The Real Secret to the National Guard's Domestic Effectiveness

It is well known that America’s National Guard is a highly capable multi-mission force for good. It is an organization that is more than ready to act on the shortest of notice, with highly motivated and patriotic citizen-soldiers, to help the nation address any number of challenges and crises. Whether responding to natural disasters like floods, fires, earthquakes, and storms – or helping the nation work through a sweeping health crisis – or assisting first responders during times of civil unrest, the National Guard has the flexibility and the skill to support the country in any way.

Moreover – and what is often not readily recognized – is that the National Guard is able to perform its domestic support functions as expertly and as effectively as it does because it is a military service with combat training and technologies. The real secret to the National Guard’s effectiveness is that it brings a military mindset, focus, organizational approach, and specialized equipment to solve problems that may not be solely military in nature, but where a military solution can address those problems more swiftly and effectively.  Examples of how the Guard does this are numerous – from applying combat medicine techniques to disaster victims, to deploying utility helicopters to rescue stranded citizens, to supporting law enforcement on countering drug cartels along the border.

Not only is the National Guard able to apply its operational experience and technological capability toward helping fellow citizens in need, but a sense of urgency and competent coolness – which is often learned and honed on a battlefield abroad – can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation at home. Additionally, the ethos of service runs through the Guard, whether protecting a fellow solider by neutralizing an enemy threat on a faraway battlefield or extracting a neighbor from a collapsed building. Guardsmen and women respond to the nation’s call regardless of location, timing, or situation.

And finally, in a reinforcing way, performing domestic operations allows the Guard to maintain its skills proficiency, command leadership, and its overall operational edge in real time, often with real lives at stake. This team walks among us every day, laboring in the economy while at the same time they are prepared to be activated at a moment’s notice to lend their skillsets to the Nations’ needs. It is noteworthy that the Guard holds in its ranks personnel who are already trained, equipped, and proficient, thereby reducing costs and lag-time from notification to engagement. In times of need, waiting weeks for people to be pooled, trained, and mobilized is the difference between success and catastrophe.

This all makes the Guard even more ready for future mobilization in support of national missions under Title 10 authority. In many ways, a lot of the Guard’s training for deployment abroad comes from actual operations with real consequences domestically. And herein lies the versatility and cost-benefit of the National Guard – it can answer so many calls for America, at home and abroad, while minimizing the daily costs required to support a large standing force.   

All of this is important not to lose sight of, even if the history of the National Guard in defending the nation from foreign military threats – from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan – is well known. It is especially important to keep in mind as policymakers in Washington DC set budgets, decide force structure requirements, procure combat equipment, and make determinations about how much of our military is going to be composed of Guard and reserve forces.

Looking at the current security landscape around the world – an environment marked with major instability, provocation, and lots of room for miscalculation and conflict – America will need to view national security and defense concerns through a realistic lens. We will need to be smart about how we plan and deploy power, what our limitations are and how to thread the needle between endless needs, unfunded requirements, and constrained budgets. Recognizing the value of the National Guard in helping achieve some of these balances may provide some answers and is vital to consider.   

That the National Guard is so readily and visibly recognized for its outstanding contributions to the needs of Americans in the homeland is a testament to the leadership, dedication, and selfless service of its troops. The Guard can, and will, do anything it is ordered. But we need to remember the National Guard is a combat-ready, equipped, trained, and highly experienced tool of national power and force – and all other values, advantages and options flow from that. This is the real secret to why the Guard is so effective at home – and why we should not forget the wide array of options the National Guard provides for American security.     

Miguel Alejandro Laborde is a former NCO in the 160th SOAR (A), and a subject matter expert on defense aviation programs, capabilities, and platforms, with decades’ worth of experience in the aerospace industry supporting the joint force.