National Guard Essay

Excitement and adventure are found in the Guard and its many challenges. Soldiers are trained to be physically fit and mentally sharp in order to excel. "The Guard is unique among the service components because of its dual mission: a federal force ready to respond to the nation 's call in times of war or a national crisis or emergency, and available to respond at the direction of the governor in aiding friends and neighbors during times of domestic emergency or disaster." (2) It will teach one to challenge and achieve one 's greatest potential. The basic elements of becoming a soldier are taught, everything from staying physically fit, to shooting an M-16 rifle, to conquering an obstacle course. Training prepares for the rigors of combat and the readiness to support the country and its communities when called. The mind is challenged as well as the body. With over 300 jobs, the Guard teaches to be an engineer, mechanic, or field artillery specialist. It helps uncover true talents, and gives training to maximize potential. Training challenges to embrace a positive mental attitude and sense of self-discipline. Growing in knowledge gives the opportunity to grow in responsibility, rank, and pay.

In a 2015 article, “Is U.S. military becoming outdated?” written by Stuart Bradin, Keenan Yoho, and Meaghan Keeler-Pettigrew, the authors argued that despite the U.S. military maintaining a position of global dominance “without peer” during conventional operations, it is not the ideal force against current and future threats. The authors claim that there are several negative factors arising due to the past sixteen years of war against several state and non-state elements, inferior cultural differences of government bureaucracy compared to commercial firms, and a misallocation of defense spending that leaves the US military waging war inefficiently while simultaneously losing technological dominance against current and future threats.

The Oregon National Guard in the last three years has gone through great changes that have challenged the senior leaders throughout the organization. These changes started with the retirement of The Adjutant General (TAG), Major General Raymond F. Rees, who has run our organization for four terms since 1987. MG Rees did not just command the Oregon National Guard for the past twenty-nine years; he created the culture of the organization and his vision carried the ORNG through numerous mobilizations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Famous for his pointy finger, no one ever wanted to be in the general direction of his pointy finger, and if you were, you knew he did not agree with your thinking, or your

The U.S. Army plans on cutting 80,000 soldiers by 2013. This will be done by cutting the number of combat brigades from 45 to as low as 32. This restructuring comes as the Pentagon works on its 2013 fiscal year budget, which much reflect $260 billion in savings over the next five years. On January 26, 2012 senior DOD leaders released a new defense strategy, this is based on the current budget constraints. “This new strategy will focus on a smaller, leaner military that is agile, flexible, rapidly deployable, and more technologically advanced (Feikert & Henning page 5, 2012).” This new military will

(3) Incorporation of the National Guard requires legislative action. In order to avoid a potentially difficult and lengthy fight to change existing laws, the Army could create multicomponent BCTs composed of Active Duty and Army Reserve formations only. This force mix would achieve some of the advantages of a hybrid BCT without the need to change existing authorities. A capability swap with the National Guard may be required to create combat arms formations in the Army Reserve but can be accomplished without the need to change existing

Some arguments cite the post-1991 decrease in military spending and increase in operations as the causal factor for stress on the DoD. This represents the inability of the United States to support its previous models for overseas military interventions and expeditionary campaigns. Thus, forcing the DoD to contract more work to the private sector. Others assert that the increased variety and specificity of overseas operations lead the DoD to analyze its procedures for deploying both civilian and military personnel. Although the DoD sought to continue intervening abroad, its ability to adequately hire and hold large amounts of personnel diminished. The specificity of overseas operations advanced to a point where the DoD favored outsourcing its work to the private sector as the private sector offered a wider range of “a la carte” capabilities. A third argument acknowledges the U.S.’s politicians and increased sensitivity to the human and financial costs of war as the reason for the increased use of PMCs. As the military community shrunk, its connection to the greater population of the United States became weaker and support for overseas interventions became less important or meaningful to voters. PMCs offered a viable option for the DoD as they can be deployed in a more discrete fashion and politicians can distance themselves from unpopular military related policies and

- Implications for defense posture and force structure: The NDS highly sticks on “compete, deter, and win,” with and to the major adversaries of the U.S., and gives emphasis on modernization and readiness as helping the U.S. military regain its advantage over China and Russia. Also, the NDS is able to a global operating model to help centrally manage posture and make it more “lethal, agile, and resilient,” all in line with facilitating the emphasis on deterring, fighting and winning conflicts with China or Russia. A strategy that emphasizes competing with China and Russia, modernizing the future force, and regaining readiness should be reflected in the department’s investments. Likewise, the NDS outlines

Profession of Arms is composed of trained military experts that hold the highest regard in effectiveness, professionalism, and ethics. With the ever changing times, professions are continuously evolving, as well as the demand for progressive training. Professionals must ensure their skill training is updated along with the systems used within their field. The professions also must uphold their basic soldier skills as well as their corresponding abilities in leadership. Unlike civilians, it is often forgotten that military professionals must hold a multitude of expertise needed for combat and within their occupation.

As the military budgets decrease it will be necessary to find adaptive solutions to new organizational and material requirements. JP1 describes the employment of Joint Task Forces (JTF) in order to respond to rapid, short term organizational requirements. However, there is more that needs to be done to address material requirements. A major gap that has received significant attention from congress is the lack of agility and inefficiency in the military’s acquisition process. Senator McCain has testified about the need for acquisition reform to address poor performance and processes that prevent military acquisition from keeping pace with technology and urgent material requirements. The Army has recently codified and funded the Rapid Equipping

1. The focus of this paper is the total force initiative and the positive impact that it should have on the Air Force. This concept will allow the cost of reequipping the Air Force to be split between three different allotments of funds. The opponents to this policy claim that the active duty budget will decrease causing a reduction in the number of professional airmen. This argument is countered by the integration of Active Duty (ADAF) personnel with Air National Guard (ANG) and Reserve (AFR) units

I agree with the author’s argument about the importance of understanding and studying force management because it grounds three broad concepts: to develop strategic thinking, emphasize professional development, and remarks on the importance of the military as an instrument of national power. The first reason is because the military is an important instrument of national power. Organizationally, the Army possesses valuable resources: human, finance, technological, and all materiel needed. Understanding properly the organizational processes, officers are able to better determine force requirements, means of resource allocation, and assess the use of these resources. It also facilitates to recognize how organization, integration, decision making,

This paper posits NATO is undermined by any alliance member not meeting its inherent responsibilities to adequately fund the organization, training, and equipping of an organic conventional deterrence capability. Defense of Secretary Mattis captured the essence of this argument when addressing NATO in

Transforming America’s defense for the 21st century will require a longstanding commitment from our country and its leaders. Transformation is an endeavor that must be embraced in earnest today. The challenges the Nation faces involve

The academic requirements include learning the Coast Guard's history, pistol marksmanship, shipboard firefighting and first aid Military bearing includes marching, drill, learning and knowing the 11 General Orders, and learning the rank insignias of the Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Male recruits must complete 29 push-ups in 1 minute, 38 sit-ups in one minute, a 1.5 mile run in under 12:51minutes, and sit-and-reach of 16.5 inches, jump off a 5-foot platform into the pool, 100 meter swim, and treading water for five minutes Getting Ready At the beginning of Junior year I could do 28 push-ups in one minute, 32 sit-ups in one minute, and run a mile and one half in 15 minutes. Now however I can do 42 push-ups in one minute, 50 sit-ups in one minute, and run a mile and a half in 11:42. Shooting is one of my hobbies and I often go to the range with my uncle and have become a proficient marksman, just like my grandfather during World War II I can hit a six inch target at 150 feet very easily with a pistol. As far as full combat training I often play a tactical simulation sport known as airsoft which uses simulation firearms to train people who are new to firearms and military type training. (Lieutenant Samuel W. Allison Chief Warrant Officer (Boatswain) Garner J. Churchill Admiral Russell R. Waesche, Sr.)

As America's armed forces were reduced and reshaped after the cold war , DOD's Commission on Roles and Missions, in its final report, Directions for Defense, boldly claimed that it is time to "set aside outdated arguments" about "who should do what" among the US military services and