The National Guard is the Branch of the U.S. Military 'In Touch' with America
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Guard Association of the United States, the organization that represents the Guard officer corps, today released the following statement by retired Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., the NGAUS president:
"Last week, in a speech to the National Defense University, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. military was 'out of touch' with the American public.
"While it may not have been his intent, the chairman's comments fail to consider the men and women of the National Guard, who have fought and died in the war on terrorism and who also live in thousands of communities across the country.
"If the chairman is talking strictly about the active-component military being disconnected, I agree. Since the end of the Cold War, active forces have been consolidated onto increasingly fewer installations, most of which are far removed from large population centers. The result is a force with very little interaction with the people they defend.
"But Guard service is different. There may not be a single ZIP code in America that does not have citizen-soldiers and airmen living and working in it, and serving in uniform.
"In fact, the National Guard is America. It is our firemen and teachers, and our farmers and lawyers. It is fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors.
"Because the Guard is so community-based, many Americans live next to, work with or worship with a member of the National Guard. And such a geographically dispersed force means that for many of our citizens, the only face of the U.S. military is the National Guard.
"If the chairman tosses a dart at a map of America, he'd surely hit a community where a National Guardsman lives. And if he were to visit that community, he'd see firsthand the strong and vibrant connection between the military and the American people they are sworn to protect and defend."
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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