Guard Officers Stand with Secretary Gates: We Must Do What's Right for America

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Guard Association of the United States, the organization that represents the Guard officer corps, today released the following statement by retired Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., the NGAUS president:

"Yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced cuts to the planned growth in defense spending over the next five years, renewing the imperative he issued last year to 'eliminate wasteful, excessive and unneeded spending' across the U.S. armed forces.

"National Guard officers across the country stand with Secretary Gates. We are intimately aware of the financial problems our nation is facing. We feel them in our declining state resources. We feel them in our hard-pressed communities. And we feel them in our struggling families, especially those in our ranks who have taken pay cuts or lost their civilian jobs.  

"All of us took an oath to defend our nation. Our mounting federal debt is a threat to our future no less menacing than terrorism. We will respond. We will tighten our belts. America's most cost-effective force will find ways to be even thriftier.

"But we can do even more. The National Guard provides nearly half of the Army's combat power and more than a third of the Air Force's combat capability for about 7 percent of the defense budget. By relying more on the Guard, our nation can reduce defense spending without cutting our defense capability.

"What's needed now is a national discussion on defending America without bankrupting the next generation. It must include not only defense leaders, but also Congress, the nation's governors and the American public. Every reasonable solution must be considered. And future defense needs must be placed ahead of the interests of current defense institutions. As Secretary Gates said yesterday, we must do 'what's right for our country.'"

About NGAUS: The association includes nearly 45,000 current or former Guard officers. It was created in 1878 to provide unified National Guard representation in Washington. In their first productive meeting after Reconstruction, militia officers from the North and South formed the association with the goal of obtaining better equipment and training by petitioning Congress for more resources. Today, 133 years later, NGAUS has the same mission.

Internet Availability: This document and other Guard and NGAUS news and information are available at www.ngaus.org.

SOURCE National Guard Association of the U.S.