{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=7cf211f8-5e8c-4dbb-89ee-6f508617c729", "W.Va. National Guard stands ready | Charleston Daily Mail", "2014-11-20", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "November 20, 2014\n\t\t\t  W.Va. National Guard stands ready | Charleston Daily Mail \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMonday, the news broke that a second patient died from Ebola on U.S. soil.\r\nDr. Martin Salia\u2019s tragic death is a sign that the Ebola epidemic is still a danger to the American public, and we should be ever vigilant to contain, control and combat this virus overseas.\r\nAnd while many physicians, medical personnel and aid workers now fear confronting the Ebola crisis, West Virginians need not look any farther than our own West Virginia National Guard since our Guardsmen advance to the front lines of training and assisting our Armed Forces in preventing the spread of the deadly disease.\r\nThe West Virginia National Guard frequently provides support for major national-level military operations, often without fanfare.\r\nFor instance, specially trained West Virginia Guardsmen played a critical role in training active duty soldiers who were deploying to Liberia to assist in preventing Ebola from spreading beyond its borders.\r\nJust a few weeks ago, the same day that President Obama called the fight against Ebola a \u201ctop national security priority,\u201d and the federal government began increasing airport screenings in the United States and in West Africa, the U.S. Army called the West Virginia Army National Guard for immediate support.\r\nThe 101st Airborne was in the process of training roughly 1,000 soldiers when a senior Army Physician Assistant reached out to the West Virginia Army National Guard to fill training gaps at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.\r\nWithin four hours of receiving the request for assistance, the Guard pulled together its resources and sent 17 West Virginia Guard expert trainers to Kentucky to participate in the 101st Airborne\u2019s training program.\r\nActive and Guard soldiers worked together, as they have for years, to improve the effectiveness of the training sessions that helped prepare the soldiers to properly remove their personal protective equipment and adhere to the strict procedures on how to use the special protective gear.\r\nThanks to the swift execution of our Guardsmen upon their arrival, the 101st Airborne added four more instruction stations and helped the soldiers cycle through the equipment exercises until they felt confident and satisfied in their training.\r\nAfter the sessions were complete, the 101st Airborne\u2019s Commanding General personally reported back to West Virginia National Guard\u2019s leadership that the participating Guardsmen had contributed to a \u201ctotal army solution\u201d for his soldiers deploying to Liberia, which is truly quite a compliment from a top Army commander.\r\nIf nothing else, this story underscores our great need to maintain a ready and capable National Guard.\r\nThe West Virginia National Guard\u2019s proficient support to the Active Duty Army demonstrates its unique capabilities and the invaluable technical expertise that National Guard units can maintain through proper funding and readiness.\r\nThe National Guard offers the best commanders, best training, and best resources to protect America\u2019s securities, freedoms and liberties every day, and this example is one of thousands that verify the importance of maintaining the Guard\u2019s relevancy and proficiency.\r\nIt was one of my most privileged roles to be Commander-in-Chief of the West Virginia National Guard, and I can assure you that watching the performance of the Guard firsthand is unparalleled to anything I\u2019ve witnessed.\r\nI often times recall my travels to Afghanistan and Iraq while serving as Governor. Every one of the commanders on every one of the bases I visited made a point to tell me that West Virginia Guardsmens\u2019 expertise, professionalism and commitment were invaluable to their command posts.\r\nAnd those sentiments resonate across the U.S. and beyond our borders to this day. Just last Friday, I traveled to Guantanamo Bay on a fact-finding mission to review the detainment facilities, and I had the honor of meeting members of the West Virginia Army National Guard. Their profound dedication to duty and professionalism know no bounds, and that is something to be proud of.\r\nThe United States military strength is unchallenged worldwide, and that\u2019s in large part due to our National Guard. Their ability to serve multiple, demanding roles at a moment\u2019s notice serves as an irreplaceable asset to our military, and I believe that our Guard units\u2019 successful missions should be shared with the people they protect.\r\nSo today, I join all West Virginians in commending West Virginia Army National Guard on their monumental efforts to support our brave service members who are joining the fight to battle Ebola.\r\nU.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is former governor.  \u2003\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t    By:\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t    By Joe Manchin", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/op-eds?ContentRecord_id=7cf211f8-5e8c-4dbb-89ee-6f508617c729"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4611531514674425, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}