Looking Ahead

My 45 years in and around the military have taught me that any worthwhile endeavor requires a sound strategy. And at NGAUS, we have detailed plans for all our major programs — advocacy, membership and our annual conference.

But we also must be able to pivot quickly when the unexpected happens and can have an impact on the National Guard. We did some noteworthy work in that mode over the last year.

The government shutdown is an example. The inability of lawmakers to agree on a spending plan before the start of the fiscal year has become routine, but I think most in Washington expected Congress to punt — agree to a stopgap budget and get to it later.

That didn’t happen, and what ensued was the longest government shutdown affecting the military in U.S. history. And as we all know now, it was uniquely hard on the Guard. Equipment modernization is critical but more new equipment without a better duty-status framework won’t make our Guard formations easier to employ or administer.

President Donald Trump shifted funds to “pay the troops,” and active-duty personnel didn’t miss a paycheck. However, not every service member who wears the uniform Monday to Friday got paid, namely the tens of thousands of Guard dual-status technicians. They went for more than six weeks without pay.

We spent much of the shutdown educating Washington on this special classification of federal workers who must be drilling Guardsmen. To us, they are Soldiers and Airmen indistinguishable from those on active duty and essential to everyday Guard readiness. Unfortunately, the system didn’t treat them properly even before the shutdown.

All of this was news to many with whom we spoke. I can’t say we hastened the end of the shutdown, but I do think we may have set the table for some technician reform. We always look ahead.

Our work during the shutdown was far from our only success over the last year. The fiscal 2026 defense appropriations the president signed in February included numerous aircraft and vehicles for the Guard that weren’t included in his original budget proposal. Congress added them at the request of NGAUS.

They included six C-130J Hercules cargo planes and the first LC130J (a ski-equipped model for polar missions) for the Air Guard. Lawmakers have now added more than 70 C-130Js to defense appropriations for the Guard in recent years. This has enabled the Air Guard to largely recapitalize a C-130 fleet that not long ago was mostly aging H models.   

This is one of the association’s greatest equipment achievements. In fact, Congress has been the sole source of new C-130s for the Guard for many years; the Air Force has never requested a C-130J for the Guard in its annual budget proposals. 

We also continued making similar strides with the MQ-1C Gray Eagle 25M unmanned aircraft system, which provides reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and attack capabilities. Each active-component Army division has eight, mostly older versions, but the service has never requested one for a Guard division. So, NGAUS asked Congress to step in.

Lawmakers first added 12 Gray Eagles to fiscal 2023 defense appropriations. With the eight in fiscal 2026 defense appropriations, the Army Guard now has funds to fully equip three divisions with the most advanced Gray Eagle. The first ones are set to be fielded next year.

The C-130J and Gray Eagle show how critical our work with Congress is to ensure the Guard has the equipment needed to fulfill its role as the primary combat reserve of the Army and the Air Force.

Fiscal 2026 appropriations also included $100 million for new Army Guard Humvees. Many of the Army Guard’s roughly 40,000 Humvees are more than 25 years old. The iconic vehicle will remain in the fleet for many years, but the Army stopped buying them a decade ago. So, the association appealed to Congress, which has added more than $1 billion for new Army Guard Humvees since fiscal 2013. 

The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act also includes provisions affecting the Guard. One authorizes the use of Active Guard and Reserve personnel on state active duty for up to 15 days. There has always been a legal question if and for how long AGRs can be used for state responses. Another directs the Air Force secretary to submit a plan to recapitalize and modernize the Air Guard fighter fleet. Both items were included at our request.

Much of our success on Capitol Hill can be attributed to Jon Eisberg, our vice president for government affairs, and his team. He joined the staff last year after a series of AGR positions in and around Washington, D.C. He brings a lot of contacts in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit several members of Congress with Jon. His passion for NGAUS and the Guard is tireless. He treats our legislative priorities as his personal to-do list.

Our work during the shutdown was far from our only success in Washington over the last year.

Other association programs

I mentioned our annual conference at the outset. I’ve been attending for years. We are an association of associations, and the conference is the one time every year when the 54 becomes one. It’s where we elect our governance and set our legislative objectives, which provide the basis for our priorities. And the professional development and networking opportunities are unrivaled.

But, as I said on these pages in my first two years, I think we can make it even better. We want to make the conference a must-attend event in the minds of more of our members.

Better begins by continuing to bring new voices for professional development to all ranks. We took another step in that direction last year with panel discussion on two subjects of significant interest to our force: the Guard’s strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific region and unmanned aerial systems/ counter UAS.

This was in addition to three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the JCS chairman. A longtime Air Guard officer, Gen. Dan Caine not only spoke to our main session, he also attended the Adjutants General Reception and spoke to a small group of company-grade officers. It was the first time we hosted the U.S. military’s senior officer at the conference.

Our National Guard Educational Foundation also continues to do great work. In 2025, the foundation that tells all 390 years of the Guard story began a series of book talks on titles relevant to the Guard community. The presentations are streamed and recorded for posting on our YouTube page.

Alex Kershaw, the author of The Liberator: One WWII Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau, did the first talk. That “one soldier” was Felix Sparks, an officer with the 45th Infantry Division, a Guard division from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

We also began a new program to connect current service members with those who came before them. The George and Charlotte Demetriades Guardian Program covers the cost for many NGAUS members to serve as a Guardian on Honor Flights bringing older veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials. Veterans pay nothing, but Guardians, who serve as official escorts, are normally expected to cover their own expenses.

This program is already creating some unforgettable experiences for NGAUS members. Guardians learn what service was like during the Korean and Vietnam war eras. And veterans are curious about things today. The shared bonds of uniformed service close the generation gap very quickly.

The NGEF also continued to produce the Minuteman Minute series of 60-second videos on people and events in Guard history. Many feature artifacts from the National Guard Memorial Museum, which saw a spike in traffic during the shutdown and gets high marks from visitors.

And the foundation last year awarded 13 scholarships to members of the Guard family. Eight went to the children of Guardsmen killed in the Global War on Terror through the USAA Guardian Scholarship Fund. Many recent recipients have few if any memories of the parent who made the ultimate sacrifice. This program reminds them that we remember. The other five scholarships went to Guardsmen wounded in the conflict from the Van Hipp Scholarship Fund.

In addition, the foundation had a great fundraising year, including 40 new Legion de Lafayette contributions of $10,000 or more.

I said in my first year that I wanted to take a hard look at the business side of the association, specifically trimming costs where we can. To that end, we cut $1 million in our 2025 operating budget. And we continue to closely watch our expenses. We also recently transitioned to a new membership database that will save money and will create efficiencies for state/territory associations and individual users.

Finally, NGAUS last year began work on a new strategic plan. As instructed by the association board of directors, a special committee of board members, NGAUS staff and outside subject-matter experts is developing the framework for the right way forward in a rapidly changing advocacy environment.

Headed by retired Brig. Gen. Bobbi Doorenbos, the NGAUS secretary, and retired Brig. Gen. Maria Kelly, the current acting director of membership and marketing, the Strategic Planning Committee began its work in January 2025. It has met with currently serving members, retirees, the staff and other stakeholders.

The board has approved the committee’s vision for the association to be “the premier advocate for the National Guard — ensuring it is recognized, resourced and ready as the cornerstone of our nation’s defense.” Five priorities were also approved: advocacy, education, engagement, stewardship and membership.

This is the most comprehensive look at the way forward we’ve undertaken in many years. The committee expects to present a detailed plan to the board later this year. It will include specific goals, details, strategic enablers and performance monitoring. 

Equipment modernization is critical but more new equipment without a better duty-status framework won’t make our Guard formations easier to use or administer.

This year

The president is asking for $1.5 trillion in defense spending for fiscal 2027. The figure is 44% more than Congress enacted for this fiscal year. Modernization is part of the justification, and no component is in greater need of modernization or recapitalization than the Guard.

The NGAUS priorities for congressional consideration of fiscal 2027 defense legislation detail the Army and Air Guard’s most urgent needs. They were developed with input by Guard subject-matter experts and leaders across the 54. 

One is UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Army Guard. The Army Guard has nearly 900 Black Hawks, but many are older models that will reach or exceed their expected useful life by 2031. They need to be recapitalized so Guard aviation units can meet the continuing high demand for Guard aviation at home and abroad.

Another priority is fighter recapitalization. The Air Force fighter fleet is the oldest, smallest and least ready it has been in its 78-year history, but the situation is most acute in the Air Guard. Thirteen of our 24 fighter squadrons lack a recapitalization plan commensurate with the combat capability needs found in the 2026 National Defense Strategy.

The recapitalization of the Air Guard C-130 fleet also needs to continue, and we provide a significant portion of the Air Force aerial refueling capability with tankers that entered service well before their current crew were born.

We will also work with Congress to ensure the Pentagon implements the fiscal 2026 NDAA language that directs the Defense Department to implement aviation incentive-pay parity. In addition, our retirees who qualify for reduced-age reserve retired pay deserve access to standard retiree TRICARE sooner. Currently, they are forced to remain on the much more expensive TRICARE Retired Reserve until age 60.

Our top legislative priority, however, is Duty Status Reform. For way too long, the Guard and Reserve and its individuals have struggled with a duty-status system that is outdated, inefficient, confusing and inequitable.

None of this is news; DSR has been in the works for years. The fiscal 2018 NDAA directed the Pentagon to submit a Duty Status Reform legislative proposal. The Duty Status Reform Act (H.R. 6976) introduced in the House by Reps. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., and Jack Bergman, R-Mich., in January is the result of countless hours of work by Pentagon officials in consultation with Guard and Reserve leaders nationwide.

The legislation would reduce the current patchwork of more than 30 mostly outdated duty statuses to four. It would make the Guard easier to use, easier to understand and easier to administer. It would also ensure Guardsmen receive all the benefits they earn, which is not the case today.

Passage into law would be on par with the landmark legislation of the early 20th century that codified federal support and the Guard’s dual state/ federal role. Equipment modernization is critical but more new equipment without a better duty-status framework won’t make our Guard formations easier to use or administer.   

We will be working on other endeavors while we seek the attention of Congress on our legislative priorities. This is a big year for historical anniversaries. In July, we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary. In September, we will mark a grim day — the 25th anniversary of 9/11. And the Guard turns 390 years old in December. The NGEF will tell the Guard story in all three. 

Meanwhile, we and the National Guard Association of Indiana are busy planning the 148th General Conference & Exhibition, Aug. 28-31 in Indianapolis. Professional development remains a priority. Expect to see panel discussions. Our ultimate goal is to offer multiple, simultaneous speakers and panel discussions and let you decide what you want to attend. 

I’ve had the privilege of attending multiple state conferences over the last couple months. My charge was to speak, but I spent more time listening. We also recently conducted our Legislative Workshop, Industry Day and the first Capitol Summit of the year.

These events have given me and our staff access to hundreds of our members. The feedback I’ve received leads me to conclude that we are on the right track. But we have a better chance of reaching our destination with even more of a mandate from the Guard Officer Corps.

This is where we could use you. Talk to your peers about where NGAUS is heading. Share with them that we are looking ahead for the Guard. Ask them to join you. We need them, and so do the state/territory associations. 

RETIRED MAJ. GEN. FRANCIS M. MCGINN is the NGAUS president. He can be reached via [email protected].

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TOP PHOTO: Retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS president, speaks at the press conference announcing the introduction of the Duty Status Reform Act in the House on Jan. 8 in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (MIKE MORONES/MOAA)

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AT A GLANCE
Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn (Ret.)

BORN: Francis Michael McGinn, May 5, 1963 (Boston, Massachusetts)

FAMILY: Wife (Kerry), two children

EDUCATION: University of Massachusetts-Boston, B.S. Criminal Justice, 1992; Anna Maria College, Paxton, Mass., M.A. Criminal Justice, 1995; U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa., M.S.S. Strategic Studies, 2005

COMMISSIONING SOURCE: Officer Candidate School, 1984

MILITARY SERVICE: Massachusetts Army National Guard, 1981–2021

FINAL ASSIGNMENTS: Mobilization Assistant to the Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C., 2018-2021; Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence, Fort Gordon, Ga., 2018; Assistance Division Commander-Support, 42nd Infantry Division, Troy, N.Y., 2015-2018 

OVERSEAS OPERATIONS: Iraqi Freedom, 2004-2005

AWARDS & DECORATIONS: Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2), Bronze Star

CIVILIAN OCCUPATION: Law Enforcement

CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT HISTORY: Massachusetts State Police (assignments included aviation security, internal affairs, homicide and general investigations, narcotics and organized crime investigations); Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department

ALSO NOTABLE: Enlisted in 1981 as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic; Member, NGAUS board of directors, 2009-2023; Member, National Guard Educational Foundation Legion de Lafayette; Former President, National Guard Association of Massachusetts; completed 1995, 1996 and 1997 Boston Marathons