b. Every officer duly commissioned shall, within ten days, after his commission is tendered to him, or within ten days after he shall be personally notified that the same is held in readiness for him by any superior officer, take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed by the constitution of this state. In case of neglect or refusal to take and subscribe to such oath within the time mentioned, he shall be deemed to have resigned such office. Such oath shall be taken and subscribed before any officer authorized to take acknowledgments of deeds in this state, or some officer who has taken it himself and who is hereby authorized to administer the same.
b. An officer may tender his resignation or request transfer from the national guard at any time: Provided, That no such resignation shall be accepted unless the officer tendering the same shall furnish the adjutant general from each property accounting officer concerned a certificate that he has delivered all books and other property of the state and federal government in his possession to the person authorized to receive the same, and that his accounts for money or public property are correct, and that he is not indebted to the state or federal military authorities.
b. The efficiency, moral character, incompetency, inability to properly perform his duty, and general fitness for retention in the national guard of any officer may be investigated and determined by an efficiency examining board.
c. The physical fitness for further service of any officer of the national guard may be investigated by a medical examining board of officers.
d. Efficiency and medical examining boards consisting of three or more officers shall be appointed by the adjutant general upon recommendation of the commanding officer of the officer under investigation. All members of such boards shall be senior in grade to the officer under investigation, unless unavailable. Such boards shall be vested with the powers of courts of inquiry and courts-martial. Any officer ordered to appear before such a board shall be allowed to appear in person or by counsel, to cross-examine and to call the witnesses in his behalf. He shall at all stages of the proceedings be allowed full access to records pertinent to his case and be furnished copies of the same. If the officer shall fail to appear at the time and place set for the hearing by the board, the board shall proceed to consider the evidence presented to it and make such findings as shall be warranted. If the findings of the board are unfavorable to an officer and are approved by the governor, the governor shall dismiss the officer, transfer him to the state retired list or the honorary militia, or make such other order as may be appropriate.
e. Any officer who permanently moves from the state or who is absent without leave from drill, training and other duty for two months, or whose federal recognition is withdrawn may be dismissed automatically.
f. In any case in which the adjutant general shall have ground to believe an officer unfit, incompetent, or incapable of performing his duties, he may be dismissed or transferred to the reserve list or honorary national guard, if appropriate, without reference to an efficiency or medical examining board, unless the officer so dismissed or transferred shall, within thirty days after being notified thereof, serve upon the adjutant general notice in writing demanding a hearing and examination before an appropriate board.
(b) Any person who has been discharged under other than honorable conditions from the national guard of this or any other state or from any component of the armed forces of the United States and has not been restored to duty shall not be eligible for enlistment in the national guard.
(c) Every person enlisted for the national guard shall take an oath of allegiance to the state and the United States and shall sign an enlistment paper, which shall be forwarded to the adjutant general on such form as may be prescribed.
(d) The oath of allegiance referred to in subsection (c) of this section may be taken and signed before any commissioned officer of the armed forces of the United States.
b. Whenever any enlisted man of the national guard shall have performed service therein for the term of his enlistment or reenlistment, and has turned in to the proper officer all state or military property for which he is responsible, his commanding officer shall grant him a full and honorable discharge, except in time of insurrection or invasion or other emergency declared by the governor, when his enlistment shall be automatically extended for the period he shall be in the active service of the state, and until released therefrom by proper order. Discharge for physical disability shall be granted pursuant to applicable rules and regulations. The governor may authorize for sufficient reason, and in his discretion, the discharge of enlisted men, with or without their consent, at any time, upon the recommendation of the commanding officer of the unit of organization to which they belong. An enlisted man who cannot, after due diligence, be found, or who shall remove his residence from the state, or to such distance from the armory of his organization, as to render it impracticable for him to perform properly military duties, or who shall be convicted of a felony, may be discharged by order of the governor.
c. A dishonorable discharge from the service in the national guard shall operate as a complete expulsion from the guard, a forfeiture of all exemptions and privileges acquired through membership therein, and disqualification for any military office under the state. The names of all persons dishonorably discharged shall be published in orders by the adjutant general at the time of such discharge, and as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county in which such dishonorably discharged person resides. No person so discharged shall be admitted to any armory or other meeting place of the national guard or to the immediate vicinity of any encampment, drill or parade of troops. All commanding officers are hereby required to enforce these prohibitions.
b. Every officer of the national guard responsible for military property or funds of the state or of the United States shall give bond to the state in such amount as shall be determined by the adjutant general, with good and sufficient security, to be approved by him, conditioned upon the safekeeping, proper use and care and prompt surrender of such property or funds for which he may be properly responsible.
c. When military property is lost, damaged, or destroyed through the negligence or fault of a member of the national guard, the amount determined as the value of such property or the cost of repairing the same may be collected from any pay or allowance due or to become due him from the state.
d. An action may be maintained in the name of the state in any court having jurisdiction thereof by the attorney general upon the request of the adjutant general to recover from a member or former member of the organized militia found responsible for military property lost, damaged or destroyed through his negligence or fault, the amount determined as the value of such property or the cost of repairing the same.
b. Members of the organized militia may be ordered by the governor or under his authority to perform special duty, including but not limited to duty in a judicial proceeding, as a member of or in any other capacity with any military board, or as an investigating officer or as a medical examiner.
c. Organization and unit commanders may in their discretion order drills of such portion of their command as may be deemed necessary, and may in their discretion order target practice for their command: Provided, That if any expense is to be incurred, written authority must be obtained from the adjutant general.
An annual inspection and muster of each organization of the national guard shall be made by an inspector at such time and place as the adjutant general shall order and direct.
Repealed.
Acts, 1982 Reg. Sess., Ch. 102.
(b) Officers and enlisted personnel of the National Guard in active service of the state shall receive the same pay and allowances, in accordance with their rank and service, as are prescribed for the armed forces of the United States: Provided, That no member of the National Guard shall receive base pay of less than one hundred dollars per day while he or she is in active service of the state.
(c) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this article, members of the National Guard may, with their consent, perform without pay, or without pay and allowances, any duties prescribed by section thirteen of this article pursuant to competent orders therefor: Provided, That necessary expenses may be furnished such personnel within the discretion of the Adjutant General.
(b) There shall be allowed to each headquarters of a brigade, regiment, air wing, army group or equivalent type organization the sum of one hundred dollars per month and each headquarters of a battalion, army squadron, air group or corresponding type organization the sum of fifty dollars per month for clerical services; and to each company air squadron or corresponding type unit the sum of twenty-five dollars per month for like services, payable quarterly. The commandant of the West Virginia military academy shall be allowed the sum of twenty-five dollars a month, payable quarterly, for like services.
(c) At the discretion of the adjutant general, there may be paid to the enlisted man or woman who is directly responsible for the care and custody of the federal and state property of each organization or unit the sum of ten dollars per month, payable quarterly, upon the certificate of his or her commanding officer that he or she has faithfully and satisfactorily performed the duties assigned him or her and accounted for all property entrusted to his or her care.
(d) The adjutant general shall determine the amount of entitlement to command pay and clerical pay, not to exceed the amounts set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, using organizational charts showing chain of command and authorized strengths and defining other equivalent type organizations.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, there shall be paid to the command administrative officer of the headquarters of the West Virginia army national guard and to the executive staff support officer of the headquarters of the West Virginia air national guard, or to the officer occupying a similar position, regardless of title, one hundred dollars per month, payable quarterly, to be known as an administrative allowance.
(f) The state command sergeant of the West Virginia army national guard and the command chief master sergeant of the West Virginia air national guard shall receive a monthly administrative allowance of one hundred dollars per month. The command sergeant major or command chief master sergeant of a unit authorized under the command of a commander in the rank of colonel shall receive a monthly administrative allowance of seventy-five dollars per month. The command sergeant major or command chief master sergeant of a unit authorized under the command of a commander in the rank of lieutenant colonel shall receive a monthly administrative allowance of forty-five dollars per month.
(1) The Adjutant General may prescribe criteria of eligibility for payment of tuition and fees. The payment is contingent upon appropriations being made by the Legislature for the express purpose of this section.
(2) A member may receive payment for only one certificate, undergraduate degree and master's degree pursuant to this section. (3) Not more than two members a year may be selected by the Adjutant General to receive payment for either a doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree program. Any candidate selected for this program must remain a member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard and practice medicine in the State of West Virginia for a minimum of ten years after receiving a doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree, or be subject to recoupment for all monies paid pursuant to this subdivision.
(b) The amount of the payment for a member attending a state- supported school is determined by the Adjutant General and may not exceed the actual cost of tuition and fees at the school. The amount of the payment for a member attending a private school is determined by the Adjutant General and may not exceed the highest amount payable at any state-supported school.
(c) Any member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard who is receiving payments under a federally funded continuing education system and is eligible to receive tuition and fee payments pursuant to this section may be entitled to payment of tuition and fees under this section. The sum of payments received under this section and a federally funded continuing education system may not exceed the actual amount of tuition and fees at the school and in any event may not exceed the highest amount payable at any state-supported school.
(d) For any member of the West Virginia Army National Guard or West Virginia Air National Guard who is participating in the PROMISE Scholarship program provided in article seven, chapter eighteen-c of this code, the Adjutant General may pay directly to the member an amount equal to the amount of tuition and fees which otherwise would have been paid to the school.
(e) A member of the West Virginia Army National Guard or West Virginia Air National Guard who is receiving payments for tuition and fees under this section and is discharged from the military service due to wounds or injuries received in the line of duty may continue to receive payments for tuition and fees under this section as if he or she were still a member.
(f) The Adjutant General shall administer the tuition and fee payments authorized under this section and shall establish policies to implement the provisions of this section.
(1) To make arrests on military installations of the state or of the United States for any violations of the law of this state or of the United States occurring on any such military installation;
(2) To patrol areas immediately adjacent to military installations to provide for its security and to safeguard military personnel, equipment and other government assets located on said installation: Provided, That nothing in this subparagraph shall confer upon security guards the right to enter upon private property;
(3) To cooperate with state and local authorities in detecting and apprehending any person or persons engaged in or suspected of the commission of any crime, misdemeanor or offense against the law of this state or of the United States, or of any ordinance of any municipality of this state, if such is committed or attempted to be committed on or adjacent to a military installation in this state; and
(4) To respond to areas adjacent to military facilities and installations at the request of state and local authorities to provide support and mutual aid in the event of accidents, emergency or otherwise.
(b) Any security guard, duly appointed by the Adjutant General, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that a person has violated the law while situate on a military installation, may make complaint in writing before any court or officer having jurisdiction and procure a warrant for such person.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the term "military installation" shall mean a facility under the command of the Adjutant General.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, bona fide members of the West Virginia National Guard assigned by the Adjutant General to function as firefighters to safeguard military property of the state or of the United States are hereby empowered to respond to areas adjacent to military facilities and installations at the request of state and local authorities to provide support and mutual aid in the event of accidents, emergency or otherwise.
(a) The adjutant general shall pay the necessary expenses for the presentation of a flag of the United States with care to the person designated to direct disposition of the remains of a deceased person who served a federally recognized unit of national guard of this state, upon request of such designated person, if the deceased member of the national guard has not been dishonorably discharged from service as provided for in section nine of this article, and if such deceased person is not otherwise eligible to receive such flag under any other provision of the laws of this state or federal law. Such flag shall be provided in order that the casket of the deceased person may be draped in a flag of the United States.
(b) After the burial of the deceased member, the flag so furnished pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be given to the parent or parents or to the spouse of the deceased person. If no claim is made by a parent or spouse for the flag furnished under subsection (a), the flag may be given, upon request, to a close friend or associate of the deceased member.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the term "parent" includes a natural parent, a step-parent, a parent by adoption or a person who for a period of not less than one year before the death of the decedent stood in loco parentis to him, and preference under this clause shall be given to the persons who exercised a parental relationship at the time of, or most nearly before, the death of the decedent.
General at Camp Dawson, is hereby acknowledged to be a program of great value in meeting the educational needs of at-risk youth throughout the state. Further, the Mountaineer Challenge Academy is hereby designated as a special alternative education program as is further provided pursuant to section six, article two, chapter eighteen of this code. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that the Mountaineer Challenge Academy should enjoy the full cooperation of the executive agencies of state government in carrying out its program.
To this end, the State Board of Education shall, notwithstanding any other provision in this code to the contrary:
(1) Include the Mountaineer Challenge Academy in the child nutrition program;
(2) Provide the names and mailing addresses of all high school dropouts in the state to the director of the Mountaineer Challenge Academy annually; and
(3) Provide for Mountaineer Challenge Academy graduates to participate in the adult basic education program.
Further cooperation with the Mountaineer Challenge Academy is encouraged by the Legislature for the purpose of assisting the Mountaineer Challenge Academy to achieve its mission and help prepare young people for productive adulthood.
(a) The West Virginia National Guard is authorized to participate in asset forfeiture and seizure programs established by the United States government relating to drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, pursuant to the provisions of 32 U. S. C. §112.
(b) (1) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account, designated the West Virginia National Guard Counterdrug Forfeiture Fund which shall be administered by the Adjutant General.
(2) Any balance in the account at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the general revenue fund but shall remain in the account, and be expended as provided in this section. The fund shall consist of property seized or forfeited to the United States under any federal asset, forfeiture or sharing program and shared with the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug Program.
(3) Expenditures from the fund shall be for the purposes set forth in this section and are not authorized from collections, but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter eleven-b of this code: Provided, That for fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, expenditures are authorized from collections rather than pursuant to an appropriation by the Legislature. Expenditures from the fund shall be for facilities, equipment, administrative expenses and to defray any other necessary expenses incidental to and associated with the program.
(c) The Adjutant General shall propose rules pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the operation of any asset forfeiture and asset sharing program by the West Virginia National Guard Counterdrug Support Program and for the operation of the special revenue fund account established under this section. Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session
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