From The President Fellow Officers, The future of our National Guard is at a crossroads – I need your support to ensure we maintain the readiness, relevance, and efficiency of a strong National Guard system. The Department of Defense is entering a time which will be characterized by enormous fiscal pressure. A new National Military Strategy has been released which places emphasis on non-military means to achieve our nation's goals. Secretary Gates has been outspoken about the need reduce overhead, infrastructure, and "assume risk" in mission-sets long held as core DoD competencies. As military operations in Iraq draw-down and our involvement in Afghanistan is more sharply defined, we can expect the nation to demand a deep "peace dividend" to help fund other priorities and reduce budget deficits. We can expect budget cuts as costs to sustain personnel and equipment continue to grow. Historic decisions will soon be made regarding the size of future US Military forces, and how those forces are organized, trained, and equipped. It would be easy to assume the Oregon National Guard and the entire National Guard system could be somehow immune from these changes – the majority of us did not experience the deep budget cuts which followed the Vietnam War and resulting decline in readiness. I can assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. Force structure will be cut to sustain the readiness of the forces which remain – the only questions are how deep the cuts will be and how those cuts will be apportioned across the services and components. The Air National Guard has already had a taste of things to come - USAF has been forced to downsize conventional forces to pay for growth in new missions, unconventional capabilities, and help offset the increasing costs of personnel, aging infrastructure, and old equipment. The Portland Air National Guard Base (PANGB) was slated to close during the 2005 BRAC as part of a USAF effort to cash in capability and infrastructure to pay bills. Fortunately, we were able to leverage the power of NGAUS and the ORNGA to save PANGB and the 142d Fighter Wing from closure. Following our "near death" experience at PANGB, Air National Guard membership in ORNGA shot up to over 95%. Air National Guard Officers who experienced the 2005 BRAC understand the importance and power of our Association - it is important that lesson is not forgotten. The Army National Guard has appropriately benefited from nearly a decade of GWOT spending as campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have become increasingly land-component centric. We have new equipment, armories, and our readiness has never been higher. To believe this will continue would be foolhardy. The US appetite for engaging in expensive nation-building campaigns is low. As such, the large forces we have depended upon to secure victory in Iraq and Afghanistan will be scrutinized for cutbacks. As the Oregon Army National Guard is heavily invested in conventional force structure, the time is NOW to begin shaping the future. With Oregon Army National Guard Officer Membership in NGAUS and ORNGA running at approximately 70 percent, we weaken our ability to win the battle which will soon be upon us. If you believe in the power and effciency the National Guard brings to our great nation, it is more important than ever to be a member of NGAUS and the ORNGA. It is very simple to join – all you need is a credit card and access to the internet. By going to http://ornga.org you can join the ranks of those who support the National Guard in less than five minutes. If you have already joined NGAUS/ORNGA, I encourage you to determine if your fellow officers are doing their part to help us secure a bright future for the National Guard system. Association membership costs are exceptionally low – especially in light of the risks involved. Strong membership helps ensure our message is delivered to Washington. Weak membership places the future of the National Guard in the hands of a well-entrenched Active Component. Those who fail to join NGAUS/ORNGA are voting for a future that includes a significantly weakened and operationally irrelevant National Guard – a force incapable of performing federal missions. Presently, over 180 of our fellow Oregon National Guard Officers are voting for irrelevance. The future of our National Guard is at a crossroads and depends on your support. How are you voting? Brig Gen Steven D. Gregg |
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