Rear Admiral [Ret.] Jim Carey is Chairman of the NATIONAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE and NATIONAL DEFENSE PAC. His background includes duty in cruisers and amphibs, at Naval Beach Group, and in the Pentagon, and naval service from Seaman Recruit to Rear Admiral. He also served in the Reagan and George Bush Sr. Administrations. Further details at The National Defense Committee and The National Defense Political Action Committee.
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The constant drumbeat of attack by some of the press and politicians and TV talking heads who seem to regularly sneer at and otherwise snobbishly imply that "somehow military service in the National Guard is inferior" makes me mad as hell.
These characterizations of National Guard service are unfair and inaccurate and just plain wrong, and for anyone who is a military veteran (there’s 20,000,000 of us), you can tell in a heartbeat that these commentators usually don’t know a thing about the subject they’re talking about (unfortunately, there are 265,000,000 non-veteran citizens, reading or watching, trying to learn the truth, and they are being misled). They use terminology and wording that makes it clear they don’t really have any experience with, or a clue on God’s green earth, about the armed forces or service in the National Guard. Yet these are the people the news media all too often chooses to present many of these topics and reports, and worse yet, this seems to be the norm in the media’s recent commentary on service in the National Guard. With only 20,000,000 living military veterans, perhaps it’s too difficult to find one of us to talk about the Guard (yeah...sure!). But we digress -- let’s get back to service in the National Guard.
I want to make it clear that I have never served in the National Guard,
but during my military career I served with Guardsmen, participated
in military operations and exercises with them, worked with them in
Joint OPS efforts, and even was Best Man at the marriage of a long-time
Air Guard friend. Since my military retirement, I now work alongside
several current and former Guardsmen at a civilian corporation. We’ve
socialized together, worked together, and debated military strategy
and national politics together. And I have found these fine fellow
Americans to all be solid professionals and exceptionally dedicated
citizens, patriotically sacrificing weekends and family time and summer
vacations and sometimes civilian job promotions to serve and train
in the Guard in peacetime, and willingly and faithfully reporting
for duty as they continue to serve with honor risking their lives
in harm’s way in time of war. These are fine Americans who in no way
deserve the sneers and negative innuendoes of the news media or the
self-serving politicians or the "blame America first" always-angry
anti-military denigrators. Indeed, those commentators who have thus
treated these fine men and women of the National Guard in this manner
only serve to create doubt that all their commentaries, or for the
politicians all their public statements, are equally as false and
misleading.
But so you don’t just rely on only my personal experiences as to the honor and courage of the National Guard, I took the time to do some research on National Guard service in America and the Guard’s military performance over the years. Thus, these are not some uninformed TV "talking head ramblings," nor the shameful accusations of some self-serving politician willing to say anything to get elected; rather, these are verified, validated, documented, historical facts. Facts which I’m certain, sad to say, you have NEVER heard on any newscast, EVER.
During World War II, National Guardsmen were awarded 14 Medals of Honor, 50 Distinguished Service Crosses, 48 Distinguished Flying Crosses, and over 500 Silver Stars. Surely this is Service With Honor.
During World War I, the National Guard provided 380,000 troops and two-fifths of the military divisions in that World War. Eleven of those divisions saw combat and are credited with piercing the Hindenburg Line, crushing the St. Mihiel salient, smashing to victory through the Meuse-Argonne, and spending more days in actual combat than any other forces in theater. According to records of the German Supreme Command, released after the war by Major General Von Rundstedt [who became Field Marshall Von Rundstedt of World War II], of the 8 American divisions considered excellent or superior by the German High Command, 6 were National Guard divisions -- the 26th, 28th, 32nd, 33rd, 37th, and 42nd Divisions. Truly this is Service With Honor, verified in this case by the enemy.
In World War II, over 75,000 National Guard enlisted personnel became commissioned officers. Guard Units participated in 34 separate battle campaigns and 7 assault landings. Over 175,000 Guardsmen lost their lives or were wounded in action. 48 separate Presidential Citations were awarded to National Guard Units for outstanding performance of duty in combat action or for conspicuous valor or heroism. This is most certainly a tremendous record of Service With Honor.
The National Guard of today "is us." The Guard is located in over 3600 communities in every State all across the nation. In many of these communities, they are the only local contact with a U. S. Armed Force that these communities experience. In fact, one of every 500 American Citizens serves in the National Guard. Guard service in peacetime costs our nation about 7 cents for every dollar a full-time soldier costs, yet Guard and Reserve service renders America ready to DOUBLE the size of it’s armed forces when needed for national emergencies. Further, 50% of the USA’s F-16 fighter aircraft are flown and maintained by the National Guard, and 73% of the Army’s Field Artillery Corps is in the National Guard
Today there are more than 100,000 Guardsmen serving on active military duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all around the world. Serving with the same sense of duty and commitment and honor as did their predecessors, from the Minutemen of America’s Revolutionary War right up till the present. And while the record of bravery and medals and heroism and courage and honor for today’s military conflicts is still being written, I have absolutely no doubt that the Guardsmen of today will perform with equal honor and patriotism as their Fathers, Grandfathers, and Great Grandfathers have before them.
Truly, in view of all these tremendous military achievements and this
fully documented outstanding wartime performance, there can be no
doubt that service in the National Guard is most assuredly service
with honor.
So the next time you hear some babbling twit on TV looking ever so serious as he talks on and on and on, implying that somehow service in the National Guard isn’t equal to someone else’s service, don’t just sit there and accept it or take it. Pull out a copy of this column and use the e-mail address at the bottom of every TV show screen to send them a message and set them straight on the above facts vs. the misstatements and falsehoods and baloney they are spreading to their viewers.
And the next time you meet a man or woman serving in today’s National Guard, or for that matter all Guardsmen and women who have served in peacetime and war, both now and in the past, take the time to tell them that you’ve read these facts cited above, and they can be incredibly proud of their service in the National Guard and the documented professionalism and bravery of their comrades-in-arms -- and thank them for their service.
I ask all who read these words to never again sit back and let the news media or some self-serving self-aggrandizing politician get away with denigrating or insulting or sneering at service in America’s National Guard. They are wrong to do so, and their actions in spreading these false impressions are outrageous and a "blot of shame on themselves and their colleagues."
The National Guard has a rich and fully-verified history of patriotic service to our nation and documented bravery under fire.
Let there never again be any doubt cast by anyone that service in the National Guard of the United States of America is truly "Service With Honor!"
