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The National Guard cannot perform both its domestic and overseas missions at the same time, as the recent debate over whether Kansas possessed sufficient National Guard troops and equipment to respond to the tornado that leveled Greensburg has highlighted. To put it bluntly, the members of the Guard cannot protect us here if they are fighting over there.
As this nation conducts what the administration refers to as the global war on terrorism, the stress on the Guard will not change. When the all-volunteer military was created, the National Guard was intended to act as a strategic reserve. It was meant to serve as a bridge to conscription should a protracted conflict occur...
Because the National Guard will continue to be needed overseas, President Bush and the governors should establish in each state an adequately trained, nondeployable Home Guard. These units, consisting of volunteers who possess skills that are central to responding to catastrophic disasters, would supplement the National Guard’s responsibility for homeland defense...
