Despite opposition from the Department of Defense and the nation’s top military commanders, the head of the National Guard will soon have a seat at the Joints Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

 

Legislation approved by Republicans and Democrats is now with President Barack Obama who intends to sign the bill that will elevate the chief of the National Guard Bureau to that of other JCS members consisting of a four-star chairman, a vice chief and the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

 

The change is controversial because none of the current JCS members supported the idea. Supporters argued that the National Guard deserves a seat at the JCS after serving vital roles in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

 

The National Guard traces its lineage to 1636 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony organized three militia regiments to defend against the growing threat of the Pequot Indians. The term “National Guard” originates from the Marquis de Lafayette, who commanded a Virginia brigade during the Revolutionary War. Lafayette coined the phrase “Garde Nationale” for his French Revolutionary Army during the French Revolution in the 1790s. Lafayette popularized the term in the United States during a return visit in 1824, by applying it to all organized militia units in America. The term immediately began to appear in newspapers and magazines as popular slang for the militia.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Guard Chief Headed for Seat on JCS (by Tom Philpott, Colorado Springs Gazette)

US Congress Votes to Boost National Guard Role (by Dan De Luce, Agence-France Presse)