Pentagon Leaders Press Senators to Reimburse Guard

Senior Pentagon leaders have echoed calls for Congress to act quickly to reimburse the National Guard for funds spent guarding the U.S. Capitol earlier this year.

Without $521 million in additional funding, the National Guard could be forced to halt training, cancel drills, ground planes and curtail maintenance.

“It will impact their ability in the near term to be able to train and adequately prepare the Guard for its future, for its current responsibilities,” warned Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified last week to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Milley said no reimbursement before Congress’ August recess would have a significant negative impact on the Guard’s ability to maintain their readiness.

A National Guard Bureau white paper circulated to the states paints a dire picture for the force if the nearly $521 million used to support the nearly five-month mission is not put back into Guard coffers by Aug. 1.

The House has already approved $1.9 billion in emergency spending legislation that would reimburse the Guard and fund security improvements at the Capitol, among other items. But the Senate is still crafting its version of the bill.

A sticking point for some is the inclusion of a Guard quick reaction force designed to augment Capitol Police in case of future emergencies. Establishing such a force would cost $200 million.

Top Republicans have spoken against such a force. NGAUS is also against the proposal, believing Guard soldiers and airmen should perform law enforcement only as a last resort.

Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau,  previously warned Congress about impacts to the force if the money is not reimbursed. Guard leaders funded the mission using personnel and operations and maintenance funds.

Guard leaders will begin notifying soldiers and airmen of potential cancellation of drills if funding is not assured by July 1.

If the Aug. 1 deadline passes, deep cuts will be made, to include:

• Canceling unexecuted 15-day annual training and/or August/September drills for Army Guard units;
• Canceling more than 2,000 functional and occupational schools for Army Guard soldiers, impacting individual and unit readiness and career progression opportunities;
• Curtailing Army Guard ground vehicle maintenance activities and halting all training vehicle movement until fiscal 2022, which will lead to declining operational readiness rates that would be unlikely to recover for 8-12 months;
• Halting more than 75 Army Guard armory and training site projects, including 48 readiness center projects;
• Curtailing Army Guard rotary-wing aircraft maintenance and restricting flying, which will lead to declining operational readiness across all aviation formations that would be unlikely to recover for 10-14 months;
• Decreasing support to recruiting and retention efforts, which could potentially impact fourth quarter end strength;
• Grounding the entire Air National Guard fleet for eight days;
• Deferring Air Guard formal school training until fiscal 2022; and
• Canceling or deferring critical fire suppression system repair and replacement projects in Maryland, Minnesota and the U.S. Virgin Islands

At its peak, the Capitol mission involved 26,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen, representing every state, territory and the District of Columbia. The mission ended May 23, when the Capitol Police assumed full responsibility for the security mission.

During the SASC hearing, Austin praised the Guard for their efforts not only at the Capitol, but throughout the nation over the past year.

“I’m absolutely proud of the work that our Guard has done,” he said. “You mentioned the tremendous work that they did in the Capitol, but they’ve also, around the country, been very instrumental in helping us to get shots out into people’s arms during the vaccination effort. They’ve answered the call to fight fires and other disasters. And so, they’ve been very busy, and we need to make sure that we have the resources required to ensure that we can continue to train and equip the Guard.”