Who should "own" the Army National Guard?

  

THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Mr. Ernest E. Rogers III
Department of Homeland Security

The views expressed in the document are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army National Guard, the U.S. Department of the Army, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or the U.S. Government.

SUMMARY

This AY-10 USAWC resident student paper argues that the citizen-soldiers of the Army National Guard have lost their focus and original purpose as a State Militia available for disaster recovery operations, assisting law enforcement, and defending the homeland. The author believes that the pressure felt by the current operations tempo to use the Army National Guard as an operational reserve can only be alleviated by moving the Army National Guard from the Department of Defense to the Department of Homeland Security. He asserts that such a move will not cut off relationships developed between the Army and the National Guard, two organizations with a common history, but recognizes that the two organizations should have different primary missions of homeland security (National Guard) and national defense (U.S. Army). He bases his argument in part upon the fact that this realization of similar capabilities but different missions is already working between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Navy.

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This page last updated on 6 August 2010.

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Why the surge in Iraq is not Afghanistan Lesson

DEJA VU IS A RISK
Why the surge in Iraq is not Afghanistan Lesson

Colonel Charles d. Allen
The u.s. Army, retired
Professor USAWC title Command, LeaderSHIP and management

The views expressed in this Document are the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the US Army War College or, Department of the army, Department of Defense or the u.s. Government's position.

Army to showcase high-tech robotics

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The server was unable to process the request due to an internal error. For more information about the error, either turn on IncludeExceptionDetailInFaults (either from ServiceBehaviorAttribute or from the configuration behavior) on the server in order to send the exception information back to the client, or turn on tracing as per the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 SDK documentation and inspect the server trace logs.

Thomas Zimmerman, Army War College Public Affairs Office
USAWC students get to test cutting-edge technologies at Robotics Day

Visitors check out the Mobile Detection Assessment Response Systems (MDARS) UGV, one of the cutting edge technologies that were on display at Robotics Day April 28. Photo by Thomas Zimmerman.

Indian Field and the front of Root Hall were turned into a Sci-Fi fans dream April 28 for the 7th annual Robotics Day demonstration as nearly 20 vendors and agencies brought with them cutting edge technologies that may one day replace or enable Soldiers to do their battlefield tasks safer.  An assortment of air and ground robots, autonomous (independently operating) robotics systems, robotic exoskeleton, and miscellaneous robotic devices were on display.
“We wanted to be able to show the students some of the advances in technologies that the Army and civilian companies are coming up with to make their jobs easier,” said Bill Waddell, one of the event organizers and a technology electives instructor at the Army War College. “There is a good chance these students will encounter some of these types of machines in the near future. This provides an educational opportunity for them to learn about some of the things they will be helping to make decisions about when they leave here.”
Robotics Day builds to increase USAWC student awareness and that of the surrounding community about recent advances in robotics systems, especially those being fielded for use in ongoing operations, as well as those in research and development at various research laboratories, battle labs, and warfare centers.
“It all started off as a small demonstration for students in the technology electives,” said Waddell. “Then it kept growing and growing as more people became involved and became what you see here today.”
Event highlights were  demonstrations of the RQ-75 Shadow 200 Tactical UAV1 by members of D Troop 2-104th Cavalry, Pa. National Guard, a TALON SWORD with M240 Gun Unmanned Ground Vehicle and iRobot who brought various Packbot Unmanned Ground Vehicles.
“It’s fascinating what they are doing now with technology, especially the unmanned aerial vehicles,” said Col. Tracy Bannister, USAWC student. “If you can send something electronic or digital into an area instead of a Solider, it can save lives.”
“Being able to take a look at these new technologies as well as taking the technology electives really help keep us connected to what’s going on in the field,” said Lt. Col. Sherman Lacost, student.

Area school children learned about the latest and greatest in technology from military and civilian contractors, in the free public Robotics Day. Photo by Thomas Zimmerman.

Visitors also heard first-hand about the real-world applications of these technologies from the PANG Soldiers who used it on a recent deployment.
“These UAVs give us a real-time look at the battlefield that you can’t get any other way,” said Sgt. Nicholas Gerace, a UAS Operator with the 104th. “They have become an essential part of warfighting. With them we can conduct 24-hour ops without overstressing our force.”
“Their value is immense,” said Maj. Guy Smith, a member of the 56th Stryker Brigade who recently returned from a deployment to Taji, Iraq. “They let you see things you wouldn’t normally, like through sand and fog, that you just can’t with the human eye. That provides a tremendous value to a commander when decided how to utilize his forces.”
The vendors also work with Soldiers to find out how they can improve their products to better meet their needs.
“We set up an Army Evaluation Task Force at Fort Bliss to help us evaluate our equipment,” said Sam Tricomo, Program Executive Office Integration. “They take our stuff, beat it up, break it and tell us how we can make it better to serve them in the long run. It’s a perfect way to do things.” The AETF was set up in 2008 to help develop future capabilities.  
Students from area high schools, home school associations, first responders, colleges, JROTC, ROTC, USAWC alumni, local military installations, and Carlisle-area residents, were invited to participate and learn about these examples of applied science and technology.