Letter to Secretary McHugh and General Odierno - Army to Support National Guard

Press Release

Dear Secretary McHugh and General Odierno,

As members of the National Guard and Reserve Component Caucus, we urge you not to cut the National Guard and Reserve component budget and personnel disproportionately when compared to the Active Duty. We want to ensure the men and women of our Army Reserve component remain an indispensable force in defending the United States and protecting our interests around the world. Not only are they cost-effective, these men and women constitute a highly talented force, which over the course of two wars, has proven essential to protecting the United States both at home and abroad.

The Army Guard and Reserve are an operational force and we need to continue to organize, train, equip, and manage them in a manner commensurate with their invaluable role in national security. The specialized skills the Reserve component has built in Afghanistan and Iraq render them well suited for operations the military will conduct over the next two decades. The Reserve component is well suited for such vital missions as stabilization operations, building partner capacity, cyber security, and support to federal, state, and local agencies in the wake of homeland disasters.

As you consider force restructure, we urge you to configure the Army in the most cost-effective way to responsibly sustain operational readiness. As we approach the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, which mandates an assessment of the role of the Guard and Reserve, we ask you to consider cost effectiveness as a metric when comparing all entities that comprise our total force Army. Any disproportionate cuts made to our Reserve component will degrade their specialized skill set and hurt their federal and state mission. We are concerned that disproportionate cuts to the Guard and Reserve threaten the Army's ability to build an integrated total force prepared to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.

Prevailing in today's wars and in future battles requires an Army Reserve component that can serve in an operational capacity within a routine training and deployment construct. Agile combat operations and conflict deterrence will likely necessitate the continued use of the Reserve component. We must protect the citizen-soldier and their in-demand skill sets that enable them to be ready to be called upon at a moment's notice. We look forward to working with you to maintain a sustainable operational reserve.

Sincerely,

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