WASHINGTON - Equipment readiness and shorter, more predictable mobilizations spaced further apart are Department of Defense priorities for the National Guard, the secretary of defense said Tuesday.
Robert M. Gates has already made significant changes that have impacted the National Guard since he was sworn in as the nation's 22nd secretary of defense on Dec. 18.
Those changes include announcing that deployments will not exceed 12 months. Until now, overseas deployments have lasted about 18 months of active duty for Guardmembers, including pre-deployment training and post-deployment recovery. Gates has also set a goal of five years between deployments.
"The goal is to distribute more fairly and more effectively the burden of war among our active and Reserve components by providing a more predictable schedule ¦ for troops, their families and their civilian employers," he told the adjutants general, the National Guard leaders in the 54 states and territories. "In the future, our troops should be deployed and/or mobilized less often, for shorter periods of time and with more predictability."
"We are not there yet," Gates told the Adjutants General Association of the United States, meeting in the National Guard Memorial Building. "Because of the demands on our military today, some Guardsmen will have to deploy sooner than they ¦ expected or wanted. Others will serve longer than they anticipated or would like."
A post-Sept. 11 policy limiting the total involuntary mobilized time in a Guardmember's career to 24 months has been revoked. "One effect of that policy was that the Army was forced to cobble together Guard battalions and brigades with personnel taken from other units and ¦ from other states," Gates said. "It is important ¦ that Citizen-Soldiers who live together and train together also deploy and fight together."
Gates has also ordered additional compensation for Guardmembers faced with extended deployments, announced a review of the waiver policy for Guardmembers whose deployments create undue hardship and directed the services to minimize the use of stop-loss. Stop-loss is the involuntary retention of troops beyond their expected period of enlistment.
He also has addressed concerns about the National Guard's equipment readiness.
"The practice of leaving equipment behind in theater has created unique challenges for Guard units returning from overseas," Gates said. "Unlike active duty units, these Guard formations must always be on call in case of a domestic emergency or natural disaster."
The National Guard Bureau has addressed this by arranging for states to share equipment when needed. "But it is understood that mutual support agreements between states are not the long-term solution," Gates said. "Reconstituting and resetting the Guard and Reserve, in particular the nation's ground forces, is a top priority for the Department of Defense."
The department has asked for almost $9 billion in the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years to address the equipment readiness issue.
"The Department of Defense is committed to providing adequate resources so [the National Guard] remains a truly operational force," Gates said. "The goal of this program is a National Guard that will be fully manned, fully trained and fully equipped and fully capable of taking on a range of traditional and nontraditional missions both at home and abroad. This will ensure that the Guard remains, ˜Always Ready, Always There.' "
He said that he had two concerns about the nation's military before he became defense secretary. "One was that the Army and the Marine Corps were not big enough. ¦ Second was the use and condition of the Guard," Gates said. "The high tempo of operations and frequency of deployments in recent years has created a stress on the force."
The Army and the Marine Corps will increase by 92,000 personnel over the next five years. "One effect of this increase ¦ should be that with a larger pool of ground forces available it will be less necessary to call on Guard formations as often for overseas deployment," he said.
Returning to the nation's capital after almost 14 years, Gates said he was struck by changes in America's governmental and military operations “ and, notably, in the National Guard.
He was president of Texas A&M University before returning to D.C.
"One of the most dramatic shifts has been in the role and the capabilities of the National Guard," he said. "For much of the last century ¦ the Guard was ¦ considered a strategic reserve standing by in case of a mass mobilization. It was not a priority for funding and equipment, even though its members had served in every conflict since the Revolutionary War.
"Since Sept. 11, we've seen a remarkable transformation ¦ from a strategic reserve to a fully operational reserve. It is an integral “ indeed, indispensable “ part of America's pool of forces."
"America's Citizen-Soldiers are unique in the history of armies," Gates said. "Not just because of their patriotism, dedication and skill, but because they're American citizens first and foremost, and thus they're not overly impressed with rank, and they're unafraid to ask questions or offer advice or criticism.
"In Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, when I share a meal with our troops, they're unafraid to say what they think and to criticize, almost always constructively. I hope we never change that, because it means American democracy is planted firmly in the spirit and the hearts of our Citizen-Soldiers."
Gates recounted meeting with Minnesota Army Guard Soldiers whose tours of duty had been extended.
"Despite the difficult circumstances that they were in, I was struck by their positive attitude," Gates said. "They were proud of what they had accomplished in a region that had once been one of Iraq's most dangerous."
Guardmembers' families are also giving to this country, Gates said. "Their quiet but noble performance deserves our attention and our gratitude. The support of these family members as well as their employers and our communities has been crucial to keeping our best Citizen-Soldiers in the Guard."
The Army National Guard retained 18 percent more troops than its goal in 2006. "Even with the strain of extended deployments and homeland security and border missions, the Army Guard was able to meet its annual goal four months early," Gates said. "The willingness of patriotic young Americans to sign up for the Guard has been equally impressive, given the high likelihood of dangerous duty overseas."
The Army National Guard achieved 99 percent of its recruiting goal in 2006, signing up 19,000 more Soldiers than during the previous year. "In what has arguably been the most cost-effective recruiting effort in the military, the Army Guard has seen a net increase of some 14,000 Soldiers over the past year," Gates said. "This strong showing is a tribute to the men and women who choose to join and stay in the Guard.
"Since the beginning of this conflict, we have asked a tremendous amount of our Citizen-Soldiers," he said. "The men and women of the Guard have responded ¦ with real spirit and resilience. They have done everything asked of them and more. I thank them ¦ for their service."
Gates is the only career officer in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency to join as an entry-level employee and rise to become its director.
"He listens. He's smart," said LTG H Steven Blum, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, while introducing Gates to the adjutants general. "He is a decisive, visionary leader, is sensitive to the Citizen-Soldier and does appreciate and understand his critical role and essentiality in the defense of America."
The AGAUS represents the senior leadership of the Army and Air National Guard of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
According to the AGAUS, the National Guard is the world's 11th largest army and its 5th largest air force. Providing 38 percent of the total U.S. military force structure, the National Guard includes more than 458,000 personnel serving in 3,600 communities nationwide.
The National Guard has provided America's homeland defense for more than 370 years, has been a part of every war the nation has fought and is at the forefront during domestic emergencies and disasters.