An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | May 25, 2017

National Guard Chief Lengyel highlights readiness and excellence to Congress

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON — The Citizen-Soldiers and -Airmen of the National Guard stand ready to protect and defend the nation, thanks to the continued support from Congress, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told a congressional hearing Wednesday.

The National Guard is the most capable it has been in its 380-year history, Air Force Gen.Joseph L. Lengyel, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a National Guard and Reserve budget hearing with the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee.

The National Guard focuses on three areas: the war-fighting mission, the homeland mission and building enduring partnerships at the local, state, federal and international level, he said.

Lengyel outlined his first priority as providing ready forces for the president and state governors.

"As I talk to you today, we have 18,000 men and women deployed in every combatant command around the globe," he said, adding that 4,000 men and women of the National Guard are serving in homeland defense and security missions.

Fighting seamlessly with joint force
The National Guard's operational force fights seamlessly with the joint force, and the National Guard is more closely integrated than ever before with the Army and Air Force, the general said.

"Our interoperability with the joint force will deepen and evolve as we confront future threats – threats that are now global, emanate from all domains, and are adaptable and multi-functional in their forms," he said in his written statement. "Only a well-integrated and well-trained force will keep our nation safe and secure our national interests."

Ready for the mission
The National Guard is the nation's primary crisis response force, he said, responding to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and snowstorms, as well as crises such as the Boston Marathon bombing and civil unrest in Baltimore and in Ferguson, Missouri.

The men and women of the National Guard use their skills and capabilities gained from combat to respond to domestic threats such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, large-scale natural disasters and cyberattacks, he said.

"Whether it's fires or floods or winter snowstorms or terrorists such as bombs blowing up in Boston, the National Guard is there, and we're trained and we're ready because of the resources that this committee has chosen to give it," he said.

Lengyel highlighted the State Partnership Program, in which the National Guard works with international allies to assure partners, deter adversaries and help transition nations from security consumers to global security providers. The program will comprise 79 nations once the partnership with Malaysia is formalized, he reported.

'Predictable and dependable funding'

Lengyel warned about the effects that sequestration and its arbitrary cuts would have on readiness and the force.

"Predictable and dependable funding is probably the single most important factor that we in the National Guard need so that we can plan to recruit our people, so that we can plan to train our people and so that we can maintain our equipment and recapitalize our equipment through the services as we normally do," he explained to lawmakers.

The National Guard must ensure that every dollar counts, Lengyel said.

"Readiness is funding-related and [the president's budget proposal submitted to Congress] begins to build some of that back, but it's going to take a long time before all of the things, [including] the recapitalization and modernization of the force, is fully compete," he said.

President Donald J. Trump's fiscal year 2018 Defense Department budget request is $574.5 billion, with a $64.6 billion request for overseas contingency operations.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...