Military

Florida National Guard
Department of Military Affairs
Office of the Adjutant General, P.O. Box 1008
St. Augustine, Florida  32085-1008

 

Major General Douglas Burnett
The Adjutant General of Florida

Major General Douglas Burnett was appointed the Adjutant General of Florida by Governor Bush on November 3, 2001.  As the Adjutant General, he is the Governor's senior military advisor and oversees both the state and federal missions of the Florida National Guard.  He supervises the administration, training, and operations of the Florida National Guard, which is composed of more than 13,000 Army and Air National Guard personnel with a full-time workforce of over 2,000 employees.

General Burnett began his military career by enlisting in the Florida Air National Guard shortly after graduation from high school.  After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in 1963, he attended the USAF Electronics School at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi.  He received a direct commission in February 1969 and attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.  After earning his wings in June 1970, General Burnett attended the F-102 Combat Crew Training School at Ellington Air Force Base, Texas.  After completion of F-102 training, he was assigned as a full-time Alert Pilot in the NORAD mission in the 125^th Fighter Group.  He was dual qualified in both military fighter and transport aircraft in addition to flying commercially with Pan American World Airways and United Airlines until 1996.  General Burnett has held several positions at the 125^th Fighter Wing and at State Headquarters over the last decade, to include Group Air Operations Officer, Director of Operations, Chief of Staff, Commander, and Assistant Adjutant General for Air.

General Burnett has completed the Command and General Staff College and the Air War College.  His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Combat Readiness Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Florida Cross, the Florida Distinguished Service Medal, and the Florida Commendation Medal.

General Burnett currently serves on the Chief, National Guard Bureau's Counterdrug Advisory Board.  He is also actively involved with the National Guard Association of the United States, having served two terms on the Executive Council and was elected President of the National Guard Officers Association of Florida in August 1993.

A military command pilot and a commercial airline pilot for over 22 years, General Burnett has accumulated more than 20,000 flying hours in the F-102, F-106, C-26, C-131, C-130H, Boeing 727, and McDonnell-Douglas DC-10.

General Burnett was born in Jacksonville, Florida.  He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.  General Burnett and his wife Judy, have a son, Douglas Burnett and a daughter, Julie Staples and two grandchildren.

Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee.  Thank you for your invitation to testify today.  I know that you are deeply committed to national security and have been very supportive of the National Guard and Reserve members.  On behalf of the soldiers, airmen, and family members of the Florida National Guard, I want to thank you for your support.

Florida National Guard Structure

The Florida National Guard traces its heritage to 1565, the year the Spanish founded St. Augustine.  Florida's citizen-soldiers have defended their communities and nation for nearly 440 years.  The mission of the Florida National Guard is to provide highly trained unit and personnel in support of national security objectives; to protect our citizens; and, to support programs and initiatives which add value to our Nation and state.  The Joint State Headquarters Florida in St. Augustine provides command and control for 10,300 Florida Army National Guard soldiers and 2,000+ Florida Air National Guard airmen.

The Florida Army National Guard's Major Commands are:

53^rd Infantry Brigade (Separate).  Tampa.  The federal wartime mission of the 53^rd Infantry Brigade (Separate) is to conduct combat operations as an Enhanced Readiness Brigade.  Enhanced Readiness Brigades are essential Reserve Component combat structures designed to perform a variety of functions: reinforce, backfill, and/or augment Active Component formations.  This brigade has three infantry battalions, a field artillery battalion, and a support battalion.

Detachment 1, 32^nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.  Orlando.  Detachment 1 will fill out the active component headquarters of the 32^nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.  The detachment is a part of the first "multi-component" unit in the United States Army.  Its members comprise more than 60% of the organization, and will deploy with the unit whenever it is mobilized.  Detachment 1 exercises peacetime command and control for three air defense battalions and a Multiple Launch Rocket System battalion.

83^rd Troop Command.  Tallahassee.  The 83^rd Troop Command, State Area Command is the most diverse Major Subordinate Command in the Florida Army National Guard.  This headquarters provides command and control over designated units within Florida, to include a Special Forces battalion, attack aviation battalion, two signal battalions, finance group, and finance battalion.

50^th Area Support Group.  Miami.  Headquarters, 50^th Area Support Group is a senior multi-functional logistical command which provides command and control of two logistical battalions and various separate companies.

Camp Blanding Joint Training Center.  Starke.  Camp Blanding is a 72,000-acre training site and serves as the primary training facility for the Florida Army National Guard.  The primary mission of the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is to prepare, receive, and support designated units for federal and state missions as well as provide administrative services, training, and logistical support to state and federal agencies, military and civilian.
 

The Florida Air National Guard is composed of the following commands:

125^th Fighter Wing.  Jacksonville.  The 125^th Fighter Wing provides air defense for the eastern seaboard of the United States from Charleston, South Carolina to the panhandle of Florida. The Wing maintains F-15 fighters on continuous 24-hour alert status at Homestead Air Reserve Station, Florida, ready to intercept, identify, escort, and if necessary, destroy unknown aircraft that penetrate the United States' sovereign air space.

Southeast Air Defense Sector.  Tyndall Air Force Base.  The Southeast Air Defense Sector provides detection and air defense for the entire southeastern United States.  Protecting over 3,000 miles of coastline from North Carolina to Texas, the Southeast Air Defense Sector is one of the three continental North American Aerospace Defense Command sectors that combines the use of military and Federal Aviation Administration radar facilities.

202^nd Red Horse Squadron.  Camp Blanding Joint Training Center.  The 202^nd Red Horse is a highly mobile, rapidly deployable civil engineering response force that performs heavy damage repair for recovery of critical Air Force facilities and utility systems following enemy attack or natural disaster.

290^th Joint Combat Communications Support Squadron.  MacDill Air Force Base.  The Squadron provides Unified Commands, services, Defense and non-Defense agencies with tactical communications systems to support the U.S. national security objectives during times of crisis, war, and natural disaster relief.

114^th Combat Communications Squadron.  Patrick Air Force Base.  The 114^th Combat Communications Squadron provides survivable and reliable satellite voice and data communications for command, control and logistics in support of the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command and North Atlantic Treaty Organization communications requirements.  This unit supports range operations taskings for Atlas, Delta, and Titan launches.

September 11^th

The Florida National Guard has a long history of providing combat and combat support forces to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force.  The events of September 11^th dramatically increased our operations tempo and support requirements.  It was a day that changed everything.

Initial Response To The Events Of September 11^th

Within minutes of the attack on our homeland, combat loaded, F-15 jet fighters from the Florida Air Guard's 125^th Fighter Wing were flying combat air patrols over the Florida peninsula.  Four days later, nearly 600 armed Guard personnel were deployed to 70 armories and facilities throughout the state to enhance our security posture. 
 

Originally our security forces were composed of only qualified volunteers and full time personnel, but later select units were dedicated to the task of continuous guard duty.  In addition to the security force protection mission, all mail from outside sources was routinely opened and inspected before being brought into Guard facilities:  The menace of the growing anthrax-letter threats was on everyone's minds.

Guard members responded directly to that biological threat in early October.  Twelve members of Florida's 44^th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team, based at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, deployed to Boca Raton, Florida in support of local emergency operations as part of the federal response to the anthrax incident at the American Media building. 

On September 24, 2001, while the Air Guard's fighters patrolled the skies over Florida -- a continuing mission they had assumed since September 11^th -- members of the Florida Air National Guard's 290^th Joint Communications Support Squadron were mobilized.  For their first wartime service since Operation Desert Storm, the 290^th deployed some 40 members to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

President Bush's request to activate National Guard soldiers to protect airports nationwide was honored in October when more than 480 members of the Florida Guard were deployed to airports.  Under Operation Safe Skies, Guard members enhanced security in airports across the state and served as "extra eyes" at terminal checkpoints.

In October, we responded to a request by Florida Power and Light Group, Inc., for Guard support concerning two of their nuclear power facilities.  Armed infantry soldiers were dispatched to Turkey Point (Miami area) and St. Lucie (Hutchinson Island) nuclear facilities.  They also worked closely with local law enforcement and plant security teams to provide temporary assistance under Operation Emerald.

Throughout October members of Detachment 1, 32^nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Orlando were activated for Enduring Freedom and served both at Fort Bliss, Texas and in Kuwait.

By early November 2001, more than 330 Guard members were assigned to Florida seaports under Operation Safe Harbor.  Our objective was to provide assistance with passenger baggage screenings and cargo inspection, as well as enhance security at port perimeters and storage areas.  The five designated seaports - Port of Miami, Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Port of Tampa, Port Canaveral, and Port of Key West - were considered "high risk" due to their significant levels of cruise ship traffic and high volumes of hazardous materials.

On December 5^th, the Florida National Guard helped ensure the safety of the American space program when F-15 Eagle fighters from the 125^th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville were chosen to patrol the skies over the Kennedy Space Center during the Space Shuttle Endeavour launch and other military launches at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
 

Deployment Of The Florida National Guard In Support
Of The Global War On Terrorism

The Florida National Guard continued to mobilize and deploy units with elements of the 3-20^th Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan in February 2002.  These Special Operations Forces conducted unconventional warfare, direct action, surveillance and reconnaissance, and foreign internal defense in support of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan.  While in support of the Combined Special Operations Task Force, 3-20^th established forward operation bases to provide rations, fuel, water, equipment and vehicle maintenance, transportation, and aerial delivery to re-supply approximately 2,500 Special Operations Forces personnel from the United States, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Denmark, Australia, Norway, and Canada conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.

The 930^th Army Liaison Team deployed to Afghanistan in July 2002 to conduct liaison operations between the Commander, Combined Joint Task Force-180, the Commander of the 22-nation coalition force, the International Security Assistance Force, and the office of the U.S. Ambassador.  The 930^th Army Liaison Team was also responsible for the operational control of the Deployed Intelligence Support Element, a coalition forces asset, who were responsible for coordinating all intelligence operations between all intelligence assets, both military and non-military, for Kabul and its surrounding areas.

The largest single mobilization came in late December 2002 and early January 2003.  The 53^rd Infantry Brigade elements were alerted for mobilization on December 26^th with two of its three light infantry battalions arriving at Fort Stewart, Georgia on January 5, 2003 and the third battalion arriving on January 19, 2003.  In addition to infantry units, the 53^rd Brigade also deployed over 50 soldiers from the 2-116^th Field Artillery.  At the conclusion of post mobilization training and validation in early February, the battalions began to deploy to Jordan and Kuwait in company-sized elements to provide security for Patriot Missile battery sites and the Combined Joint Special Operation Headquarters.  Our soldiers were among the first conventional forces to enter Iraq in support of Special Operations Forces.  During the ground campaign, elements of the brigade moved forward with the 3^rd Infantry Division and 1^st Marine Expeditionary Force into Baghdad, with two of the three battalions consolidating in late April and early May.  The infantry battalions of the 53^rd Brigade were assigned sector responsibility, conducting a broad range of combat operations consisting of security and stability operations, patrols, raids, manning checkpoints, convoy security and river boat patrols, in and around Al Ramadi and Baghdad, the Baghdad airport, the Convention Center, the Coalitions Provisional Authority Headquarters, and Logistical Staging Area Anaconda. 

In the months following the ground campaign, elements of the 53^rd Brigade remained in sector providing continuity of operations and force protection for a battle hand off between the 3^rd Infantry Division and 1^st Armor Division.  Elements of the brigade continued to provide a quick reaction force in support of 1^st Battalion, 5^th Special Forces Group, operating out of Jordan and in and out of southern Iraq before being reassigned to the 3^rd Infantry Division to conduct security and stabilization operation in and around Baghdad.  Three soldiers from the 53^rd Separate Infantry Brigade lost their lives in Iraq and one soldier from 3-20^th Special Forces Group was killed while serving in Afghanistan.
 

The 202^nd Red Horse Squadron deployed elements of the unit to Iraq to assist in rebuilding the Baghdad Airport runways, opening these runways to military air traffic for loading and unloading of personnel and mission support cargo.  The 202^nd Squadron also assisted the construction of command posts and facilities in the theater.

The 290^th Joint Communications Squadron deployed on several occasions to provide support for joint communications requirements in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, and Turkey.  The 290^th Joint Communication Squadron also established a Joint Airborne Command and Control Command Post in multiple theaters.

Besides the units described above, the following formations have been activated for federal duty. 

Special Operations Detachment - Central Command - Overseas

Company A, 161^st Medical Company - Iraq

743^rd Maintenance Company - Iraq

269^th Engineer Company - Iraq

269^th Engineer Detachment - Iraq

146^th Signal Battalion - Air Force Base Force Protection

3^rd Battalion, 265^th Air Defense Battalion - Air Force Base Force Protection

631^st Maintenance Company - Fort Stewart

107^th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment - Washington, D.C.

50^th Area Support Group - Kuwait

153^rd Finance Battalion - Kuwait

653^rd Signal Company - Iraq

Detachment 12, 32^nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command - Washington, D.C.

1^st Battalion, 265^th Air Defense Artillery - Washington, D.C.

3^rd Battalion, 265^th Air Defense Artillery - Washington, D.C.

Elements of the 260^th Military Intelligence Battalion - Kosovo

Elements of the 260^th Military Intelligence Battalion - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Elements of the 253^rd Military Intelligence Company - Kosovo

Elements of the 1-111^th Aviation Battalion - Bosnia

Service Today

There are more than 2,000 soldiers and airman from the Florida National Guard currently supporting missions throughout the U.S. and overseas.  The men and women of the Florida National Guard have made - and are continuing to make - their indelible mark on history during these unprecedented deployments under Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom.

In the past three years, our country has called for more than 5,600 Florida Guard members.  We are fortunate our soldiers and airmen desire to serve their country.  They are patriotic to the point many step forward to answer that call over and over again. Nearly 700 have voluntarily served on three-or-more deployments.  We currently have 2,026 Army and 68 Air Guard members deployed overseas.
 

Lessons Learned

The Florida National Guard provided combat ready units in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Noble Eagle, with units also activated for missions in Bosnia and Kosovo.  Our units were prepared through readiness initiatives that ensured personnel, equipment and training met Army and Air Force standards.  A commitment to readiness through the Mobilization Exercise Program, annual Soldier Readiness Processing, quarterly Readiness Councils, exercising and executing our mobilization plans as prescribed by Forces Command Mobilization and Deployment Planning System, and 1^st U.S. Army guidance and command emphasis resulted in a high readiness posture.  The National Guard Bureau recently visited our state to find why we were so successful in improving our readiness posture and requested our best business practices to share our success and lessons learned to help improve readiness nation wide.

The philosophy of Florida National Guard leadership is to provide operations, logistics, personnel and family support for each of our units throughout their mobilization.  During the mobilization and demobilization phases, the Florida Army National Guard, in coordination with the mobilization station, remains an important advocate for our mobilizing units.  Our headquarters provides direct support to the mobilization station during these phases.  This support is particularly critical during the mobilization and demobilization phases, as these units have not yet been assigned to an active Army unit (mobilization) or have been released from an active Army unit (demobilization).  Our organization constantly reviews this process to ensure we are providing support in all areas; the Florida National Guard is part of the Department of Defense's adaptive system that constantly seeks to improve the support to our personnel and families.  Lessons learned from Florida National Guard experiences are outlined below. 

Family Readiness.  The quick call up of Florida Army National Guard units greatly affected Guard members' ability to complete necessary actions to ensure families could conduct their personal affairs during the deployment.  In many cases, family finances were reduced particularly in cases where the Guard member was the primary breadwinner.  The quick call up also affected employers of Guard members, especially in cases where Guard members were described as key and essential.  As you can imagine, children particularly felt the quick separation from a parent.  The uncertainty of active duty life and worry for the safety of their Guard member resulted in high levels of stress and frustration at various periods during the deployment.  The absence of firm information concerning unit returns from overseas was also a source of great concern.

In order to mitigate these effects on families, Florida initially opened 18 Family Centers in locations around the state to provide information and referral services to military families.  It became clear that our initial plan to staff the centers with the Recruiting and Retention staff would not sustain us over the length of the deployment.  Therefore, when funding was provided to hire fulltime contract employees to staff the Family Centers, the number was consolidated to eight Family Centers in order to provide a fulltime Family Center Support Specialist in each of the previously established Family Readiness Areas.  The establishment of the Family Centers and continued fulltime support allowed families direct access to assistance from the closest
 

Family Center and provided them with the tools necessary to cope with military life during peacetime and deployment.

To further reduce the stress for the families, we organized Town Hall Meetings at centralized locations statewide so I could meet with the families and address their concerns personally.  Subject matter experts were also available at the meetings to answer the families' questions on a wide variety of topics.  As a result of these meetings, the families had answers to most of their questions and a better understanding of military policy and mobilization doctrine.  Our support for families at the Demobilization Site, in this case Fort Stewart, is a Florida Guard initiative to provide information and assistance to families waiting for their Guard member's return.  The families were welcomed at the Demobilization Site Family Welcome Center by the Florida Family Readiness Team, where their questions were answered and issues addressed in a proactive manner.

Employers.  Florida employers are our unsung heroes - from the major corporations and government agencies to the small business and self-employed.  Florida's Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Committee has been actively involved in our deployment and welcome home events.  Ombudsmen are active and reach out to employers statewide to help curtail employer/employee problems.

Our employers have faced many challenges while their employees were activated - some having to accomplish production with a lesser number of employees. Considering the challenges of our employers since September 11^th, they have overwhelmingly supported our soldiers and airmen and provided resources within their ability. 

We do not currently know the full impact of recent activations on our employers.  Our largest group of soldiers, approximately 1,500 from the 53^rd Infantry and currently on military leave, will return to their employers when they are officially released from active duty.  We know we will have challenges when these soldiers report back to work - but we don't know the extent of the impact. 

Our troops may have to choose between their full time employment and membership in the National Guard.  Employers are watching the rotation cycles now underway and may continue to be negatively impacted - causing them to re-think hiring members of the Guard and Reserve.  Employers are more willing to accept shorter deployments but may not accept the longer ones we see occurring with our current rotations.  More certainty in deployment schedules would enable employers to better manage their work force. 

The Florida National Guard leadership is optimistic the vast majority of our employers will react positively and welcome our citizen-soldiers and airmen back to their equivalent jobs with equal pay and benefits they had prior to their active duty and that employers will consider membership in the Guard and Reserve as an asset and not liability.
 

Unit Manning and Equipment.  Although the Florida Army National Guard was faced with an enormous challenge to mobilize over 2,000 soldiers on short notice, our organization met or exceeded the Army standard by deploying fully manned, equipped and ready units to their mobilization stations.  Our seasoned and professional staffs performed admirably under extreme conditions/timelines and were overwhelming successful in meeting the Army's condensed mobilization timelines.  We were assisted greatly by members of the 1^st U.S. Army team and the Training Support Brigades.  Our goal was to mobilize our units at the appropriate level of strength or better with fully mission capable equipment.  We exceeded our goal but not without some difficulties.

All deployed Florida Army National Guard units were equipped with at least 90% of their authorized equipment.  Additionally, all deployed equipment was full mission capable prior to the unit departing to the mobilization station.  To accomplish this task, the Florida Army National Guard took equipment from units that were not deploying to fill shortages in units that were deploying.  Full time maintenance support and funding was shifted away from non-deploying units to meet mobilization requirements.  Cross leveling equipment from non-deploying units and shifting assets allowed the Florida Army National Guard to meet its mobilization goals but created shortages of equipment and increased maintenance requirements for non-deploying units.  All units in the National Guard need to be fully equipped during peacetime to meet the Army's mobilization requirements

Deploying Florida National Guard units had some unexpected equipment shortages after units arrived at the mobilization station.  It had been anticipated that equipment required for the mission, but not normally authorized, would be furnished to the unit by the mobilization station or when the unit arrived in theatre.  The most severe shortages were in Ballistic Body Armor, the Up-Armored HMMWVs (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), Infrared Aiming Light and night vision devices.  Soldiers should not be placed in a Combat Zone without protective gear.

Florida National Guard units met mobilization standards in personnel, training and logistics; however, there was a bill-payer.  In our case, readiness levels in non-deploying units were degraded to support deploying units.  Sufficient amounts of modernized or up-to-date weapons systems and equipment were not on hand to fill all requirements at the requested readiness level.  Although this command has placed great emphasis on readiness and deployability, years of cascading equipment and weapons systems forced us to cross level equipment and personnel from non-deploying units to meet the comparability requirements of our active duty counterparts.

Non-Doctrinal Force Structure.  As the Florida Army National Guard's three infantry battalions were being mobilized, we stressed the need to mobilize the 53^rd Infantry Brigade headquarters to provide command and control for these battalions.  Although we made a strong case for unit integrity, the Brigade headquarters was not mobilized.  Deploying organic formations piece meal presented significant challenges during the mobilization phase and in theater during combat operations.  In theater, battalions were deployed as platoon and company sized elements, which challenged the unit leadership to provide basic soldier care as these elements deployed without command, control, admin and logistic support normally available in the company, battalion and brigade headquarters elements.  These conditions combined with the many and frequent changes in higher headquarters assignment and attachment resulted in the most fundamental tasks became considerably more difficult, drawing the focus of the leader away from his primary mission.  Operations in theater have validated the need for unit integrity in regard to the Army National Guard's enhanced brigades.  Enhanced brigades now or currently being mobilized are being deployed with all elements of their organization. 

Unit Mobilization Validation.  During the initial phase of our heaviest mobilizations, there were instances of mobilization stations requiring units and individual soldiers to duplicate tasks previously accomplished during the Soldier Readiness Processing at home station.  This slowed the mobilization process and wasted precious resources.  Lieutenant General Inge, Commander, 1^st U.S. Army, worked closely with active Army and Reserve Component leaders on this issue and provided guidance to mobilization stations regarding the mobilization process.  General Inge issued guidance that only those tasks that were not completed or were not properly documented during will be executed at the mobilization station.  This guidance significantly enhanced the efficiency of the mobilization process. 

Personnel Replacement Policy.  The personnel replacement policy for mobilized Florida Army National Guard units was initially not well defined.  This meant the personnel strength of mobilized units was reduced each time a soldier left the unit for medical, personal, or other reasons.  Analysis of this issue enabled the Army to develop and implement a comprehensive policy that has allowed Army National Guard and Army Reserve units to request replacements through the system, thus allowing these units to maintain their required end strength.

Rear Detachments.  The number of soldiers required by mobilization orders was often less than the total strength of a unit.  Thus while a portion of the unit mobilized, home station administrative, training and logistics requirements continued for the non-mobilized unit members.  In addition, mobilized units needed personnel at home station to maintain liaison with their families and address issues.  To address this requirement, the Army and National Guard Bureau authorized rear detachments and temporary full time support for mobilized units.  This significantly enhanced the effectiveness of family readiness programs, maintained the individual readiness of non-mobilized soldiers and eased the transition of demobilizing forces. 

Medical Processing.  With the mobilization of each of the Florida Army National Guard units in late December 2002 and early January 2003, soldiers were put through a very intense Soldier Readiness Processing by the Joint State Headquarters Florida, including medical and dental screening, to ensure each soldier was medically qualified for deployment.  The short notice of these deployments put a severe strain on our small number of Florida National Guard medical and dental personnel.  However, our medical personnel immediately answered the call, and were quickly organized into three teams in order to perform simultaneous missions in three separate locations.  Each team performed Individual Medical Readiness screenings, immunizations, dental evaluations, and finally medical board deployment determinations.  As time continued on and more mobilizations occurred, it became necessary to have some of these medical services contracted out to private health care providers in order to meet the continuing demands.  As a result, a number of these medical institutions provided the required services free of charge.
 

Now that our soldiers are returning, there may be even greater medical challenges ahead.  Each returning soldier is entitled to be medically evaluated, to insure that any medical problems that developed while on active duty are documented and corrected, prior to their final release.

However, this requirement is placing a great strain on the medical capabilities and housing facilities at most of the mobilization stations.  During the past year, some Florida Army National Guard soldiers were required to remain in a medical hold status for long periods of time due to the slow evaluation and treatment capabilities at the mobilization station.  Therefore to help alleviate this problem, the Florida Army National Guard has accepted the challenge to provide a Community-Based Health Care Option program for National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers in Florida who will require continued long-term medical care and treatment.  The Community-Based Health Care Option Florida is working this issue through 1^st Army, Forces Command, and Army Medical Command for certification, and is very close to accepting the first medical hold soldiers into the program.  This program will allow soldiers to be relocated back in their own home of record and receive treatment and evaluation through TRICARE, while remaining in an Active Duty Medical Extension duty status for military pay and allowances.

The Community Based Health Care Option-Florida team, made up of Florida National Guard medical professionals, will make all of the arrangements for continued treatment and evaluations until the soldiers have fully recovered and returned to regular duty or discharge through the Physical Disability Evaluation System.

Return/Demobilization.  A more reliable system is needed to plan, coordinate and disseminate information concerning the movement of soldiers from the theater of operations to their demobilization stations.  The Time Phased Force Development Data, the system in place to track the movement of these formations was inaccurate, not used, and was rarely in concert with data from SIPERNET (a classified communications system), Fort Stewart's Deployment Control Headquarters, 3^rd Infantry Division Emergency Operations Center, U.S. Transportation Command, data from the airfield, or 1^st U.S. Army Emergency Operations Center.  We quickly learned the most reliable predictor of an aircraft's return was the report from the unit leadership with a cell phone or state provided international calling card.

Aircraft delays and changes to redeployment schedules were frustrating and difficult for the Guard families, public officials, state legislators, and congressional staff.  Families traveled hundreds of miles to Fort Stewart one day in advance of the announced return of their Guard members.  Unlike active Army families who generally live in the area of the mobilization station, Florida Army Guard families traveled great distances to see their soldiers return to the U.S.  When the delays stretched over four-and-five days, many families were forced to give up their hotel accommodations and ran short on travel funds including food costs.  We were often asked why the same priority and synchronization of the movement and return of our most critical assets, our warriors, did not receive the same level of planning and or care.  Families remain a crucial influencer in almost every soldier's retention decision and the delays and changes were a sore point with our families.
 

Once elements arrived at their demobilization station, the Mobilization Center Operations coupled with support from the garrison staff went very well.  Soldiers were expeditiously out-processed through the Central Issue Facility, Medical, Dental, and attended required demobilization briefings. On average soldiers were en route to see their Home Station within 5-7 days.  Fort Stewart should be applauded for their professionalism and support of the total Army.

Since this initial experience with soldiers re-deploying to the United States, the Joint Staff, 1^st Army, National Guard Bureau, and other senior headquarters have worked diligently to improve the process.  The communication lines between the Florida National Guard and these headquarters have greatly improved our ability to provide families and other interested parties with current arrival data.  We will continue to provide commanders and unit leaders with International Calling Cards and instructions to contact Florida Army National Guard leadership often on changes in scheduled aircraft departure and arrival times, weather delays or aircraft maintenance issues.  This remains the most reliable information available concerning the movement of units.  We published these changes on our web page for all families and local supporters to plan for and travel to the demobilization stations.  Providing accurate information restored confidence in the Florida Army National Guard leadership and improved our commitment to care for our soldiers and their families.

Reintegration.  Our headquarters developed and implemented a comprehensive plan to ensure our soldiers and their families were properly reintegrated and cared for during this redeployment. The reintegration of our demobilizing soldiers is crucial to retention.  We publish a Reintegration Letter of Instruction for each demobilizing unit to ensure we are providing total support to these units.  To ensure all aspects of this redeployment were addressed, our headquarters positioned public affairs, medical, legislative, operations, family readiness, protocol, administrative, logistics, information technology and pay personnel at Fort Stewart.  These Demobilization Assistance Teams provide support to Florida Army National Guard units throughout the demobilization process.  Our families are provided continual support throughout this process, including providing arrival updates to our families through our web site, e-mails and telephone. The Army National Guard has developed a Post Mobilization Survey to identify and counteract mobilization related attrition/retention factors.  These surveys will provide lessons learned that will be employed to shape Post-mobilization attrition and family readiness programs.

Honoring our soldiers and their families is a crucial aspect of our reintegration plan and we have formally developed and implemented a four-phase plan.  The first phase is the arrival at Hunter Army Airfield or other demobilization stations.  Returning service members will be greeted plane side by senior military officials and selected guests.  Guard members then move directly to Fort Stewart (or other demobilization locations) and will be greeted by family, key officials, and the press.  Phase II is the arrival at local National Guard armories and facilities.  We have coordinated with local communities to provide ceremonies that reflect the appreciation the citizens of Florida have for these soldiers and their families. Phase III encompasses cities, counties and family readiness groups holding celebration events such as parades, fairs, and festivals.  Phase IV is entitled "Salute to Our Florida Heroes" with regional celebrations in Panama City, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami.  The Governor, national leaders, and senior officials will attend these celebrations.  Each event in this phased operation will be designed to honor soldiers and airmen, their families, and family readiness groups.
 

Our focus is the welfare of our service members and their families.  The manner in which we handle these redeployments will have a lasting impact on our Army.

The Freedom Salute Campaign, one of the largest Army National Guard recognition endeavors in history, is designed to publicly acknowledge Army Guard soldiers and those who supported them during the President's call to duty for Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom.  Each eligible soldier will receive an encased American flag, a sequentially numbered commemorative coin, a "Defender of Freedom" certificate signed by the Director of the Army National Guard, and the Command Sergeant Major, Army National Guard, and a lapel insignia. The soldier's spouse will receive a lapel insignia while soldier's who are considered a center of influence with young people will be given a Future Soldier Footlocker Kit that includes the Daring Eagle board game, Mission Command game, Army National Guard trading cards/case and comic book.  Each eligible soldier will be able to recognize one center of influence for outstanding support during the soldier's mobilization.

Strategic Issues

Since September 11^th, our National Guard has mobilized and deployed more soldiers and airmen than at any time since World War II.  The timing, scale, and scope of these mobilizations and deployments required us to react in far less time than we had envisioned.  As such, we revised and improved our mobilization processes as we were executing them.  With the help of the Services, the National Guard Bureau, U.S. Army Forces Command, and 1^st U.S. Army we were able to solve many of the mobilization and deployment-related problems we encountered.  We are far more capable today than we were just a short time ago.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the tremendous work of General Larry Ellis and his staff at U.S. Army Forces Command, Lieutenant General Joseph Inge and his staff at 1^st U.S. Army, and Lieutenant General H Steven Blum and his staff at National Guard Bureau.  These leaders and their staffs worked with our organization throughout the process as we mobilized, trained, and deployed.  With their help, we have already addressed most of the problems and we are working hard with the Services to overcome the remaining mobilization and deployment challenges that are within our ability to address.

As we continue to fight the Global War on Terrorism, we are also changing.  I believe our challenges reside primarily in how we change, the mobilization process, personnel, equipment, and predictability.

Transforming the Force.  The Department of Defense, the Departments of the Army and Air Force are in the process of executing a historic transformation of our defense capabilities.  Clearly, we are developing a more joint and expeditionary mindset than we have had in the past. We in the Guard will continue to play major roles in homeland defense, the global war on terrorism, stability and support operations, air and missile defense, border protection, consequence management, and counterdrug operations in the future.  The key to retaining these capabilities is maintaining and improving the operational readiness of these forces.  To ensure the agility and responsiveness of the National Guard, our formations must be resourced at the level the Army expects these units to meet at mobilization, in most cases C-1 or C-2.
 

Mobilization.  As mentioned earlier, the Department of Defense has undertaken ambitious plans to reengineer the mobilization and deployment processes.  A major overhaul is required and timely; fresh ideas and new approaches are clearly warranted.  I hope the Department will examine medical and dental requirements of Reserve Component service members, to include providing resources for Reserve Component personnel to use civilian health care providers to enhance medical readiness.  We also need to continue our work to standardize actions at the various mobilization stations in order to smooth the process.  Additionally, we should ensure Garrison Support Units, the formations that support mobilization, are activated and present at mobilization stations before our units arrive.  I am confident that the mobilization reengineering efforts of the Services, National Guard Bureau, U.S. Army Forces Command, 1^st U.S. Army, and the Army's Installation Management Activity will address these issues.

Predictability.  One of the areas which requires close study and evaluation is deployment predictability for our forces.  Currently, the U.S. Navy utilizes the Naval Force Presence Policy and the U.S. Air Force uses the Air Expeditionary Force model to provide predictability for their forces and families.  A more predictable deployment schedule is particularly important for the Reserve Components because the vast majority of Guard members and Reservists maintain civilian jobs.  If we are to count on the continued support of employers and families, we need to provide more predictability.  I am happy to report our Army is considering development of a plan to identify those forces that are ready and on alert for deployment to provide a similar level of predictability for our forces.  Establishing more predictability for our servicemen and women will improve retention and help us to continue to man the force with highly qualified professionals.  We strongly support this Army initiative.

Full Time Manning.  Full time manning is crucial to maintaining high readiness levels.  The full time Military Technicians and Active Guard/Reserve are essential to unit readiness and the overall successful operation of Army National Guard units.  They fill vital positions in areas that support a unit's administrative, payroll, supply, training, and maintenance needs.  Without them, unit readiness and quality of life suffers severely.  The Army National Guard is currently at 58% of full time requirements.  Full time support remains the Army National Guard's number one priority and continued Congressional support for increasing full time manning will directly impact unit readiness levels.

Personnel.  Florida is one of the few states whose deployable units are fully staffed.  While maintaining near full strength minimizes the need for cross-leveling personnel, we were required to transfer personnel from units that were not scheduled to deploy.  This brought the deploying unit up to strength; but, in some cases, rendered the other unit non-deployable.  This is an issue we need to consider carefully.  Within the Army Guard, there is a disconnect between the force structure requirements and the authorized endstrength.  As long as more structure is required than personnel authorized, there will always be a requirement to cross-level personnel to build deployable units.  Our Army and the National Guard Bureau are looking carefully at measures to address this issue and I am confident that we will be able to come up with an acceptable solution.
 

Our retention rate following demobilization is almost impossible to predict with any accuracy, as there are too many variables.  I believe that the manner in which we thank our servicemen and women for their contributions and sacrifices will go a long way toward enhancing the personal feeling of pride they have about what they have accomplished. 

Training.  Army and Air Force guidance published before September 11^th was on the mark.  It prioritized training as the most important mission and contained the proper emphasis on readiness for mobilization and deployment.  Using this guidance as basis for our training enabled us to mobilize and deploy more efficiently.

We intend to focus our future training efforts on mobilization and deployment readiness, and on General Schoomaker's guidance to make "Every Soldier a Rifleman."  To accomplish this, our soldiers and units need increased training and training resources at home station.  As I mentioned earlier, our units need their full time support staff to be funded to at least the required level in order to properly prepare for, conduct, and evaluate training.  We also need training opportunities and school seats to alleviate the backlog in professional schooling created by the deployment of so many of our soldiers.  These schools enable our soldiers to become qualified in their specialties and our young leaders to be trained in basic and advanced leadership techniques.

Equipment.  As you know, many National Guard units have shortages of equipment.  Some of these shortages are of critical equipment like radio sets, night vision devices, and chemical defense equipment.  To provide the Combatant Commander with National Guard units that are fully equipped to support the mission, it has been necessary to cross-level National Guard equipment across state lines.  In many cases, cross leveling limits the giving unit's ability to conduct training and maintain individual or unit proficiency. 

In many instances, units returning from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom are being required by the Combatant Commander to leave equipment behind for follow on units as stay behind equipment.  When Active Component or U.S. Army Reserve units are provided such equipment, it is unclear how or when our units will receive replacements for the equipment they left behind in theater.

To date the Florida National Guard has given up over 1,600 pieces of equipment of thirty-two different types.  This has resulted in a severe shortage of night vision devices and machine guns needed for individual and collective training to sustain perishable skills.  These numbers are expected to continue to grow with additional stay behind equipment and cross-leveling requirements.

Many National Guard units have old equipment, some of which is no longer in the Active Component inventory.  It is becoming increasingly difficult during peacetime to maintain this equipment, and it is almost impossible to keep it running in theater when the rest of our Army no longer maintains spare parts for this old equipment.  Recent mobilizations have again demonstrated the need for Active and Reserve Component modernization processes to be concurrent.