Fighting New Battles - Arkansas National Guard

The Arkansas MinutemanRumsfeld, Blum Support Temporary GuardBorder Mission – Arkansas is prepared to goBy Donna Miles – American Forces Press ServicePresident Bush’s proposal to temporarilyboost the National Guard’s contributionto U.S. border security stands as atestament to the Guard’s flexibility but inno way signals a new, long-term Guardmission, Defense Secretary Donald H.Rumsfeld told Congress today.Under Bush’s plan, announced May15, up to 6,000 National Guard memberswill provide mobile communications,transportation, logistics, training, andconstruction support to the U.S. BorderPatrol, the secretary said in testimony beforethe Senate Appropriations Committee’sdefense subcommittee.Rumsfeld emphasized that theNational Guard will not provide lawenforcement support. “Military forceswill not be involved in apprehension ordetention of illegal immigrants,” he said.To those concerned that the missionwill put too much stress on theforce, Rumsfeld noted that the numberof troops proposed represents less than2 percent of the Guard’s 400,000-plusmembers. During the mission’s secondyear, Guard participation is expected todrop to 3,000 or less, he said.These troops will operate duringtheir two- or three-week active-duty-fortrainingperiods. The National Guardalready operates this way in support ofcounter narcotics missions along theborder, he noted.Rumsfeld said the mission willprovide Guard members real-life trainingwithout disrupting other missionsor causing undue personal hardship, hesaid. “This will not only not adverselyaffect America’s ability to conduct thewar on terror or respond to other domesticemergencies,” Rumsfeld said. “It willactually provide useful, real-life trainingfor the members of the National Guard.“It will be beneficial to the Guardbecause they’ll be doing the very samethings they would be doing if they weretraining their two weeks on an exercisebasis, as opposed to doing somethingthat the country really needs.”California, Arizona, New Mexicoand Texas, the four border states involved,would use their own NationalGuard members to the extent they havethe skill sets the Border Patrol needs, thesecretary said.The National Guard Bureau willwork with other state governors to providetroops, as needed. No state governorwill be required to commit Guard troopsto the mission, Rumsfeld said.The secretary emphasized that thearrangement is not a long-term commitment.Bush’s proposal would commit theNational Guard only “on an interim basisas the Department of Homeland Securityramps up to a greater level of capability,”he said.Army Lt. Gen. H Stephen Blum,chief of the National Guard Bureau, toldsubcommittee members that the conceptof using the Guard temporarily whiledeveloping other, long-term capabilitieshas become “a long-lasting, time-provenmodel.”He noted the days following theSept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when theNational Guard provided airport securityuntil the Transportation Security Administrationcould recruit and train enoughpeople to take over the mission.“The Guard provided that capabilityfor this nation on an interim basis untilthe proper federal agency could standup, train and equip their people, andthen they took over the mission, and theGuard left that mission and went back todoing other things,” he said.Similarly, the National Guard conductedcargo-handling inspections alongthe southwest border for several yearsas the U.S. Customs Service recruited,trained and equipped its own people forthe job, Blum said.“It would be my intent to workthe National Guard out of this [BorderPatrol support] mission as quickly as theDepartment of Homeland Security canstand up their capabilities,” the generaltold the subcommittee members.“I think the National Guard issuperbly ready to be the military force ofchoice for this interim mission until theDepartment of Homeland Security canstand up and assume this mission,” Blumsaid.“We are prepared to do our duty,”said Maj. Gen. Don C. Morrow, the adjutantgeneral of Arkansas. “If this missioncomes our way, we will send our bestbecause that is what is expected of us.”TRICARE Onlinedebuts on InternetAccess is Power! TRICARE Online.com is the Department of DefenseInternet medical portal that providesTRICARE beneficiaries with secure,interactive, one-stop-shopping accessto a host of unique and exciting service,tools and resources. 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