WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Defense and Co-Chair of the Senate Defense Communities Caucus, was recently awarded National Guard Association of the United States Charles Dick Medal of Merit. The award recognizes the contributions to the National Guard by elected representatives to legislative bodies at the state and national levels.

“I am grateful to the Kansas National Guard for their service and to Major General Lee Tafanelli for his leadership to achieve the Guard’s mission to provide a ready military, emergency management and homeland security capability for our state and nation,” Sen. Moran said. “Particularly in the wake of the drought and wildfires that continue to burn across Kansas, I’m honored to receive this award from such committed and brave men and women.”

“Senator ‎Moran has been an outstanding supporter of our Armed Forces and a leading advocate for issues of importance to the Kansas National Guard, Emergency Management and Homeland Security,” said Maj. Gen. Tafanelli, Kansas Adjutant General. “This award serves as recognition of our deep gratitude to Senator Moran for his support of the National Guard.”

Sen. Moran has emphasized prioritization of the Kansas National Guard Readiness Center at Fort Leavenworth with the National Guard Bureau and the Department of Defense for several years, and is working to address the National Guard’s training backlog of cyber units in the Reserve Component.

The medal is named in honor of Major General Charles Dick, NGAUS president from 1902 to 1909, a major general in the Ohio National Guard, a Congressman and later a Senator. Dick was responsible for the passage of the Dick Acts of 1903 and 1908 that established the foundation of the modern National Guard.

The award will be presented later this month during the annual National Guard Association of Kansas Conference.

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