Maryland Guard Transformation
National Guard Bureau News
Release Date: 3/2/2004
By Rick Breitenfeldt, National Guard Bureau Public Affairs
BALTIMORE, Md - Walking through training facilities, readiness centers and staff offices of the Maryland National Guard, most wouldn't notice much of a change from years past, but start talking to the soldiers and airmen who sit at those desks or run the equipment and an entirely different message begins to emerge.
For nearly a year, the Maryland National Guard along with 53 other states and U.S. territories have been changing the way they think, changing the way they do business and transforming into a force that is more responsive for the American people.
Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, began the process of transforming the Guard into a more modern and more responsive force for the 21st century in a plan unveiled at last May during the spring conference of the Adjutant General Association of the United States in Columbus, Ohio.
"We fight jointly, and we need to train and operate on a daily basis in a joint environment so we can make the transition (from citizen to soldier) very quickly. After all, our symbol is the Minuteman," Blum said after unveiling his plan last year.
Maj. Gen. Bruce F. Tuxill, adjutant general for the Maryland Guard, said his organization has made significant progress in less than a year since the Guard chief met with him and his counterparts.
"I see a lot of goodness in this," said Tuxill, who believes one of the biggest challenges he has faced is getting his staff to stop thinking on a service specific stovepipe level and begin looking at the more macro and joint levels.
"Transformation is a state of mind; it is getting everybody thinking in different ways to achieve different ends," said Tuxill.
This different way of thinking was made abundantly clear as Hurricane Isabel wreaked havoc in the state in September 2003, said Tuxill.
"We got real smart real quick. We knew we needed to utilize all the forces that are available to this state for the benefit of this state," said Tuxill.
Col. Grant L. Hayden, director of operations for the Maryland Guard, said the Air Guard and Army Guard stood side by side in the joint operations center during the storm, which is something that may not have happened before the joint concept.
Hurricane Isabel, said Hayden, provided numerous examples of this new way of thinking when it comes to sharing information and assets of other services.
In addition to using Warfield Airbase as a staging area for troops and equipment and having a C-130 standing by to support the logistical aspects of responding to a storm of this magnitude, the Maryland National Guard even approached an engineering company of the Marine Corps Reserve located in the state because of the number of Guard engineers who were deployed to support the Global War on Terrorism.
"This was something we never would have though of before we started talking joint," said Hayden. "Transformation has brought us closer as an organization. It has brought us together and we work more closely and support each other."
Tuxill said Maryland is in many ways unique because transforming the Maryland National Guard goes beyond state borders and also means greater cooperation among neighboring states and the District of Columbia.
For the first time, the Maryland National Guard is working with D.C. and Virginia within the National Capital Region to meet the terrorist threat, said Tuxill.
"If we have another incident like we had on Sept 11, 2001, I would have like to have seen the other guys business card and had the opportunity to talk to them first," said Tuxill. "Let's not exchange cards after the event happens, let's exchange them prior to and talk about how we can best posture ourselves for this threat."
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