During the early part of the 20th Century there was a regular national call to send in the Marines in response to a crisis. The U.S. Marine Corps was even called to protect the mail when criminal gangs began robbing trains.

Today the call is: “Send in the National Guard.”

During the Gulf War, 1990-1991, many of us were surprised to see that Army Reserve and National Guard units were declared not ready or unsatisfactory when evaluated for combat readiness and none deployed to the Gulf in time to support the attacks into Iraq or Kuwait. Many were forced to stay in the U.S. to train to improve their combat readiness ratings.

President George W. Bush has put a final seal of approval on the National Guard now that he has called on them to help support the Border Patrol but not be engaged in law enforcement roles to help stop illegal immigration. The President made it clear that his first priority is to secure the borders. He is calling on Congress to provide funding for dramatic improvements in manpower and technology at the border. By the end of 2008, he intends to increase the number of Border Patrol officers by an additional 6,000. Until then he will ask the governors to assist him in sending 6,000 National Guardsmen to the border states.

The National Guard is the best value for money in DoD. The Florida and Georgia National Guard have been active for some time assisting the National Command Authority in Homeland Security. The Florida 44 th Civil Support Team (Weapons of Mass Destruction) is a federally funded, full-time National Guard unit on duty 24/7 at Camp Blanding, Florida. Georgia has a similar unit (as do all 50 states).

DoD reports that the number of Army National Guard soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan peaked at 69,416 last September; most were in Iraq. During the past year, the National Guard had seven combat brigades in Iraq, plus the Air National Guard that mostly flies missions into and out of Iraq or Afghanistan without extended deployments.

The original 2007 budget President Bush presented to Congress proposes a National Guard of about 333,000 citizen soldiers, the current total, rather than the 350,000 authorized by Congress. The President's speech on stopping illegal immigration might have changed all that.

In my personal experiences from Vietnam, Gulf War, and Somalia, units were far more highly trained when we returned form combat than before we deployed. Our equipment needed replacement or major refurbishment but the men and women were “combat hardened.”

While there seems little doubt that the military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan will reduce this year, the return of the National Guard to their normal Homeland Security roles and assisting the Border Patrol should be most welcomed.

How do you feel about this action? Let your public officials know how you feel!