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SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, says he has seen how the National Guard is part of "the fabric of America."
"We brought the fabric of America to the war because there are no active-duty bases in Oregon; they came from every corner of the state," Hokanson said Dec. 2 of returning from a tour of Iraq as commander of the Oregon Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2009. "They were teachers, police officers, firemen … and they deployed.
"Then they came back to their community, and they showed, look, you can do this," continued Hokanson, who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "You can serve and you can go back and reintegrate into your communities."
Hokanson was speaking at the 2023 Reagan National Defense Forum, the nation's premier defense forum. While attending the event, Hokanson spoke about recruiting and readiness and listened to comments from key leaders.
During the forum's keynote address, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III painted the backdrop of the current global environment as "challenging," citing "the major conflicts facing our fellow democracies, Israel and Ukraine; bullying and coercion from an increasingly assertive China; and a worldwide battle between democracy and autocracy."
"And let me be blunt about our mission," Austin added. "The U.S. military is here to win our country’s wars — and to win them decisively. We will always try to deter conflict. But if we have to defend our country, we will fight — and we will win."
Hokanson joined Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Under Secretary of the Army Gabriel O. Camarillo and Karl Rove to discuss readiness and recruiting issues during the "Celebrating and Encouraging Service: How to Boost Recruitment and Ensure Readiness" panel.
Camarillo acknowledged recruiting as a long-term challenge for the Army. The service announced a major overhaul of its recruiting operations in October.
"This is the biggest transformation since the all-volunteer force was established in 1975," Camarillo said of Army recruiting, citing increased prospecting and marketing and a revamped recruiting workforce to closer resemble Fortune 500 companies.
Hokanson sees recruiting as a tactical matter with strategic implications. He emphasized the Guard exists to fight and win America’s wars as the Army and Air Force's combat reserve. Hokanson also noted that many Guardsmen either joined or renewed their commitment to serve after 9/11, with an expectation to deploy or mobilize overseas.
According to Hokanson, Guardsmen bring "a treasure trove" of experience and expertise.
For example, Hokanson presented a joint Guard cyber team with the 2022 SANS NetWars Department of Defense Services Cup in September, marking the third consecutive year the Guard team has won the cybersecurity competition.
"These soldiers and airmen embody the best of the Guard: experts in their civilian jobs who use their skills to serve their states and nation," he stated.
This warfighting posture enables the Guard to perform the most visible of its missions.
"Because we’re manned, trained and equipped to do arguably the most difficult task there is," Hokanson said," you can ask us to do almost anything within the local communities, and we will be there immediately to respond.
"We provide Guardsmen the opportunity to respond to their communities in times of need," he argued.
Other panelists echoed the appeal of serving in the Guard.
"Because the [Guard] mission is right in front of you," Cramer said, "you’re helping your neighbors during a flood or rescuing people in a snowstorm. And I think that does resonate."
Hokanson spoke of the value and flexibility the Guard offers its members to serve as part-time citizen-soldiers or -airmen.
"Many of our Guardsmen are college students because they can go to school and serve at the same time," Hokanson said. "Another great advantage is if you’re from Des Moines, Iowa, or Medford, Oregon, and your family’s there and you want to live there, we offer you the opportunity to do all that."
Still, Hokanson said the Guard is focused on connecting with groups with little or no military associations.
He encourages Guardsmen to tell the Guard's story, which includes almost 7.5 million personnel days supporting combatant commands at home and around the world. Pentagon data indicates that 78% of those who entered military service had an immediate family member, friend or relative in the military.
"The difficult thing is, if you’ve not had contact with somebody in the military, and if you get your perception of the military from what you see on the news or the stuff that grabs headlines, you could have potentially a negative view of it," Hokanson said. "But those that actually know service members realize there are great advantages and incredible opportunities."
The Guard has seen steady improvement in recruiting new members since the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, while retention is at historically high levels. Hokanson summarized some of his key initiatives to continue these trends.
"No-cost health care for our Guardsmen, the same incentive-pay as active-component soldiers and airmen and duty-status reform," he said. "And our whole goal is for every Guardsman to have two retirements: their National Guard and civilian retirement.
"We want to show the value of serving our country and the long-term payback for you and your family," he finished.
— By Sgt. 1st Class Zach Sheely, National Guard Bureau
