The Guard and the JCS
During the campaign Joe Biden said he wanted to elevate the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to a four star position and place them on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I agree with that because the United States Army has said on several occasions that it does not want to institute the draft, so there has been heavy reliance on the Guard, Air and Army. They have been heavily burdened as a result.
The Guard has its own unique problems, but this war may have been very different had the Guard been given a say in how it should be approached. Remember the reluctance of the Guard during Vietnam was really a vote of no confidence on LBJ’s war plans. This was a powerful message that was discounted due to lack of influence in the joint planning process. This must not happen again.
The political structure of the National Guard is unique, it is part military unit, part fire rescue and part police in its workings. This also means that there needs to be an effort to reinstate funding to help form state guard units, formations with no federal obligation, in order to help in the loss of manpower as a result of deployment. The new 4 star chief would be able to help implement this.
Joe Biden has also said that United States Northern Command should also be controlled by the Guard, I agree with that as well. The majority of senior officers in the Guard have some form of civil government experience, this is a skill set that could greatly enrich the war planning and defense mechanisms of this country.
It is going to be a time of change with this administration, lets take the military in a positive direction forward.
The Guard has its own unique problems, but this war may have been very different had the Guard been given a say in how it should be approached. Remember the reluctance of the Guard during Vietnam was really a vote of no confidence on LBJ’s war plans. This was a powerful message that was discounted due to lack of influence in the joint planning process. This must not happen again.
The political structure of the National Guard is unique, it is part military unit, part fire rescue and part police in its workings. This also means that there needs to be an effort to reinstate funding to help form state guard units, formations with no federal obligation, in order to help in the loss of manpower as a result of deployment. The new 4 star chief would be able to help implement this.
Joe Biden has also said that United States Northern Command should also be controlled by the Guard, I agree with that as well. The majority of senior officers in the Guard have some form of civil government experience, this is a skill set that could greatly enrich the war planning and defense mechanisms of this country.
It is going to be a time of change with this administration, lets take the military in a positive direction forward.
