WASHINGTON - U.S. senators applauded the National Guard's domestic and overseas contributions at a Thursday morning breakfast here on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Patrick Leahy and Sen. Christopher S. Bond co-hosted the 2010 Senate National Guard Caucus Breakfast, which also included newly elected Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, a current Army Guard lieutenant colonel, who joked that he needs to get a haircut before he attends his monthly drill with the Massachusetts National Guard this weekend.
"The National Guard is a tremendous instrument for smart power," Bond said.
Smart power refers to the use of both soft and hard power. At the 2009 Senate hearing that confirmed her as secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "We must use what has been called smart power - the full range of tools at our disposal - diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal and cultural - picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation."
Caucus members heard from Guard officials about the work of National Guard Agribusiness Development Teams in Afghanistan.
The teams combine Guardmembers' civilian-acquired skills with their military training to help Afghans improve agricultural practices.
"The only way we're going to defeat the insurgents - the radical extremists who want to destroy us and our way of life - we have not only to provide military force … but we need to bring along the ability to help countries like Afghanistan develop a good economy where young people can get a profitable job and not have to rely on getting $25 from some terrorist to plant an IED," Bond said. "Smart power is beginning to work."
If the ADTs represent soft power, Lt. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, the director of the Air National Guard, told senators about his pride in the Air National Guard's contributions to hard power.
The 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan is commanded by Air Force Brig. Gen. Guy M. Walsh, a Maryland National Guard member - the first time that the Air National Guard has commanded a wing during combat.
Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter, the acting director of the Army National Guard, gave senators and their staffs a snapshot of Guard operations within the last month.
The National Guard stood by for a possible tsunami in Hawaii after the Chilean earthquake. Guardmembers continue to help Haitians in the wake of their earthquake, and the Guard is responding to flood threats in North Dakota and Minnesota.
More than 53,400 Guardmembers are currently deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, the Sinai Desert and elsewhere.
Guardmembers are also furthering state partnerships with 63 countries worldwide. They are running counterdrug operations and pressing toward graduating the 100,000th high school dropout to make it through the Youth ChalleNGe Program that offers a second chance at a better life.
"There's little the National Guard cannot achieve, and we're so proud of what it does nationwide," Bond said. When we went "after terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Guard was there. During the response to Hurricane Katrina, the Guard was there. During the floods, earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters, the Guard is always there."
"You deserve the best," Leahy said. He urged communities where deployed Guardmembers live to pitch in with yard work, babysitting and other help for families left behind. "If you know a family member of a National Guard member, offer to help," he said.
"With the families behind the Guardsmen, we can do anything and will do anything," Brown added.