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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Pentagon Training Commanders To Take Control Of NG Units - Conservatives Extremely Dubious |
| 2011-07-04 |
| The Pentagon is training "dual-status commanders", able to command both active duty federal military units and take charge over State National Guard units under presidential declaration situations. This requires special training and authority because of legal restrictions on the use of federally controlled armed forces on U.S. soil. The reason cited for this is that no one commander had that authority in the aftermath of Katrina, and military and civilian experts say the lack of coordination contributed to the nightmarish delays, duplications and gaps in the huge rescue effort, as the governor refused to obey or act on presidential directives. "It was just like a solid wall of authority and control between the two government entities," said Georgia National Guard Col. Michael Scholes, who was part of the Katrina response. Likewise it could be compared to when Eisenhower sent in federal troops to overwhelm the resistance of National Guard troops in Arkansas, who would only obey the orders of their governor. Top Defense Department officials believe dual-status commanders are the key to reducing at least some of those command and control failures. Importantly, a dual-status commander controlling both active duty military and National Guard personnel already took over from National Guard commanders during the 2004 G8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga, to protect internationalist foreign dignitaries discussing global initiatives. This was apparently a command and control exercise, as Sea Island is only accessible via a causeway, so there was no apparent need for the use of National Guard forces. The U.S. Northern Command, with headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., began training dual-status commanders last year. Northern Command was created after the 2001 terrorist attacks to defend the U.S. homeland and help civilian authorities handle domestic crises like Katrina (and stuff). The goal is to have at least one officer in each of the 50 states and in four U.S. territories qualified and ready to be a dual-status commander to take charge of a State's National Guard units under federal command along with active duty federal units on a moment's notice, said Admiral James Winnefeld, commander of Northern Command. "There's always been, I would say, a gentlemanly (constitutional) disagreement between the States and the federal government, at least for the last decade probably (or maybe 20+ decades) , on who would actually have the responsibility for commanding federal(ized) forces responding to a disaster in a state," he said. Winnefeld, who is also commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, called the dual-status program "one of my proudest accomplishments since I've been here." He will be leaving the two commands to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pending Senate confirmation later this summer. Needless to say, conservatives are looking at this program with inspired skepticism and cynicism. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 I'm broadly linking this Artic to the one on RB as per the massing of ZETAS near the Texas border. Methinks the Fed quietly recognizes the LT scenario of Nukes-WMDS, other dangerous advanced MilTechs ultimat proliferating into the hands of a large variety of non-Islamic "black market/sector" + secular Groups. * IIRC FREEREPUBLIC > HAS OBAMA KEPT HIS PROMISE OF A CIVILIAN NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE? Lest we fergit, 1990's MSM-NET > Various Perts had argued that THE END OF THE US-SOVIET COLD WAR = "MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR COMMUNIST ARMIES", + also EXTREMIST GROUPS/IDEOLOGIES. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-07-04 21:19 |
| #4 ....FWIW, South Carolina has the last AG who is elected by the state voters, a holdover from Reconstruction - and these guys tend to be smart, capable, and REPUBLICAN. I can imagine that there's people in DC whose craws are seriously stuck with that. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2011-07-04 19:58 |
| #3 All should be "extremely dubious." Ask yourself where the Governor and his legislature might be under this scenario. I would challenge the Federal Government to make public the contingency operational plans on the shelf at North American Aerospace Defense Command. I suspect many would be surprised at just how far, under the guise of "emergency planning," the Federal Government has progressed with the eventual ellimination of the States and the installation of FEMA region based command centers. When States are gone, so too will be State Leaders, State's Laws and their protections. Who needs an Adjutant General beholding to a non-exisitent governor of a former State. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-07-04 12:46 |
| #2 Since Adjutants General are all federally recognized General Officers, and upon federalization of the specific national Guard unit creates immediate Title 10 command relationships, what possible motive could this program have? The unspoken implication is that this program would allow these "dual-status" commanders to have authority to command National Guard units when NOT in federal status, thus obviating the authority of the Governor and the state. This is also a duplication of existing status, since like all Guard officers, I held both a state commission and a federal one. All National Guard officers have such "dual" status and are routinely trained in both state and federal missions. This program can only have one purpose. To give the federal government the ability to immediately bypass the state and direct National Guard units, and more importantly, to bypass the existing senior command structure with one preferred by the National Command Authority. Further usurpation of states rights. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2011-07-04 12:02 |
| #1 BS. The authority already exists to 'federalize' National Guard troops. Eisenhower federalized the entire Arkansas National Guard during the Little Rock desegregation. There is something more to this indeed. Like maybe loyalty? Unfortunately too many DoD General Officers are politicians promoted and appointed by the President, rather than selected on pure merit. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-07-04 10:54 |