Replies

Rational thought, I like it!

I've noted some National Guard cheap shots here, (i.e. - "Will they be there to escort illegals?" and "Will they be there to keep tabs on the Minutemen?"). I'll take it as simply the result of being misinformed about the Guard or an opportunity to make a "cute" remark. I'm not interested in a flame war.
Some actual information: The National Guard is composed of two parts, the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard. Most states and territories have units of both. The National Guard is what the US Constitution refers to in Article I, Section 8, Clause 15 and 16 as the militia. The name National Guard came about by subsequent legislation. Day to day the National Guard is governed by the provisions of Title 32 of the United States Code and its chain of command is through a state officer known (in most cases) as The Adjutant General to the Governor. This is a difference between the Guard and the active duty forces and the Reserve forces (Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy and Marine Corp Reserves). Active duty and Reserves are governed under Title 10 of the US Code and the chain of command runs through the Secretary of Defense to the President. The Posse Comitatus act applies to Title 10 forces and generally prevents the use of title 10 forces in domestic law enforcement. There are exceptions and there are provisions for suspension as has been detailed elsewhere.

Most states have entered into an agreement called EMAC that allows states to support one another in times of emergency (most NG troops supported the Katrina effort under EMAC, once some of the bugs got worked out). I noted one poster suggested states call out their Guard units themselves. Here's the deal with the Guard - day-to-day, we're cheap - small full time force, large numbers who are only paid for drill once a month and a couple of weeks a year normally. The last few years haven't been normal, and the Guard is expensive when in full time Federal service in large numbers (such as airports after Sept 11). Most states can't afford to have the Guard on extended duty on their own nickel (even wildfire support, flood relief, etc usually is reimbursed to the states after disaster declarations open the taps on Federal money).

The elegant thing about having the Guard on the borders is that when the rotation of a unit is complete, and its members go back to their civilian lives they are completely free to talk of their experiences in a way that active duty forces may not be. Also citizen soldiers and citizen airmen are politically tuned to their communities and nation, and understand we should not be there to harass law abiding citizens or to be pawns in the internal politics of Federal agencies.

The best thing the FReeper community could do at this point is to support vocally, through Congressional delegations and this forum, passage of legislation now coming up in the House to give the National Guard a seat at the JCS table, and preserve the independence of the Guard.