Army National Guard Personnel and Training Readiness in the Past Century: Contingencies and Continuities
Abstract
Since the US Armys post-Vietnam War recovery and reorganization, it has increasingly relied on the Reserve Component (RC) to augment and supplant the Active Component (AC). At present, the Army National Guard (ARNG) faces an increasingly likely prospect of again participating in large-scale combat operations with unit integrity, in support of a right-sized AC. States militias have relinquished much of their autonomy in exchange for federal investment. This discourse between states and the US federal government has resulted in a better manned, trained and equipped ARNG, as a component of the national reserve. However, the authority to recruit, commission, promote, and assign a militias officers, remains exclusively with the state executive and the militias commander-in-chief; the governor. This intrinsic dual control feature of our federal system of governance shapes the ARNG values system and officer incentives structure, which in turn effects the prioritization of personnel and training readiness, and influences AC and ARNG approaches toward ARNG operational readiness. This case study is divided into five sections. The first section provides background information on the ARNG. The second, third and fourth sections cover the Interwar Period through World War II mobilization, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, and the Global War on Terror and the Current Operating Environment. The fifth section synthesizes the preceding three historical case studies, identifies implications, and makes recommendations for action and further study, in anticipation of future conflict.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 13, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1111660
Entities
People
- Paolo A. Sica
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College