The National Guard -- DoD's Logical Homeland Security "First Responder" for the 21st Century
Abstract
The Pentagon should formally refocus the National Guard's primary mission to homeland security, specifically consequence management. This organization should function as the Department of Defense's (DoD's) lead agency for this critical task, and DoD should permanently assign National Guard forces to NORTHCOM for contingency execution. The current National Guard has two roles: one as the constitutional militia in all states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, and Guam; and the other as Reserve Components of the Army and the Air Force. The 21st Century threat presents unique challenges to America's security establishment and necessitates an update to the mission assigned to our National Guard forces. Current DoD initiatives to maintain Cold War Roundout/Affiliation Programs and redesign traditional divisional organizations into deployable brigades ignores the Guard's traditional mandate to protect the homeland. A consequence management response posture is necessary. This can be accomplished through "regionalization" of the National Guard's command structure and assets to provide "capability sets" for immediate relief of affected communities and to establish conditions for federal follow-on emergency management services. Because the newly created NORTHCOM retains DoD responsibility for security of the North American continent, it simply makes sense to assign National Guard forces to this combatant commander for this purpose. The changes recommended in this paper combine the Guard's traditional foundation of service to the community with immediate relevancy: "capable and accessible when called...committed to preserving the timeless traditions and values of service to the nation..."
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA520237
Entities
People
- T. C. Frantz
Organizations
- Marine Corps University