The Air Force fought with the National Guard last year over cuts, and they took more than a few bruises as a result. With a new CSAF at the helm, the Air Force and the Air Guard are mending relationships and as a result, there are many new missions in the Air Guard today. Oddly enough, the US Army was silent during much of that fight.
Today, however, the Army is attempting to take the scout and attack mission away from the National Guard by grabbing the attack aviation platforms. And as troubling as that is, it is the tactics that are particularly disturbing. In a previous post, I listed quotes from the Chief of Staff of the Army. They were misleading at best, and disparaging at worst. Why would he say such things, stating that National Guard Soldiers are not interchangeable with Active Duty? Because in this environment of shrinking budgets, the National Guard is obviously a more efficient way to maintain the fighting capabilities of the United States, and there is pressure to trim Active Duty and plus up the National Guard. It is not sitting well with the Chief.
Negotiations over this issue are not taking place between the Army and the Guard. Active Duty (Army this time) is again laying out the budget battle without the Guard being in the room, while at the same time, portraying the Guard in a poor light to the public. Who was it that said almost 1 year ago that he was okay with cuts and wants a larger role for the Guard? That’s right, the same Chief that now believes that they are suddenly not interchangeable. This is intentional. The Army wants to prevent anyone from saying we should plus up the National Guard and cut active duty as a solution to the budget problem. They want that idea to be met with stories on how the National Guard are less effective bench warmers who are not interchangeable with the good players on the football team. Now you know why we fought so hard two years ago to get the Chief of the National Guard Bureau on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With friends like that…..
We are also hearing State Department comments that they are more comfortable with Active Duty performing State Partnership Programs than the Guard. What? All of the sudden, there is concern with the Guard performing a historically Guard mission? This is an effort to control the narrative and minimize any effort to cut Active Duty by saying that the Guard can’t get it done, yadda, yadda. Help us stand up to this effort now before it gets beyond the point where we can fix it. Join YOUR National Guard Association. Click Here
