Small-Scale Contingency Operations and the Army National Guard

Abstract

Abstract : Since the end of the Cold War and the emergence of the concept, the Army has continued to emphasize increased reliance on the Army National Guard for small-scale contingencies (SSC). From 1989 to the present, the Army National Guard has responded to over 45 contingency operations with soldiers currently deployed to Southwest Asia, Bosnia, and Kosovo in support of SSC operations. In addition, the U.S. Army announced that the National Guard would assume the support requirement for Bosnia through 2005 and continue supporting Multinational Observers (MFO) Sinai and Southwest Asia Operation Desert Spring (ODS). While these missions have validated the Total Force concept and provided valuable operational experience, they are beginning to show negative trends in unit readiness, employer support, and family issues. The challenge of the Army National Guard is to successfully execute SSC missions over the long term. How can the Army National Guard organize National Guard forces to handle these deployments and reduce the negative issues on employers and families? The purpose of this paper is to determine how the Army National Guard can be effectively deployed to support SSC missions while minimizing the negative impacts of deployment. This paper briefly describes the history of the Army National Guard's mobilizations from the Vietnam War through the early 1990's; it reviews the reasons for the increased dependence on the Army National Guard; and it explores the negative and positive issues created by increased reliance. Finally, given the significant demand for Army National Guard forces, this paper offers a recommendation designed to reduce the negative issues arising from SSC deployments and help ensure that the Army National Guard is capable of maintaining overall readiness to meet the challenges of the nation's future security.