The Dual Status of the National Guard and the Total Force

Abstract

Abstract : The National Guard and Reserves are organized and funded to supplement active forces when needed. In peacetime, however, National Guard units belong to states, and state governors are the commanders in chief. Unless federalized, Guard members are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and Guard units fall outside of the formal Department of Defense (DoD) command structure. Under the law, the National Guard is composed of individual, but nationally funded and regulated state militias that can be federalized and used as a reserve force. In 1947, a board appointed by Secretary of Defense James Forrestal recommended permanently federalizing the National Guard by making it part of the Reserves. The National Guard Association, a lobbying group representing Guard interests, appealed to Congress, and Secretary Forrestal's recommendation was rejected. In 1964, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara recommended streamlining the Guard and Reserves by merging the Reserves into the Guard. The Reserve Officer's Association intervened and Congress again rejected the DoD's reserve component reorganization plan. Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird coined the phrase Force in a memorandum issued on August 21, 1971. Secretary Laird believed that placing more emphasis on the National Guard and Reserves as part of a Force was the most feasible way to achieve national defense objectives with limited funding. Over the next 30 years, poorly equipped and inadequately trained National Guard and Reserve units were transformed and are now critical to the success of any military mission. This paper reviews the historic background that led to the current law that places the National Guard under control of the states as well as the impact of the Guard's legal status on the Total Force. The paper offers three options for changing the statutory scheme that governs the Guard and Reserves. (17 refs.)