Mount Hope, W.Va. — The West Virginia National Guard is using the next two weeks and the National Boy Scout Jamboree to its advantage.
West Virginia Adjutant General James Hoyer said Monday on the MetroNews Morning News the two-week event in Fayette County is an opportunity for the Guard to train and provide services to the 40,000 Boy Scouts, staff and volunteers.
Hoyer said he hopes the dual-effort will send a message to the Department of Defense.
“As we stand right now we need to reduce our overhead costs within the Department of Defense but we still have to maintain a high readiness level,” Hoyer said. “We can showcase West Virginia as a destination for training for our military and doing it in a cost-effective and timely manner with good quality locations.”
The added bonus according to Hoyer is the already financed training has the Guard at the Jamboree in case additional services are needed.
“It puts us in a position that should we have to provide additional assistance to the Jamboree in response to an issue we’re not using additional taxpayer dollars,” Hoyer said.
More than 1,300 members of the military including the Guard, Navy, Air Force and Army are providing support roles for the Boy Scouts.