In a year when the Alabama Army National Guard has gone through one its most significant transformations, the commander of a state theater-level headquarters said Alabama's Guard is ready for its dual mission in support of the state's governor and the nation's president.
Maj. Gen. Joe Harkey, commander of the Alabama Army National Guard's 167th Theater Sustainment Command, provided an outline of the Guard's history and its future at a National Guard 372nd birthday breakfast sponsored by the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army on Friday at the Heritage Club.
Harkey said the state activated 41 units, deactivated 54 units and converted another 44 units during its transformation from "a strategic reserve to an operational force" that provides flexibility in its dual mission to provide states with units trained and equipped to protect life and property, and to provide the nation units trained, equipped and ready to defend the U.S. and its interests anywhere in the world.
"Our fellow countrymen rely on us. We are ready. We are the Guard," said Harkey, who oversees more than 400 personnel in the 167th in their mission to provide operational logistical command and control.
The National Guard's integral role in today's "Army of one" is evident, he said, in the promotion of National Guard Gen. Craig McKinley, who is now a four-star general. McKinley is the chief of the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va., and the senior uniformed National Guard officer in charge of developing policies and advising the secretaries and chiefs of staff of the Army and the Air Force concerning all National Guard issues.
The National Guard is the oldest component of the armed forces. It was formed in 1636, well before the United States became a nation, in the Massachusetts Bay colonies when colonists, responsible for their own defense, drew on English military tradition and organized male citizens into militias.
"Since then, the National Guard has participated in every war and every conflict this nation has had," Harkey said.
During the Spanish-American War, more than 70 percent of the nation's fighting force came from the National Guard. In World War I, the National Guard provided eight divisions of Soldiers that made up 40 percent of the combat divisions in France. Many of those divisions were considered superior or excellent by the German army.
The Guard nearly doubled in size during World War II, when it provided 19 divisions of Soldiers. Guard units were among the first to deploy overseas and the first to fight.
About 138,000 National Guard Soldiers were called to defend the nation during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, almost 23,000 National Guardsmen were called to active duty, with about 8,700 deploying to Vietnam.
In today's modern warfare, 63,000 National Guard Soldiers participated in Operation Desert Storm. In 2005, more than 50 percent of combat forces deployed in the Global War on Terrorism were National Guardsmen. In addition, during that year, the National Guard provided 50,000 troops to support Hurricane Rita and Katrina security and cleanup efforts.
"We have a large presence, a large mission," Harkey said. "We are also a big 'go to' force in homeland security."
Currently, there are 11,300 National Guard Soldiers and 2,200 National Guard Airmen in Alabama, with more than 360,000 National Guard Soldiers throughout the nation. Alabama has deployed more than 12,000 Soldiers in the Global War on Terrorism and another 2,200 are getting ready to mobilize in the next year.
Following his comments, Harkey presented newly elected Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle with a proclamation designating him as an honorary colonel of the Alabama National Guard. In return, Battle named Dec. 13, the National Guard's birthday, as National Guard Day and as AUSA Chapter Day in Huntsville.
"Celebrating the National Guard's birthday is a fine tradition that's now in its second year," Mike Howell, president of the local AUSA chapter, told those attending the birthday breakfast. "This is all about the Army being one Army, one fight."
Retired Brig. Gen. Bob Drolet told the group that expanding AUSA to include the reserve components of the National Guard and Army Reserves and keeping the AUSA mission focused on supporting Soldiers and their families is what has kept AUSA a viable organization and has helped the Redstone-Huntsville Chapter remain the nation's best chapter for five years in a row.
"It's only right and fitting to keep the focus on Soldiers and families who carry the burden of the Global War on Terrorism," he said.
Also, at the breakfast, Vietnam POW and retired Air Force Col. Leo Thorsness spoke about the importance of family support networks in wartime and introduced his new book "Surviving Hell."
Thorsness said conditions for Vietnam POWs improved drastically once POW families organized themselves and began putting pressure on the North Vietnamese to stop torturing American servicemembers and to give a full account of all POWs. It is the strength of families that keeps servicemembers strong when they are faced with war.
"You are providing a better war-fighting machine if you are taking care of the families at home," he said.
Redstone Arsenal engineer Laura Ayers also talked at the breakfast about the publication of the Reintegration Action Plan for servicemembers available through Veterans Affairs and online at www.AlabamaReturningVeterans.org.
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