WASHINGTON - With the close of operations in Iraq and the projected winding down of operations in Afghanistan, the National Guard continues to stand as a ready, reliable force prepared for a variety of missions, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told National War College students here at Fort Lesley J. McNair recently.
"These last 10 years have been decisive for us," said Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley. "Our capabilities have increased and our competency has increased."
One way the Guard stands ready to contribute to the nation's changing operational focus is in worldwide partnership-building through the National Guard State Partnership Program.
"The National Guard, for the last 20 years, has been partnered with countries around the world," said McKinley. "Before building partnership capacity was en vogue and was a term of art, Guardsmen and women have partnered with foreign nations simply to build friendships, get to know each other and work together, military to military."
The program - initially formed in 1992 as a way to build relationships with new countries in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union - now has expanded to include 63 countries.
"It's really been something that our states and territories have wanted to participate in," McKinley said. "That's why you see some of our states have more than one partnership. Now, in the new national strategy where we will all spend a lot more time doing partnerships, this is a great framework to do that."
Building relationships, McKinley stressed, is also important for those going through the NWC.
"That is another reason why you're here," he said. "It's to make friendships and build relationships that will last a lifetime. This crowd, I think it's a much more integrated group."
Continued integration is key, including continued integration of the Guard into ongoing or upcoming operations, he said. One of the keys to doing that successfully is to understand the way the Guard operates, said McKinley, explaining the differences between Title 10, Title 32 and State Active Duty statuses.
"It really isn't important to [Guard members] what status they're in," said McKinley. "You just give them the mission, and they'll do it. What is important to you as a leader is that you understand what type of Soldier or Airman you're getting."
In addition to bringing capabilities to the federal mission, McKinley emphasized the Guard's domestic mission.
"Arguably, the state missions of the National Guard are what defines us and makes us a unique institution," he said, adding that the Guard is the first military responder to natural disasters and other events that may outpace local first-responder capabilities.
"It's some of the most gratifying work all of us do," McKinley said. "Saving American citizens and trying to relieve some of the suffering from a Hurricane Katrina."
The ability to properly respond to a situation such as Hurricane Katrina means continued training and keeping equipment current, McKinley said.
"If your National Guard is not trained, organized and equipped properly and well led - hopefully by some people who have been through this course - then maybe we're not able to do as good a job when we're out in a Hurricane Katrina type situation," McKinley said, adding that this could translate to lives lost that otherwise would have been saved.
"That's the metric that I live with and struggle with every night," he said. "Do we lose an American citizen because we weren't prepared properly, we weren't staged, we weren't equipped?"