National Guard Officers Eagerly Await Fiscal 2013 Defense Budget Details 

(Jan. 27) The National Guard Association of the United States today released the following statement by retired Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., the NGAUS president:

“National Guard leaders across the country applaud Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s new defense strategy and its continued reliance on the National Guard as an operational force.

“This is critical to the nation’s future. America faces an evolving set of future security challenges around the globe. A pivot in defense strategy is necessary, but it must be accomplished under fiscal constraints the likes of which none of us have seen in our lifetimes.

“Here is where the Guard is a real solution. We offer accessible and rapidly deployable units that are battle tested in nearly all of the missions identified in the new strategy. And these formations―as well as their armories and bases―are maintained at a fraction of the cost of their active-component counterparts.

“Our personnel also offer a wealth of military experience and civilian skills that offer priceless value to the country, both in combat operations and in their role at home as the military’s  first responder during a domestic crisis.

“But just as important, National Guard units are spread over more than 3,000 communities nationwide, so they uniquely connect the American public with defense decisions and military actions. (Read more)
 

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