U.S. Senate Approves Senator Maria Cantwell’s Call for National Guard and Reserves Fair Deployment Time Policy
Cantwell’s amendment means deployment times for National Guard and Reserves starts upon mobilization, not overseas
Washington, D.C. – This evening U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell provided some stability for the U.S. National Guard, Reserves, family members and their employers by bringing more certainty to Guard and Reservists’ deployment times. Cantwell’s amendment to the Iraq supplemental will require deployment times for guard and reserves to begin as soon as they are activated, rather than when they actually arrive overseas, which could be weeks or even months later. Her amendment would also require a better communication program for notifying active reserves and their families when deployment plans have changed.
"It means troops from Washington state’s 81st Infantry National Guard, if deployed, will have everyday of their service away from home and from their jobs count. Whether training at Fort Lewis, being in transit to Baghdad, or actually being in Iraq, every day of their deployment counts. If that’s one year, every day their boots are out of the house counts toward fulfilling that one year duty," stated Cantwell.
In her testimony to the U.S. Senate, Cantwell explained, "We need to be consistent in how we calculate the deployment times for our Guard and Reserve personnel and provide at least some warning when deployment policies and expected return dates are changed.
"Over twenty thousand troops in Iraq were faced with a rude awakening last month when the Administration changed a fifty-year standard practice in calculating deployment policies – a change that effectively extended deployments for these troops by several months in many cases.
"Prior to last month’s decision, the length of deployment was calculated based on the time a reservist was activated – when a member of the Guard and Reserve left home. Last month the Administration changed the method of calculation to time deployed ‘in theater.’
"This is not the way to treat our Guard and Reserves. We are asking for more and more from them, and they deserve better. The Guard and Reserves are critically important to our national security both at home and abroad.
"We need to know that we are asking an extraordinary commitment from our nation’s Guard and Reservists, their families and employers. Yet, in the face of this commitment, we have not treated these men and women with the care and respect that they deserve in carrying out deployment policies."
Cantwell’s amendment is one of the few amendments to the Iraq supplemental bill that has the backing of military organizations. Specifically, her amendment has been endorsed by the National Guard Association, the Reserve Officers Association, and the National Military Families Association.
One former member of the Army National Guard from Spokane, WA wrote Cantwell, "I find that in a situation like this, does not matter what political side you are on, the issue is either right or wrong. As a former member of the Army National Guard and the father of a U.S. Marine Reserve I applaud your efforts to create a well defined line as to when a Reservist is ‘officially’ activated. Many years ago when I served that was the first question I asked of my Commanding Officer, ‘If we are activated, when does the clock start ticking?’ His response was ‘When we get the orders to pack up and prepare to move out.’ Please continue to fight for our Reservists’ peace of mind and thank you again for being willing to step in for them."
A Republican constituent in Seattle wrote, "You have finally won a conservative Republican, initial Bush supporter to your side. I commend you! Your proposed legislation on the plight of the National Guard and Reservists is right on target. Continue the course! You are right. The ‘clock’ starts ticking once the mobilization orders occur, not when they are deployed overseas. Many of these young men and women come from a long way – just to participate in weekend drills and annual training. Pre-mobilization is not just a 9 to 5 job for our soldiers. In many cases they have to leave their jobs and families just to be there."
Cantwell’s bipartisan amendment passed via Unanimous Consent. Her statement submitted to the Congressional Record is included below.
Statement on Guard and Reserve
"Mr. President, I rise today to offer an amendment to this bill that will bring predictability and clarity in our deployment of National Guard and Reserve units.
I want to thank my co-sponsors who are joining me in sending a message that we need to be consistent in how we calculate the deployment times for our Guard and reserve personnel and provide at least some warning when deployment policies and expected return dates are changed.
This amendment will direct the Pentagon to consider the full activation time for Guard and Reserve personnel in considering its deployment policies and also to establish a program to more effectively notify troops and their families of changes in deployment policies and/or extensions in deployment periods.
Both of these steps will go a long way in ensuring better predictability for our military reservists, their families, and employers – they certainly deserve it.
Background
As many in this chamber know, over twenty thousand troops in Iraq were faced with a rude awakening last month when the Administration changed a fifty-year standard practice in calculating deployment policies – a change the effectively extended deployments for these troops by several months in many cases.
Prior to last month’s decision, the length of deployment was calculated based on the time a reservist was activated – when a member of the Guard and reserve left home. However, last month, the Administration changed the method of calculation to time deployed "in theater."
Mr. President, this is not the way to treat our reserve component. We are asking more and more from them, and they deserve better. The Guard and Reserve are critically important to our national security both at home and abroad.
Since September 11, 2001, the National Guard has mobilized 210,000 of its 350,000 soldiers at one time or another. The Reserve has mobilized 85,000 of its 205,000 in that same time period.
In my own state, with the recent alert of the Army National Guard’s 81st Armored Brigade, forty-one percent of Washington state’s National Guard – 4,041 troops -- are currently alerted and deployed, as well as 2,100 reservists from bases around my state.
These are historic levels of sustained mobilization, and we need to be clear that we are asking a lot from these men and women – and we must do everything we can to ensure that the Guard and Reserve continue to recruit and retain skilled and committed personnel.
The Reserve component is comprised of unique men and women who signed up knowing that they may be called to serve their country in the case of emergency.
During peacetime, Guard and Reserve personnel serve as police officers, fire fighters, teachers, small business people and many other occupations. They are part of our communities.
They also help serves as a vital bridge between our nation’s military and our communities.
While these soldiers are deployed, employers back home – including many in our police, fire and emergency response -- are understaffed. Moreover, dependents are left without parents, often with financial hardship, as many soldiers take a pay cut when they give up their civilian salary for a military wage.
It goes without saying that these men and women definitely signed up to serve when their country calls. In fact, the reservists in my state do not dispute their commitment; in fact, they are eager to serve their country.
However, we need to know that we are asking an extraordinary commitment from our nation’s Guard and reservists, their families and their employers.
Yet, in the face of this commitment, we have not treated these men and women with the care and respect that they deserve in carrying out deployment policies.
Problem
This was most evident in early September, when the Pentagon announced that it will calculate deployment lengths for the over 20,000 Guard and Reserve members in Iraq based on the actual time in the theater of operations – otherwise known as "boots on the ground."
This change altered a long-standing practice dating back to the Korean-War era in which deployment lengths for Guard and Reserve officers were calculated from the moment they were actually activated – that is, when they are called to leave their jobs and families to begin pre-mobilization preparation time and included post-mobilization time.
This preparation time that can sometimes take as much as three to six months.
As a result, thousands of troops in the theater of operations who were expecting to go home – literally counting the days to return -- were just informed that their time would be extended, some by as much as six months.
If that were not bad enough, many of the troops on the ground learned about this change in their deployments from their families – through phone calls and e-mails – who, in turn, read about it in the newspaper.
This is just wrong!
As Mark Kimmey, an Army Reservist, wrote in the New York Times: "the message to reservists is unmistakable: the Army no longer takes into account sacrifices made to maintain two career lives."
We absolutely owe it to our Guard and Reservists to give them predictability in the process and to fully recognize that the Guard and Reservists’ lives are serving from the point they are activated.
If we do not, we are not only letting down these dedicated men and women, but we are also jeopardizing the future viability of our reserve components: put simply, these men and women will not sign up again.
We must do everything that we can to help ensure that military commanders have trained and ready Guard and Reserve units by promoting recruitment and retention of guard personnel.
Amendment
For this reason, I am offering an amendment to this bill that will bring a much-needed level of predictability and clarity to the deployment process by doing two things:
First, my amendment will direct the Pentagon to revert back to the standard practice in considering, for the purposes of deployment announcements, mobilization reports and communications, the clock to start ticking from the point of activation – that is, "boots our of the house."
If we need our reservists to serve in theater for one year and six months in preparation time, that’s fine. But let’s be honest, these troops are being deployed for eighteen months – not a year. Troops, families, and employers deserve the respect of our acknowledging the sacrifice.
Second, this amendment argues that if we are going to change elements of deployment policies, such as what the Administration did in September, than we at least provide a modicum level of notification to families and troops so that they can prepare.
My amendment would ask the Pentagon to develop a program that would notify troops and families in either the case of a change in deployment policy or an extension in their date of expected return.
We are not, by any means, seeking to limit the operational use of the Guard and Reserve, nor are we seeking to limit the flexibility of their use.
My amendment simply provides that if military commanders need troops for a year, eighteen months, or two years, then let’s make sure that the Guard and reserve personnel know what is expected from them at the beginning of deployments, and not changing the rules mid-stream.
I recognize that we cannot always plan for operational needs, and that our commanders on the ground must be able to change deployments sometimes in the case of major unexpected contingencies.
This amendment does absolutely nothing to limit the ability of the Pentagon to mobilize and use our Guard and Reserve units, nor does it limit the length of time that they can be deployed.
Furthermore, the amendment’s provisions can be waived at any point in the case of dire, unexpected operational needs. If anything, this amendment will increase operational flexibility by helping to ensure that Guard and Reserve units are fully mission capable to support the Commander in Chief and military leaders.
Conclusion
We are simply asking the Administration to adopt the standard practice in effect for decades in calculating deployment times so that troops and their families can know when to start their clocks.
Ultimately, this is a very modest amendment. We are asking the Pentagon to be honest, consistent and predictable in the use of our Guard and Reserve. They deserve it, their families deserve it, we owe it to them. I urge you to vote for my amendment."
Next Article Previous Article
