ST. LOUIS - Leadership changes in the National Guard are historic for a reserve component that is essential to the overseas warfight, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here on Monday.
Adm. Michael Mullen was addressing a record-breaking crowd of 1,500 attending the National Guard Bureau's Joint Family Program Volunteer Workshop and Youth Symposium here.
The 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs told the audience that nominations made by the secretary of defense on July 16 that could result in National Guard leadership changes are historic.
"[LTG H Steven Blum] was nominated for a critical job," Mullen said, referring to the current chief of the National Guard Bureau's nomination to be deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command. "First in the Guard world nominated to go be deputy at one of our combatant commands, as we also nominate [Lt. Gen.] Craig McKinley to be the first four-star for our Guard Bureau."
The nominations are subject to Senate confirmation.
"Those are very significant events for not just our Guard, but for our country," Mullen said, "because it puts two great individuals in critical positions for the future of our military, for the future of our country."
The National Guard has played a critical role since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Mullen said.
"I want to express my appreciation for what the Guard and the Reserves have done since 9/11," he said. "We would not be making the progress we are making in both of these wars [in Iraq and Afghanistan] without the incredible performance of the Guard and Reserves. We cannot move forward without the Guard and Reserves."
In a separate interview with American Forces Press Service, Mullen discussed his priorities for the National Guard.
"The top priority is to continue to be able to deploy them in the expeditionary fashion that we have, to do so with families that are much readier," Mullen said. "There's an inextricable link between family readiness and military readiness."
Other priorities outlined by the nation's senior military officer:
- Balanced missions - Mullen's goal is "to create a better understanding for the balance that the Guard has between the need to deploy overseas and the demands here at home," he said. "For too long, that's been too disconnected."
- Improved equipment - "I've talked to too many governors who only have half their equipment, or they have old equipment," Mullen said. "The commitment on the part of this administration is that, from an equipment standpoint, from a training standpoint you won't be able to tell the difference. It's not 'the Guard gets the old gear' anymore: It's they get the new gear, just like the Army gets it. We're in a real time of change." Equipment improvements will be designed to meet the National Guard's dual domestic and overseas missions, the chairman said.