Fraters Libertas

A Truly National Guard

An article in today's Wall Street Journal reports that some military analysts were calling for a restructuring of the National Guard to focus some of its resources exclusively on homeland security and disaster relief before Hurricane Katrina:

The wrenching pictures of hurricane victims pleading for help may have raised the issue for most Americans, but in some circles the search for a broader military role has been under way much longer. Earlier this year, the Rand Corp., a government-funded think tank, proposed that the Pentagon create 10 new 900-soldier battalions from the National Guard that would focus exclusively on homeland defense.

Instead of training for war, these units would train with state and civilian authorities. They would be positioned in each of the 10 regions into which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has divided the nation. They would craft disaster relief plans and help ensure communication systems were robust enough to survive catastrophes. When disaster hit, these soldiers would be the first to flow into the stricken areas, providing the core of a headquarters for other National Guard units to link up with and build on.

This seems like a sound idea, especially in the wake of the silly arguments that erupted after Hurricane Katrina about whether the National Guard could have better responded to the disaster if significant Guard resources were not deployed in Iraq. The argument is really moot since the mission of the Guard is not only disaster relief but supporting the military in fighting wars.

During peacetime each state National Guard answers to the leadership in the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia. During national emergencies, however, the President reserves the right to mobilize the National Guard, putting them in federal duty status. While federalized, the units answer to the Combatant Commander of the theatre in which they are operating and, ultimately, to the President.

Even when not federalized, the Army National Guard has a federal obligation (or mission.) That mission is to maintain properly trained and equipped units, available for prompt mobilization for war, national emergency, or as otherwise needed.

The Army National Guard is a partner with the Active Army and the Army Reserves in fulfilling the country's military needs.

"Prompt mobilization for war..." You think the National Guard spends most of their time training with weapons to shoot looters? Yeah, that's why Guard units have Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and self-propelled howitzers (among other equipment).

Apparently all those TV commercials showing Guard members filling sandbags and rescuing flood victims have given people the idea that the Guard's main role is to clean up after a natural disaster. The Guard responds to such disasters because they're usually the best equipped force available in the local area. But if the military needs them to support combat operations around the world, that's where they will be. And that's where they should be.

Setting up specific Guard units to respond to natural disasters would help alleviate some of the confusion about the role of the Guard. Perhaps these units could even be given a new name designation to separate them from the regular Guard and its members would have different terms and conditions of duty. This could cut down on some of the carping from a few Guardsmen who expressed surprise when they were sent overseas.

I know, I know. "The recruiter told me I would never have to see combat", "I just wanted to get some money for college", etc. The bottom line is that if you join the military, be it regular duty, reserves, or National Guard, you should understand that, at the end of the day, the reason that you're in uniform is to fight wars.