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 | March 25, 2013

Lt. Gen. Clarke’s priorities: Minimal budget turmoil, optimum force mix, concurrent modernization

By Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jim Greenhill National Guard Bureau

WASHINGTON - Minimizing budget turmoil and working with the active duty Air Force and the Air Force Reserve to both find the optimum mix of forces and ensure concurrent modernization of the components of the total Air Force are the new director of the Air National Guard’s immediate priorities, he told Congress last week.

“The men and women of the Air National Guard are the most dedicated and professional in our nation’s history,” Clarke told Congress. “They performed admirably, both overseas and at home. They have earned our respect and thanks.”

Even before his formal acceptance of his new duties and responsibilities as director of the Air National Guard at a Friday ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Air Force Lt. Gen. Stanley E. “Sid” Clarke III testified twice in two days on Capitol Hill, briefing Congressional committees on the state of the Air National Guard.

On Tuesday, he appeared before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces as it held a hearing on maintaining the National Guard and the Reserves in a time of fiscal austerity. The next day, Clarke was back on the Hill testifying to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense about oversight of the National Guard.

“I have set three immediate priorities,” Clarke told Congress. “First, to minimize the dramatic toll [the] current budget turmoil [is] taking on the Air National Guard’s readiness – both its people and its equipment.

“Second, to work with the Air Force Reserve and the Air Force to provide an optimum mix of active, Reserve and Guard forces for a cost-effective national defense and robust domestic response capability.

“Finally, to ensure that all components with[in] the Total Air Force are modernized concurrently so that they remain relevant and interoperable between both the air components and the joint forces.”

Clarke experienced firsthand the result of an Air Force strategy to hold the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve to the same standards as the active-duty force when he was selected to command a 3,000-strong wing at the tip of the spear for operations in Iraq.

“The Air National Guard [was] selected to lead a mission – one of the very important mission[s] for the kickoff of Iraqi Freedom – where we’re doing counter-Scud hunting in Western and Central Iraq,” Clarke said. “It was one of the top priorities by the administration just to make sure that we kept other nations out of that war.”

For the Air National Guard to play a full role like that example, it has to remain capable and relevant, Clarke said.

“We’ve done an outstanding job of meeting every requirement, every time, with great Airmen, largely because the Air Force decided years ago to make sure that the Air National Guard members … meet the same standards, are inspected and are part of the Air Expeditionary Force,” Clarke said.

The Air National Guard continues to play a vital role in the nation’s defense, Clarke said, using an example close to home:

“As we’re sitting here right now, defending this capital, our Air Guardsmen, Army Guardsmen, and with a robust command and control structure … so this constitutional body doesn’t have to worry about air attack,” Clarke said. “It’s well-defended, and it’s done by Guardsmen.”

Among other Air National Guard issues that Clarke addressed with elected civilian leadership:

  • Budget uncertainty: Sequestration and a continuing resolution risk affecting the Air National Guard’s readiness and slowing its modernization, Clarke said. Possible furloughs of military technicians would impact readiness. “The National Guard really rests on the use of our full-time force to train and administer our part-time force, but also to do operational duties,” he said.
  • Support to service members: Continuing to fully fund programs that help Guard members, keeping equipment modernized and retaining operational missions are important to maintaining morale, Clarke said. “They continue to volunteer at rates unheard of,” he said.
  • Employment: Meeting with employers prior to deployments to express appreciation for their sacrifices and maintaining unit-level lists of Guard-friendly employers are among solutions to improve employment stability for Guard members, Clarke said.
  • MAFFS: “The capability to suppress the fire is most helpful particularly in light of civilian air fleet reductions,” Clarke said. The Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System also is important as a hedge against a significant oil refinery or nuclear power plant incident, he said.
  • Training: Readiness exercises and training are critical to maintaining operational abilities, Clarke said, using the examples of C-130 Hercules and F-16 Fighting Falcon crews. “It doesn’t matter if you like C-130s or an F-16: Those skills are perishable.”

 

 

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...