Using the Citizen Solider in Operation Iraqi Freedom

摘要

The U.S. Army National Guard currently constitutes one-third of the forces deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). This extensive use of the National Guard has caused debate over the use of citizen soldiers instead of professional active duty forces in a location as dangerous as Iraq. Due to the organization of the Department of the Army, the large involvement of the National Guard in OIF is an efficient use of available U.S. Combat Power, and is consistent with the historical employment of the National Guard. With its current commitments, the Department of Defense could only take three different actions other than employing the National Guard in Iraq. The first action would be to increase the size of the Active duty military. This option would take time, and it could have drastic public consequences. Second, the Army could mobilize the National Guard and have them fulfill other commitments; however, this would mean extending the deployments of active duty units currently deployed. A third option would be to reverse the McNamara reforms and reorganize the Department of the Army so that the Army reserve has more combat units. The National Guard could then concentrate on state and homeland security missions. Unfortunately, that option would take an act of Congress and a lot of time. The current need for combat troops in Iraq leaves the DoD with few manpower options, and the National Guard is the most efficient solution.