NGAUS Hails Legislation to Further Empower the National Guard
Bill Would Add NGB Chief to Joint Chiefs of Staff
WASHINGTON, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 470,000 National Guardsmen applauded a bill introduced in the Senate today that would enhance the Guard's stature ― and perhaps the size of its role ― in the U.S. armed forces.
America's citizen-soldiers and airmen are backing legislation sponsored by U.S. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the co-chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus, which would elevate the Guard's senior officer to full membership on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A formal role in final resource decisions is part of an ongoing effort by the caucus and the National Guard Association of the United States that three years ago elevated the chief of the National Guard Bureau to a four-star general.
The NGB chief now works regularly with the Joints Chiefs and the secretary of defense; however, he does not have a vote in final decisions. Nor does he have the ability to nominate Guard officers for positions that require Senate confirmation.
The National Guard Empowerment and State-National Defense Integration Act of 2011 also would stabilize funding for Guard domestic missions, provide more transparency in equipment procurement and require the Pentagon to assess the cost savings and feasibility of shifting more responsibility for the nation's defense to the Guard and Reserve.
"We call this Guard Empowerment, but it's really more about doing what we need to do as a nation to maximize every available defense dollar," said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, the NGAUS chairman of the board.
"Leveraging the Guard offers some real solutions to some of today's pressing fiscal problems," he said, "but only if Guard capabilities and cost savings get real consideration in final Pentagon decision making and more Guard officers are involved with future planning across the force. This legislation makes that happen."
Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., the NGAUS president, said Guardsmen have earned such consideration through nearly a decade of service and sacrifice in the war on terrorism.
"Over the past nine plus years, Guard men and women have overcome decades of underfunding to respond to more missions in more places than at any time in our nation's history," he said. "They have earned representation at the table. They deserve to be at the table. And we are at a point when America needs the Guard at the table."
The comprehensive bill also establishes a framework to formalize working relationships between the states and U.S. Northern Command, which allocates federal military assets during domestic missions.
It also provides steady funding for the State Partnership Program, which involves Guard states and territories assisting in 63 nations worldwide in developing better response capabilities to domestic disasters.
In addition, the bill creates additional advancement opportunities for senior Guard officers, including the establishment of a new three-star-general position of NGB vice chief and a requirement that the commanders of Army and Air Force North, which both fall under Northern Command, be filled from the Guard.
NGAUS suspects the legislation will receive a lukewarm reception at the Pentagon, especially the provision adding the NGB chief to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
However, President Barack Obama supported similar legislation during his time in the Senate and, while campaigning for the White House in 2008, pledged to sign any bill elevating the Guard chief's status.
About NGAUS: The association includes nearly 45,000 current or former Guard officers. It was created in 1878 to provide unified National Guard representation in Washington. In their first productive meeting after Reconstruction, militia officers from the North and South formed the association with the goal of obtaining better equipment and training by petitioning Congress for more resources. Today, 133 years later, NGAUS has the same mission.
Internet Availability: This document and other Guard and NGAUS news and information are available at www.ngaus.org.
SOURCE National Guard Association of the U.S.
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