NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Army Guard members have contributed one of the finest decades of service in the Guard's 375-year history, the acting director said here Monday.
"We as a National Guard have had 375 years of service to this nation, a lot of those challenging, at least in the last 10 years," said Army Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter. "But we have come closer together as an Army, and we have fought alongside one another, making the same sacrifices."
Carpenter said he has been very proud of what the Army National Guard has accomplished over the last decade.
"We are at 359,777 Soldiers strong, well above our stated end strength of 358,200, and that's pretty big deal for us," he said. "Of those, 38,000 Soldiers are mobilized today … either at the mob station, down range or coming back. That number has dropped by about half in the last two years, but we still have Soldiers in harm's way, and they are out to finish the job, whether in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"We have mobilized 486,000 Soldiers over the last eight years. We've suffered some [deaths and] injuries … one of them being pretty recent."
Carpenter was referring to a female Soldier who was part of a female engagement team in Afghanistan who lost her life in an IED attack.
"It is only one of many of the standard stories involving courage, heroism and diversity amongst Army National Guard Soldiers who want to be a part of something, who want to serve their nation and are selfless in their service," he said.
Highlighting only a small part of the big picture, Carpenter went on to talk about the events of the last year where the Army National Guard responded to several 100-year events here in the homeland.
"We had the flooding of the Missouri River," he said, "which hasn't seen that kind of flooding since the Missouri River dam system was built. We had tornadoes - terrible tornadoes - that went through the center of the country, but we also had tornadoes that went through New England.
"Hurricane Irene went up the East Coast, an unusual track for a hurricane, and went through - of all places - Vermont and upper New England. Finally, we had a snowstorm drop 31-inches on Connecticut recently.
"We are going to be called upon at a moment's notice, and we have done that."
When it comes to the discussion of just what is the mission of the Army National Guard - its dual role or responsibility - Carpenter has only one thing to say:
"We may not be the 82nd on the green ramp for overseas deployments - but we certainly are the 82nd on the green ramp when it comes to emergencies and disasters."