RICHMOND, Va. –
In an effort to improve resiliency and readiness among its troops, the Virginia National Guard recently created the J9 Directorate of Resiliency, bringing together Soldier-care efforts under one umbrella. The new directorate conducted its inaugural meeting Oct. 4, 2024, at the VNG Sgt. Bob Slaughter Headquarters at Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia.
The J9 encompasses the VNG’s resiliency efforts and includes the Integrated Primary Prevention Workforce, Family Programs, Resilience, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention, religious support, the State Equal Employment Manager and the Sexual Assault Response Workforce.
During the initial meeting, Maj. Gen. James Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Col. Kurt Kobernik, the VaARNG Chief of Staff, provided remarks to the new directorate’s staff.
“What’s the Department of Defense’s number one goal? Relative to priorities, it’s people,” said Ring. “I want you to hear it from me this morning: The Virginia National Guard’s number one priority is our people. That’s the uniformed men and women who serve in the Army and Air National Guard, our DOD and state civilians, and also extends to our families, loved ones and employers.”
“You guys represent a very important aspect of our organization,” said Kobernik. “It’s critical to building readiness across our force.”
Col. Paul Gravely was selected as the VNG’s first J9 Director of Resiliency after previously serving as the Virginia Army National Guard’s Chief of Staff and other leadership positions. Gravely said bringing the VNG’s resilience efforts all under the same umbrella will strengthen each element.
“I very specifically picked one of our most senior, experienced and respected leaders in Col. Gravely,” said Ring. “He’s done the tough jobs through command and staff assignments, and he has the leadership abilities to bring together the collective J9 team. He is going to be your primary resource to ensure you and your teams are getting all of the resources you need.”
“It is important for Virginia to have a Directorate of Resiliency to promote readiness, resilience and retention across the state,” said Gravely. “Prior to the J9’s creation, the programs that support our service personnel fell within several program managers. Bringing them together will help their synchronization and effectiveness. A holistic approach for providing resources for our service personnel and their families is very important.”
Kobernick agreed that the organization can only benefit from the new organization.
“The decision the organization made to consolidate you and your functioning capability underneath the J9 really says a lot about how the organization visualizes where we’re going,” Kobernik said. “I think it’s very important as we step off under this new hierarchy that we are applying an O-6 resource who is synchronizing all the efforts in order to ensure that our commanders and our Soldiers have what they need in order to meet their readiness goals.”
For Gravely, the new position is one he does not take lightly.
“I am honored that Maj. Gen. Ring selected me to be the J9 in Virginia,” he said. “It is a new initiative that requires careful attention to many programs. I am committed to providing ‘best-in-class’ services to members and their families. The many experiences I have had in the Virginia National Guard have prepared me to lead the J9 and apply lessons learned so we can continue to provide personnel and families who are ready for future missions.”