Guard, reserves to be reorganized

the washington times ^ | 14 July 2003 | Rowan Scarboro

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has ordered the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines to draft plans for a sweeping restructuring of the 900,000-strong National Guard and reserve forces.

In a July 9 memo to the four service secretaries and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Mr. Rumsfeld said he wants to reduce the need for calling up large numbers of reservists in a war and to do away with it altogether in the first 15 days of a crisis. He also does not want any unit called up for more than one year in any six years.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

What I was thinking and what bothers me about this new plan

DITTO. However, the War on terror is not something to be solved in a couple of years. This means Reserves will constantly be called up

My unit was mobilized in Nov 2001. That can only be called up for 2 years. The current bunch are being demobolized in the next 2 months, the reserves are not set up to replace them.

This is the real quadmire.

[Madcelt]

Look at kosovo, How many Reserves and NG units were called up for six month stints there under "wet willy's" reign. This has caused alot of grief for some of those guys. There needs to be a reorganization. But I would'nt want to sacrifice the reserves or gaurd though. A good back up is always a thing to have. Unless..... they are going to reinstitute the draft???( nagggghhghh)

[where's_the_Outrage?]

That's a bit strong. A lot of the tanker fleet is in the reserve, but not "almost all".

Will defer to you on this, I just used my impressions, not firm facts. Seems like the reserves are really integral for refueling such that the Active couldn't get it done without them. But as I said, that's just my impression. I'll let any zoomie give the true story.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Should have added, go here: http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/onorth.htm

If it's old and almost obsolete, it's mostly in the Reserves and NG, as Ollie points out.

[Arkinsaw]

If you're going to do this and still recruit enough good people to fill the slots. Then ya gotta raise the pay and benefits, and ya gotta take care of your vets.

You can't have anymore VA horror stories and no more soldiers on food stamps.

[Cacophonous]

At the risk of invoking a lot of wrath from a lot of good folks on here, I might suggest that one way to keep the Guard and Reaserves from being called up so often is to quit sending troops into places they don't need to be (the Balkans, Liberia (soon)....)

[Cacophonous]

How many Reserves and NG units were called up for six month stints there under "wet willy's" reign.

Still happening. SFOR (Bosnia-Herzegovinia) has consisted of rotating NG units. Currently 35th IN DIV (Kansas); to be followed in October by 34th IN Div (Minnesota); then by 38th (Indiana) then 42nd (New York)...

[Destro]

Iraq required this--the war on terror is really a war to be waged by special-ops and policing.

I love a strong military but a democracy, even a republican one, needs to be linked to its military. We have way too much detachment already.

It is like a good general eating from the same mess as his troops (like Rommel did) in order to gauge their condition. The current set of Creighton Abrams' acts like that break. It is designed to protect our military as much as the citizens and the republic from over extension and from public disconnect.

[mystery-ak]

You are exactly right...the heavy lifters, Chinooks, are mostly Guard...my hubby is 1sgt to two Guard Chinook Cos...he's been gone since Feb.....but he's in the Guard full-time so it wouldn't really affect a civilian job.

[LizardQueen]

Still happening. SFOR (Bosnia-Herzegovinia) has consisted of rotating NG units. Currently 35th IN DIV (Kansas); to be followed in October by 34th IN Div (Minnesota); then by 38th (Indiana) then 42nd (New York)...

A friend of mine (Blackhawk pilot) is currently over there in Tuzla, Bosnia. He got called up last fall, spent quit a lot of time at Ft. Riley and Ft. Rucker (he calls it Mother Rucker ::lol::) and then got sent over in about January.

I don't know what to think about this announcement of Rummys. It will be interesting to see how he divvy's up the responsibility, and how it will affect what equipment and training the reserves get.

I do know that the deployments are rough on the reservists, especially if they repeat frequently, and would make it more likely for them to want out if their lives keep getting disrupted. Most of the guys in my friends unit are in their late 30s to early 40s, have regular jobs, families, etc - they aren't single 20 year old firebreathers anymore.

I don't think that any of them would have a problem chucking everything if their country was threatened, but sending them in to clean up after every tin-pot dictator is getting a little old. I wish the rest of the world would learn to clean up after itself!

LQ

[Cacophonous]

I agree. Let the rest of the world learn to diaper itself.

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

So what does this have to do with the Guard? The Federal Government is not dictating how the States should run their militia are they?

[Charlie OK]

So what does this have to do with the Guard? The Federal Government is not dictating how the States should run their militia are they?

That is my question too. I am trying to make a life-changing decision whether to join the OK Guard or not, and I am trying to find out everything I can. I have a college degree, so I would be going into Officer school. If I joined, it would be part-time. Any of you that know, how likely is a person in that position to be called to duty in Liberia or S. Korea or wherever? I have a family, and being away from them is what is making the decision very difficult. I always thought the National Guard was for protecting the home front, while the other military units were the ones who fought overseas.

[Cacophonous]

The Guard has been federalized, slowly, over time. So yes, you are prone to being called up. The intent of the Guard was to protect the homefront, and serve as state militias, and to be used by the US Army in case of national emergencies, which apparently patrolling the streets of Bosnia is...

[where's_the_Outrage?]

So what does this have to do with the Guard? The Federal Government is not dictating how the States should run their militia are they?

This isn't about how they run them, it's about what type unit they, this is directed by DOD. A state can't decide they need an Armor Division, then on their own create it, this comes from the Federal Government.

The Feds dictate the type of units each state has, and how many guard personnel in each state. The feds also supply the NG with most of their equipment.

So Rummy wants to reorganize the Active force to be able to perform all missions, and will mean changing some NG to different type units.

[Tacos]

Regarding benefits, in the case of the California National Guard, items like the following are not going to help:

>>>

On July 10, 2003,
the California Senate Education Committee and its Chair, John Vasconcellos,
Slapped the Face of the California National Guard
and its Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen

Despite the support of the Governor and its unanimous passage by the State Assembly, AB 547 was gutted and rendered virtually meaningless by the Senate Education Committee. Some people have described the committee's actions as merely "weakening" the bill, but this is like saying the Titanic merely had "a leak."

You can track the status of AB 547 at this link:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_547&sess=CUR&house=B&search_type=email

The amendments imposed by the Senate Education Committee are not yet available online, but they can be summarized as follows:

--All education benefits for the CNG and SMR passed by the Assembly are stripped out.

--The Adjutant General is required to provide Guard personnel with copies of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and copies of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors Fee Waiver form, and assistance in filling them out.

--Guard members who are Cal Grant recipients and deployed for active duty shall be granted an automatic leave of absence and not have the period of deployment counted against the four-year eligibility time limit.


The first provision tells the Assembly that the Senate doesn't care about a bill that was passed 76-0 by the Assembly with the strong support of the Governor.

The second provision is a blatant insult to the California National Guard. It puts in writing that Guard members are allowed to apply for the same financial aid benefits available to every other student! In other words, there is specifically no additional educational benefit for being a member of the California National Guard or State Military Reserve (NOTE: Only a couple states offer zero educational benefits to it's state Guard members...California is one of them)

The third provision is superfluous because very few deployed Guard members are receiving the Cal Grant and their active duty income is likely to make them ineligible for financial aid in the first place.


What's Next?

Contact information for the Senate Education Committee members can be found at the links below. You may wish to let them know how you feel about their disdainful treatment of the 21,000 members of the California National Guard and State Military Reserve.

San Jose- Sen. JohnVasconcellos http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/Vasconcellos/
Santa Cruz/Salinas- Sen. Bruce McPherson http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/15/
San Fernando Valley- Sen. Richard Alarcon http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/alarcon/
Arcata- Sen. Wesley Chesbro http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/chesbro/
Central Valley- Sen. Jeff Denham http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/12/
Long Beach- Betty Karnette http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/karnette/
Palmdale- Sen. Pete Knight http://republican.sen.ca.gov/web/17/
Los Angeles- Sen. Gloria Romero http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/romero/
Pasadena- Sen. Jack Scott http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/scott/
Stanford- Sen. Byron Sher http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/sher/
San Mateo- Sen. Jackie Speier http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/speier/
Los Angeles- Sen Edward Vincent http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/vincent/


If you are not sure who is your Senator, you can find out by entering your zip code at this link:
http://192.234.213.69/smapsearch/framepage.asp

There is a slight chance that the bill could be re-amended in the Appropriations Committee. The chair is Senator Dede Alpert (D-San Diego). If you live in one of these areas: La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Coronado, Imperial Beach, Mira Mesa, Tierrasanta, Clairemont, Linda Vista, Hillcrest, North Park, Old Town or downtown San Diego, please call her district office at (619) 645-3090 and also e-mail her from her website at: http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/alpert/ and ask her to rescue education benefits for the California National Guard and State Military Reserve.






Visit NGAC's new website at: http://www.ngac.org for up-to-date information on AB 547 and other efforts, including several ongoing Federal legislative initiatives.

[Arkinsaw]

I've never had the feeling that California was a big soldier's booster anyway. You can't raise standards for recruits and at the same time scrimp on benefits and pay. Leads to a shortage as any economics 101 student can tell them.