The National Guard is part of the solution to the challenges of a fiscally constrained environment, Army General Frank Grass said Tuesday.
“The key to reducing the overall size of the Armed Forces while maintaining capabilities and readiness is the National Guard,” the chief of the National Guard Bureau told attendees at the 134th General Conference of the National Guard Association of the United States.
Speaking on the 11th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, Grass cited the National Guard’s track record in the years since.
“In the past 11 years, the National Guard has seen its role in our nation’s defense evolve from a strategic reserve to an operational force,” he said. “The attacks of 11 years ago today and the subsequent wars have thrust the National Guard into the front lines of our nation’s defense overnight. We now have the most competent, relevant and battle-tested National Guard in the history of the nation.”
Since the 9/11 attacks, the National Guard has supported more than 667,000 mobilizations. More than 700 Guard members made the ultimate sacrifice. National Guard members have served in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn—in Kosovo, Bosnia, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, the Horn of Africa and elsewhere.
On the day Grass spoke, some 27,000 Army and Air National Guard members were deployed worldwide and 6,000 more were serving in domestic operations.
“What makes the National Guard extraordinary … is our home game,” Grass said. “No other military organization has the unique dual responsibility to serve the nation and the state. No other military team responds to the commander in chief in Washington, D.C., and the governors.
“The National Guard’s versatility is what makes us such a unique treasure.”
The latest Defense Strategic Guidance calls for building partnership capacity through low-cost, small-footprint approaches.
“We in the National Guard have done that for many years.” Grass said, giving examples including joint Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams and Agricultural Development Teams.
“The National Guard is a model for innovative, low-cost, high-impact approaches to international security engagement,” he said.
The National Guard’s State Partnership Program now involves relationships between states and about a third of all the officially recognized nations on the planet, with 66 partner affiliations and more in the pipeline.
The National Guard also offers critical chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response capabilities, including its Civil Support Teams and Homeland Response Forces, Grass said.
Noting that employer support is crucial to the National Guard’s success, Grass—who was promoted to general and took responsibility as chief of the National Guard Bureau on Sept. 7—pledged to represent the interests of the National Guard’s Soldiers, Airmen and their families.
“Today’s Guardsmen and women share the same DNA as a long line of fighters and survivors,” Grass said, expressing his pride in representing them.
Your total enlistment period will be eight years, but you can serve as little as three or six years, and spend the remainder in IRR (Individual Ready Reserve).
Learn moreAbsolutely. Your Guard service is only part time—just one weekend per month, and one two-week period each year.
See how the Guard helps with school.Recruits need to meet certain standards of height, weight, age, fitness and education in order to enlist.
Learn about the Guard's eligibility requirements.Yes. Guard members can be mobilized to protect and defend America in battle domestically or overseas.
Learn more about about training.MEPS stands for Military Entrance Processing Station, METS stands for Military Entrance Testing Site.
Learn moreThe Guard is a military branch that serves both state and federal governments, at home and overseas.
Find out more about the Guard.Guard pay is based on your rank and the number of years you've served, along with incentives like hazardous-duty pay.
Contact a representative to learn more.Your pay depends on a few different factors, but you won't make less than $183 for every weekend you drill.
Find out more about Guard pay.Different states may offer commissioning bonuses for critical skill positions. Please check with your local Guard representative for current bonus information.
Learn more about becoming an officer.Yes, you will be paid for every day you work.
Find out about Annual Training pay.There are different ways to become an officer. If you’re heading to college, the ROTC program is the way to go.
View how to become an officer.The training period varies for each job.
Learn moreFor certain career specialties, particularly medical professions, the Guard will reimburse student loans.
Contact a Guard representative.Find jobs in your area on our Job Board.
Learn moreIn two major ways: getting promotions and activating retirement benefits.
Learn more from a Guard representative.If you've completed Army or Marine Corps Basic Training, you won't need to repeat BCT. Most other prior service personnel will need to attend BCT (except USAF and USN Special Operations personnel). Your recruiter has details.
Talk to a Guard representative.Yes, provided you can complete 20 years of total military service by age 62.
Learn more about retirement benefits.As a National Guard Soldier, you get good pay and great benefits, and continue building toward a military retirement—while serving your country in a part-time status.
Learn moreYou are eligible for this benefit only once in your career. Once it has ended, it cannot be reinstated, even with a new enlistment contract.
Learn more.Your Chapter 1606 GI Bill benefit is suspended while you are AGR. You may need to extend your enlistment to have it reinstated once you return as a traditional drilling Soldier.
Learn more.Eligibility for Chapter 1607 is based on Title 10 Active Duty periods. The Border Mission is Title 32 and not considered a mobilization eligible for Chapter 1607.
Learn more.If you are released from Active Duty prior to completing 90 days due to an illness or injury in the line of duty, you will receive Chapter 1607 benefits at a 40 percent rate.
Learn more.You cannot receive payment from more than one benefit program at a time.
Learn more.Your estimated total for the first year.
*DetailsPlease understand that these calculations are only estimates and that a recruiter will have the most up-to-date information about benefits.
Because of the broad range of pay options, the Pay Calculator does not apply to Medical Professional Officers.
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