Goodbye "National Guard", Hello "International Guard."
By James T. Moore (04/12/07)
I'm no expert on the U. S. Constitution. Politics is often a mind boggler. Military tactics are a mystery. And war with any country is not in my play book. So I may be dumb about the aforementioned topics, but I'm not stupid, and I can read. And what I'm reading lately about the inappropriate misapplication (again) of America’s National Guard raises my blood pressure to dangerous levels.
Even a cursory reading of National Guard duties and deployments prompts me to agree, at least in principle, with a statement from Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to wit: “Homeland Defense is job No.1—
We Guard the Nation.” That is, if there are enough Guard units left in our nation to do so.
It may be naïve on my part but I admit to being troubled by this. And I submit that if our Founding Fathers were around today they too would be shocked, given that they wrote these words in the U.S, Constitution: “Congress is to provide for calling forth the Militia (guardsmen) to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.” (my italics).
To my way of thinking, that statement by our Founders relates directly to “protecting our homeland,” not fighting wars on foreign soil. Which, incidentally, we have been guilty of doing long before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, during World War I, the National Guard provided 40-percent of the U.S. Army’s combat forces. During World War II, 19 divisions of the National Guard were used for combat and other duties. 138,000 Guardsmen served in Korea, and other smaller deployments. And the misuse of our National Guard, contrary to its stated Constitutional duties, goes on and on, like the Boston Marathon.
This conclusion hit me full force, when I thought about how deeply our National Guard is mired down in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of guarding our sovereign borders, responding to national emergencies, and protecting our national resources. For instance, right now the military force in Iraq is made up of about 40-percent Guard members and reservists, with 13,000 more Guardsmen being alerted for possible deployment to Iraq in 2008.
Is the indiscriminate use of our National Guard a criminal offense? Perhaps, perhaps not. But it surely is not what the Guard was formed for, and it certainly runs counter to General Blum’s contention that “Homeland Defense is Job No.1—We Guard the Nation.” (Not from across the ocean you don’t.)
On the Trackback website, writer Patriot asks: “How many National Guard troops do we have to spare and still have enough left here to do what’s needed internally at home in the event of a national emergency or two.”
And writer Arty declares: “ We need to limit the president’s use of the National Guard and other reserves, and here is the kicker---only when war is declared by Congress. In essence, Bush has unrestricted use of all military forces for an oil grab without a declaration of war. He is destroying our military, especially the National Guard.”
Finally, Seal on Trackback states: “Here is what is completely overlooked. The National guard is not an army and Guardsmen are not soldiers. It’s a civilian contingent trained as a peacekeeping and manpower force in times of emergency. The Guard is clerks and managers, auto mechanics and construction workers, salesmen and other civilians that play soldier once in a while to make the extra money they need to make ends meet. That’s why we call their use for Iraq a “back door draft.”
“The Guard is not trained for combat and weapons like regular army. A Guardsman is 10 times more likely to make mistakes and get himself or others killed. What Bush has done is throw a bunch of civilians with only cursory knowledge into a war zone for on-the-job training. They are just bodies with guns. Those who have served one tour are now halfassed soldiers if, in fact, they were able to deal with the impact of being thrown into that for which they were not prepared. Very few of them could be considered “real” soldiers. Those who have been regular Army or Marines understand what I’m saying. It’s like the difference between a retail sales clerk and a commission salesman, or a nail driver and a real carpenter. Bush doesn’t give a damn. He needs bodies in uniform.”
It’s no fantasy, folks, and certainly no joke: our esteemed National Guard is being used more and more in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in other countries around the world, and less and less at home. So, in closing, may I suggest that we rename this august organization the International Guard? It may be a wretched thought, but the truth is, that’s what our National Guard has become.
James T. Moore
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