The Changing of the Guard
Abstract
The United States' traditional use of the National Guard is changing rapidly to an increased reliance upon the citizen soldier. Except for a brief spike during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the annual duty days for a National Guard soldier averaged about 40 days per year. Since 9/11 there has been a sharp increase in duty days to 120 days per year. As of November 2004, there were about 150,000 National Guard soldiers on active duty. Lengths of deployment have increased dramatically as well, from 4 to 6 months to well over a year and a half. Guard combat loss rates have been relatively the same as active duty soldiers. This paper will address a very important national security question; can the National Guard sustain this demand, meet its recruiting goals, and sustain the current deployment rate and still provide homeland security? The paper also will address immediate steps that must be taken to sustain the strength of America's most economical military force: the National Guard. Since 9/11 the only difference between an active duty soldier and the National Guard soldier is a phone call.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA431847
Entities
People
- James F. Roth
Organizations
- United States Army War College