Florida lawmakers from both parties, joined by those in Texas and California, are urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to develop plans to boost the number of National Guardsmen serving in all three states.
“We appreciate the hard work of the brave volunteers that make up the National Guard. They have served our nation honorably, both at home and abroad.
After the unprecedented events of the past year that included COVID-19 response and civil unrest in addition to natural disasters and overseas deployments, we owe the National Guard a debt of gratitude,” says the letter, which was signed by 59 House members.
“However, strain on the National Guard has been building for years as hurricane response in Florida, winter storm and flood rescue in Texas, and combatting wildfires in California has been persistent.”
The lawmakers pointed out that 15 of the nation’s top 25 most populous counties are located within California, Florida, and Texas. And the pressure will mount on recruiting Guardsmen as residents of the Northeast and Rust Belt states flee for the Sun Belt, especially Florida and Texas.
“As elected representatives from the nation’s three most populous states, we have an obligation to ensure that these civilian warriors, and our state bureaus, have the resources they need to fulfill the full range of missions we task them with, including defense support for civil authorities and domestic missions in support of Governors,” the letter notes.
Yet, in considering the Guardsmen-to-civilian ratios across the country, Texas ranks 52nd, Florida 53rd, and California 54th.
“The extraordinary circumstances of the past year have highlighted the strain on our Guard units have been under for too long, potentially hurting recruitment, retention, and readiness. The limited resources allocated to our states has affected our Guard bureaus’ ability to rotate personnel, putting greater demands on Guard families,” the lawmakers write.
They note two separate reposrt that show how an inability to recruit new personnel could adversely affect the Guard’s ability to support missions amid dramatic population growth.
Lawmaker asked Austin to “work with us to grow the size of Guard bureaus in our states.”
“As we consider National Guard force structure policy in the National Defense Authorization Act, please let us know what resources or authorities you need to ensure they have an appropriate and sustainable force structure allocation to meet their mission requirements, without impacting missions in other states.”
Florida lawmakers who signed the letter include GOP Reps. Michael Waltz of St. Augustine Beach, Greg Steube of Sarasota, Scott Franklin of Lakeland, Matt Gaetz of Fort Walton Beach, and Kat Cammack of Gainesville. Democrats from Florida included Kathy Castor of Tampa and Charlie Crist of Clearwater
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