AFCEAN of the Month, October 2023
From the beginning of the pandemic, the Northern California Chapter struggled to stay active within AFCEA. It had been managed by several AFCEA chapter presidents who had been negatively affected by permanent change of station (PCS) orders because of their military assignments at Travis or Beale Air Force Base. Because of these PCS actions, the chapter constantly tried to return to an active chapter rhythm. In mid to late 2022, a small business owner and longtime AFCEA member currently living in Sacramento, California, agreed to take the helm as chapter president. His name is Lt. Col. Charles McGrue, USAR.
Col. McGrue is the CEO/owner of Connexmore LLC, a small business and a California disabled veteran business entity. Col. McGrue was installed as chapter president in February of 2023, just before WEST, which he attended along with the chapter’s new vice president. Later, Col. McGrue and his newly installed chapter officers began reaching out to all registered members listed in the chapter’s roster to begin the planning process for future AFCEA events. They were successful in getting more of their chapter members actively involved as well as reaching out to the other three chapters in the Northern California Region for collaboration on AFCEA activities.
On May 24, 2023, Typhoon Mawar hit Guam with sustained winds of 140 mph. This storm churned over Guam for hours seriously affecting many homes in the area. Because of this tragedy, Col. McGrue was recalled to active duty in support of the Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to provide aid to Guam’s citizens.
A project called RISEUP (Roofing Installation Support Emergency Utilization Program) was launched in June by the governor of Guam, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide metal roofs to 537 homes on the island of Guam. The final metal roof installation milestone was celebrated at a family home in July.
Col. McGrue, deputy dual status commander for Task Force 671 and the deputy task force commander, recently commented that his group provided administration and command and control for “Task Force RISEUP” and helped support the mission as they built roofs on many affected homes in Guam. Col. McGrue said, “If you look at this mission, it is really getting family together to help family.”
Col. McGrue initially thought this recall would only be for a short duty assignment of two weeks. However, he is still deployed and hopes to return to the Sacramento area very soon to once again manage the Northern California Chapter.
In recognition of his superior efforts related to Typhoon Mawar in Guam and his dedication to the Northern California Chapter, AFCEA is proud to name Lt. Col. Charles McGrue AFCEAN of the month.
