Homeland Security Insider
Always On-Guard
By Col. Timothy D. Ringgold – September 2007
Re-equipping the National Guard should be a priority for DoD
In the event of a domestic emergency, the National Guard is often the first federal responder. When called, The National Guard arrives on scene with the mission to provide Military Support to Civil Authorities, commonly called by its acronym MSCA, in the form of both manpower and equipment. Unlike other federal responders, the National Guard will not take command at the scene. Under the MSCA concept local authorities always remain in control, and the National Guard always remains in support.
The National Guard has undertaken an increasingly significant role in the defense and security of the United States . Traditionally, the Guard has been both a domestic security force and a major component of US combat power for overseas operations. It has become an integral force in the Global War On Terrorism and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Most recently, the National Guard has been deployed under Operation Jump Start on the southern border region of the United States to assist in interdicting illegal aliens crossing the border into the country.
Governors, often acting through their State Emergency Management Director or their Adjutant General, can order the citizen soldiers of the National Guard to active duty to respond under MSCA. The Governor does not have similar authority to order the Reserves to respond.
The real question today, five years into the War on Terrorism and combat in Iraq and Afghanistan , is whether the National Guard has the ability to respond adequately to domestic emergencies. There is no doubt that the Guard, along with all other military services, has done a magnificent job, both at home and overseas, even as the strain from second and third combat tours of duty on individual soldiers is taking its toll. However, the operational readiness of active duty, National Guard, and Reserve units is at historic low levels primarily because of equipment shortages. Recently, a number of Governors, retired and active duty Generals, and notably, the National Guard Bureau Chief Lt. General Steve Blum have voiced concern.
Last Spring, Retired US Army General Robert H. Scales reported that most US Army brigades are “not combat ready” in part because of equipment shortages. At the same time, to reduce the op-tempo strain on personnel, the Defense Department plans to increase the Army and Marine Corps by 92,000 troops over the next several years. This means equipment shortages for US forces will likely worsen.
The National Guard is hamstrung by the fact that units across the country have, on average, half their usual amount of equipment -- helicopters, Humvees, trucks, and weapons -- on hand, because much of it has been siphoned off to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , according to military officials and security specialists. National Guard Bureau Chief Lt. General Steve Blum reported the National Guard has “a diminished capability to respond” to both domestic and international threats to our security and needs an additional $40 billion over the next six years.
The equipment the Guard needs to respond to domestic emergencies is in short supply, because the gear is being worn out much faster than planned in the harsh environments of Iraq and Afghanistan and is often battle-damaged or left overseas to fill shortages in newly arriving units, the officials said. The National Guard Bureau estimates that its nationwide equipment availability rate is 35 percent, about half the normal level, according to Pentagon statistics.
The National Guard is the lead military agency for homeland security. By law and tradition, the Guard connects local communities to the federal government. National Guard units are located in every American community to respond to local emergencies or to attacks on the homeland. The Army National Guard maintains over 3,000 armories around the nation, for example, and the Air National Guard has 140 units throughout the United States and its territories. This close relationship between the National Guard and its locales must be leveraged to ensure that local Guard units are prepared to respond to attacks and to help train other first responders in their communities.
It generally takes a Guard unit greater time to reach a fully trained and deployable status for wartime deployment abroad than it does an active duty unit, which results in a lag time for the Guard's response. Deploying abroad, moreover, means the Guard unit is not able to respond to an emergency at home; and because many Guard members are also police officers, doctors, firemen, and emergency technicians, supporting the active force abroad always removes critical first responders from America 's communities.
On the other hand, because so many of America 's Guard members are also first responders in a national emergency, these citizen soldiers are well-prepared to respond when the homeland is under attack.
There's also another wrinkle in the process that is working to the Guard's disadvantage. When Guard units deploy overseas, whether it be to Iraq or Afghanistan , they are often ordered to leave their major items of equipment behind when they return home. This process undoubtedly saves money in shipping and makes deployment home faster, but it also means the unit is of little value in responding to domestic emergencies. Adding insult to injury, since budget constraints limit the armed forces' ability to reequip these units, they become targets for force reduction. In other words, they are rewarded for service in a combat zone with losing their unit when they return home.
We need to put an end to this nonsense and to provide our National Guard – and our Active Duty and Reserve Forces – with the equipment they need to do their job at home, as well as overseas.
This article originally appeared in the September 2007 issue of Security Products pg. 88.
About the Author
Timothy D. Ringgold , Colonel, Army (Ret.), is the CEO of Defense Solutions LLC, based in Washington , D.C. He can be reached at (610) 833-6000.
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