U.S. Flag and Missouri State Flag Kit Bond, Sixth Generation Missourian
 

BOND–LEAHY SEEK TO EMPOWER NATIONAL GUARD Senators Testify Before Guard and Reserves Commission

Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Leahy: David Carle 202.224.3693
Wednesday, March 8, 2006

WASHINGTON (March 8) - U.S. Sens. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the co-chairs of the National Guard Caucus, testified today at a hearing with the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves about the importance of the National Guard and the need to give the Guard a stronger voice.

"We need to empower the National Guard. We need to give the Guard more bureaucratic muscle, so that the force will not be continually pushed around in policy and budget debates within the Pentagon," said Bond and Leahy in their joint testimony.

Despite their vital contribution to the national defense, the Guard is often treated as a lesser partner, said the Senators. Earlier this month, Bond and Leahy led Senate opposition to Army proposals to cut the National Guard. The Pentagon retreated on their plans to scale back the Guard's force structure after the Senators organized more than 75 Senators in opposition to the plan.

Bond and Leahy stressed that the Army's original decision to cut the Guard force structure and personnel end-strength underscores the larger problem, namely that the National Guard does not have a substantive voice in key decisions that impact its force structure, personnel, readiness and budget.

At today's hearing focusing on current and future Guard roles, Bond and Leahy said they will work to elevate and empower the Guard in the coming months.

The Senators' legislative approach to strengthen the Guard would involve four central planks:

* Allow the National Guard Bureau to establish more formal relationships with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

* Give the Guard more muscle in the existing relationships, elevating the Chief of the National Guard to a four-star position and adding the Chief to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

* Ensure that the Deputy Commander of U.S. Northern Command is a member of the National Guard.

* Give the National Guard a budget that is separate from the service procurement accounts.

Bond and Leahy also stressed that the National Guard is a unique dual-mission force that can work effectively at home and abroad. Guard forces have comprised almost 50 percent of the combat force in Iraq and 40 percent of the total force. Also, last year the Guard fulfilled its homeland defense and civil support mission during the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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