to speak to commanders, give insight to the troops, and address new challenges with Illinois' Adjutant General.

Grass first conducted an office call with Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr. of Chatham, Illinois, the Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard. The two senior officers discussed some of the challenges facing senior leadership in the states and how best to address those challenges at all levels.

Following the office call, brigade commanders and staff directors were given an opportunity to speak with Grass at a working lunch. Grass spoke about the direction the National Guard is heading, his experience as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and some of the major topics that are discussed at the highest levels.

Grass said one of the main topics discussed is how best to use the National Guard to alleviate some of the demand on the active component.

"Today, 40 percent of the National Guard has not deployed," said Grass. "We want to give the Guard a normalized and predictable deployment cycle. If we can get something predictable for the Guard, we can meet any mission that the Department of Defense has for us."

Grass also said that a normalized training and deployment cycle for the Guard is also a fiscally responsible choice.

"The National Guard has about a $25 billion piece of the $500 billion defense budget," said Grass. "With that, the National Guard trains a force of around 455,000 to be ready at a moment's notice to answer the call of duty. That's the best bang for the buck the DoD has."

Following lunch, Grass conducted a town hall with Illinois Soldiers and Airmen. He gave a broad overview of his vision for the National Guard, addressed budget concerns, and offered Soldiers and Airmen the opportunity to ask questions and provide input that Grass could take back to the pentagon. Grass also recognized the Illinois National Guard's success.

Grass explained the Guard isn't just about the federal and state mission, it is about partnerships, both in the community and abroad.

"Illinois is a premier example of that kind of partnership in your State Partnership Program," said Grass. "Your state was one of the first SPPs 23 years ago. You started a partnership with Poland that had the first co-deployment with a partner nation; now the Guard has had 79 co-deployments with partner nations. You can be very proud of that."

Hayes was honored by Grass' visit to Illinois and was grateful for the opportunity to speak with him on important issues.

"I think that it's a huge honor that he came here to meet with the Illinois National Guard and spend the day with us, I think it's phenomenal," said Hayes. "It's a testament that he was willing to come here on such an important weekend to spend time with some of our Soldiers and Airmen to talk about some of the current issues from his stand-point and give us an opportunity to provide input back to him."

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Coast Guard will announce record drug seizure rates in San Diego Monday at 8:30 a.m. as the crew of the Cutter Stratton offloads more than 66,000 pounds of cocaine worth $1.01 billion wholesale seized in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The Commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Paul Zukunft, will announce Coast Guard and partner agencies have seized more cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in the last 10 months than in fiscal years 2012 through 2014 combined. U.S. and allied forces operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean near Central and South America have seized more than 119,000 pounds of cocaine worth more than $1.8 billion and apprehended more than 215 suspected smugglers. Fiscal year 2015, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, is already the most successful year in U.S. counter drug operations in the Eastern Pacific since 2009.

"This is about more than just trying to keep drugs off U.S. streets," said Zukunft. "The cultivation, trafficking and distribution of narcotics fuels violence and instability throughout the Western Hemisphere, leaving a path of destruction directly to the door step of the U.S. We must continue to make progress in our effort to combat transnational organized crime networks to ensure safety and security in our hemisphere."

Transnational organized crime groups are vying for control of illicit trafficking routes and power in numerous Latin American countries, resulting in increased violence and instability. This has led to record high homicide rates in Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean; 8 of the 10 countries with the highest homicide rates in the world are in this region. More than half of the unaccompanied children that crossed the U.S. southern border last year suffered or faced harm from organized crime groups, qualifying for international protection,.

Bruce G. Ohr, Associate Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice/Director, Attorney General's Organized Crime Council Director, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and Mr. George Russell, Chief of International Interdiction at Office of National Drug Control Policy/Executive Director, U.S. Interdiction Committee are also scheduled to attend the announcement.

"There is still work to be done. We can only act on 30 percent of known drug shipments in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean," Zukunft said. "We must increase already hard earned momentum to curb the rising tide of crime, violence and instability in our hemisphere."

The more than 66,000 pounds of cocaine is equal to about 33 million lines of cocaine or 336 million hits of crack, according to DEA estimates. Illicit drugs remain a serious threat to the health, safety, security and financial well-being of Americans, costing the U.S. $193 billion annually.

This will be the largest known cocaine offload in Coast Guard history with an estimated street value of more than of $1.01 billion. The drugs were seized in 23 separate interdictions by U.S. Coast Guard cutters and Coast Guard law enforcement teams operating from U.S. Navy vessels in known drug transit zones near Central and South America. As part of the offload, Coast Guardsmen will turn over 21,000 pounds of cocaine seized by the crew of Stratton during the interdiction of two different self-propelled semi-submersibles. Stratton's July 18 SPSS interdiction is considered the largest in Coast Guard history. Read More: http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2575910/.

Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security are involved in the effort to combat transnational organized crime including the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, DEA, ICE, U.S. Attorney's Offices in California, New York, Florida and Puerto Rico, and U.S. intelligence agencies. Allied and international partner agencies play an important role in counter drug operations. The fight against transnational organized crime networks in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from intelligence to detection and monitoring to interdiction and to prosecution.

During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspect vessel is initially located and tracked by allied military or law enforcement aircraft or vessels. The actual interdictions, including the boarding, search, seizures and arrests, are led and conducted by U.S. Coast Guardsmen.

The Coast Guard has increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off of Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy.

The Coast Guard Cutter Stratton is a 418-foot national security cutter on a 116-day deployment. Cutters like Stratton routinely conduct operations from South America to the Arctic where their unmatched combination of range, speed, and ability to operate in extreme weather provides the mission flexibility necessary to conduct counter-narcotics, homeland security, and alien migrant interdiction operations, domestic fisheries protection, search and rescue, and other Coast Guard missions at great distances from shore keeping threats far from the U.S. mainland.

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SPRINGFIELD, IL (08/07/2015)(readMedia)-- The Illinois National Guard will have a Change of Command Ceremony August 9, 2015 at 11:00 a.m.

at Chatham Glenwood High School to bid farewell to Maj. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei, the 38th Adjutant General of the Illinios National Guard and to welcome the 39th Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr.

WHO:

Illinois National Guard; Maj. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei - Outgoing Commander; Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr. - Incoming Commander

WHAT:

The Adjutant General's Change of Command Ceremony

WHEN: Sunday August 09, 2015 at 11:00AM Central Time (US & Canada)

WHERE:Chatham Glenwood High School
1501 E. Plummer Blvd
Chatham, Illinois 62629

NOTES:

The outgoing Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, Maj. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei, will be passing command responsibility to the incoming Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr.

For additional information, please contact the Illinois National Guard Public Affairs at 217-761-3569.