Q&A: Lieutenant General Clyde A. Vaughn
Guard Trainer
Providing Defense At Home And Abroad
Lieutenant General Clyde A. Vaughn
Director, Army National Guard
Arlington, Va.
Lieutenant General Clyde A. Vaughn currently serves as the Director, Army National Guard. As the director, Army National Guard, he guides the formulation, development and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the Army National Guard; a force of 350,000 soldiers in the 54 states, territories and the District of Columbia. Vaughn is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State College, Shippensburg University, and the Army War College. He was commissioned through the Missouri National Guard Officer Candidates School program in 1974 and consequently has served in a wide variety of command and staff positions as a traditional Guardsman and on active duty. He has served extensively in Central and South America on several deployed Task Forces. His general officer assignments were as the deputy director of Operations, Readiness and Mobilization and the deputy director of Military Support under the G3 of the United States Army; then, deputy director of the Army National Guard; and most recently, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard Matters. The interview with Lieutenant General Vaughn was conducted by MT2 Editor Rodney L. Pringle.
Q: What is the mission of U.S. Army National Guard and what is your job as director?
A: The mission of the Army National Guard is to provide a full-spectrum operational capability to fight the nation’s wars as directed by the Secretary of Defense and to respond to state emergencies and disasters. The Army National Guard fulfills this dual role in the nation’s defense at home and abroad by providing combat, combat support, and combat service support units to the combatant commanders, the Army, joint and combined forces, and the states and territories. As director, I guide the formulation, development, and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the Army National Guard and provide a channel of communication to the Army staff and Secretary of the Army. This involves acquiring and distributing resources (force structure, infrastructure, end-strength, equipment and funding) to the 54 states and territories. I have the distinct privilege of being the “coach” of our outstanding team of 350,000-plus soldiers, state technicians, and Title 5 civilian members of the Army National Guard. I’m basically the “head coach” on the Army side of the National Guard field with 54 adjutants general providing the grass roots coaching in their states and territories.
Q: What are your goals and objectives for ARNG?
A: Our vision for the Army National Guard is to have a campaign quality force capable of full-spectrum operations in joint and interagency environments. In addition to growing our force, our top priorities are determined by our chief, Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum: the security and defense of our homeland at home and abroad, supporting the global war on terrorism, and providing a relevant, reliable and ready National Guard.
Q: Could you talk about the history of ARNG and how it has evolved through the years?
A: The National Guard traces its origins back to the militias of the 13 original English colonies in North America, dating back to 1636 and the militia of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Following the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Constitution nationalized the militia, dividing control between the individual states and the federal government. This Constitutional dual federal-state organization characterizes the National Guard to this day. While mandatory militia service declined in most states after the War of 1812, each of the states formed volunteer militia organizations. These volunteer units formed the bulk of the Union and Confederate armies for the duration of the Civil war. Federal funding, equipment and training became available with the Militia Act of 1903, and it was further increased with the National Defense Act of 1916 which authorized drill pay for Guardsmen for the first time. The entire National Guard was called up by President Wilson to defend the Mexican Border after Pancho Villa’s raid into New Mexico in 1916. Many of the Guardsmen returned from their Southwest border duty only to be called again into federal service in 1917 for World War I. Upon mobilization, the National Guard doubled the size of the U.S. Army, as most National Guard units were organized into divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces. In August 1940, more than 300,000 National Guardsmen were mobilized during World War II. The Guard served as a strategic reserve for both the Army and Air Force during the Cold War, with active service abroad during the Korean War, the Berlin Crisis of 1961-62, and the Vietnam War. During the 1970s, as the draft ended and America entered the “allvolunteer force” era, the Department of Defense “Total Force Policy” mandated increased reliance on the Reserve Components. The Army and Air National Guard began to receive more modern equipment and began peacetime training overseas. The payoff for these increased resources and training came in 1990 during the Persian Gulf War. The mobilization which followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was the fastest in the Guard’s history. Nearly 75,000 Army and Air Guard members were mobilized, and most deployed in less than 45 days. The National Guard’s response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 highlighted the Guard’s traditional role as the first military responder to a domestic emergency. The first military aircraft over New York City and Washington D.C. were Air Guard fighters; the first units on the ground assisting civil authorities were from the Army Guard. While defending the homeland, we have mobilized nearly 300,000 National Guardsmen to fight the global war on terror. The citizen-soldiers of the Army and Air National Guard, as members of one of the nation’s oldest and finest institutions, continue to respond to the new challenges America faces. Much has changed since the first decades of the 17th century, but more than 370 years later, the men and women of the National Guard are still answering the call to protect their neighbors and their nation.
Q: What is the role of ARNG in the ongoing war on terrorism and how many ARNG soldiers are currently deployed overseas?
A: The Army National Guard fulfills a vital role in the nation’s defense at home and abroad by providing crucial combat, combat support, and combat service support units to the combatant commanders, the Army, joint and combined forces, and the states and territories. These ready forces are capable of performing full-spectrum operations in support of our civil and military leadership. As we operate in the sixth year of the global war on terrorism, the Army National Guard is well-established as a battle hardened and respected fighting force. At one point in 2005 our citizen-soldiers made up more than 50 percent of the U.S. combat power in Iraq. To date we have mobilized nearly 300,000 Guardsmen, and nearly 75 percent of them have deployed to combat zones. At the same time, we have executed our critical role of being the nation’s first military responders to crises such as Katrina. As of 1 July 2007, over 33,400 Guard members were serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom (169,887 to date), over 6,100 in Operation Enduring Freedom—Afghanistan mission (17,410 to date), and 188 in Operation Noble Eagle (35,324 to date). Additionally, we currently have approximately 3,000 personnel serving in support of the Southwest Border Mission. In the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, our Guard is as relevant and ready as it has been at anytime in our 370-year history.
Q: What has the impact of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan had on ARNG overall?
A: Prior to 9/11 the ARNG had about 65 percent of our equipment on hand [EOH] ready for deployment. Overall Army National Guard equipment was at a reasonable readiness level, but we definitely had room for improvement in the quantity and quality of our equipment. Heavy mobilizations have taken a toll on equipment readiness. Many of our units are well below acceptable levels due to much of the equipment being left behind. We have started making some progress on getting our equipment levels up, and both the Army and Congress have committed to getting us there. However, it is a slow process that will take some time. Part of the on-going rotation planning has been to convert much of the deployed inventory to stay behind equipment [SBE], which assists with the transition from one unit to another in theater. During the past few years, the National Guard has experienced its most profound organizational change since the end of World War II. The heart of this transformation effort combined the separate state and territorial Army and Air National Guard Headquarters into a joint force headquarters (JFHQ).
Q: Could you discuss why this change was made and the impact that it has had overall?
A: The Joint Force Headquarters in each state provides a standing joint force command and control capability available to the combatant commander—as well as to the governors—for homeland defense and civil support operations. Essentially the Joint Force Headquarters unifies the Army National Guard and Air National Guard in each state, providing a single-point of contact for most state-level Guard actions. Homeland defense operations are inherently multi-agency and multijurisdictional. The JFHQ-State provides responsive situational awareness of emerging local events and interoperable information systems to link with the response community at an incident site. The state Joint Force Headquarters have been operational since 1 October 2003. The Department of Defense validated them as DoD joint capabilities in April 2006. Doctrine and procedures on how JFHQs-State and the DoD components collaboratively plan, exercise and operate continue to mature. Together, the National Guard Bureau and the JFHQ-State provide the bridging mechanism between the DoD components and the National Guard of the 54 states and territories to allow for shared situational awareness and seamless unity of effort during domestic events and operations. Since the National Guard is dispersed in more than 3,200 communities around the U.S, we are uniquely positioned to quickly respond to a crisis when it strikes.
Q: How does ARNG balance its support of the warfight overseas with defense of the homeland?
A: The Army National Guard has always had a dual federal-state mission. With resources available in 54 states and territories, we balance our mission requirements and apply the resources necessary to accomplish a particular mission. We do not perform homeland defense missions at the expense of a global mission or permit any global mission to prevent us from completing our missions at home. We do not have unlimited resources, but we marshal and manage our resources extremely well. As part of the Army’s continuing modular conversion, the Army National Guard is restructuring to create forces that are more independent and interchangeable (modular) while enhancing full-spectrum capabilities. Army National Guard Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) are being structured and manned identically to those in the Active Army and can be combined with other BCTs or elements of the joint force, facilitating integration, interoperability and compatibility. The modular organization provides a more flexible, more capable, and more rapidly deployable force with the BCT as the centerpiece. The modular force also factors into the Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) model, which provides more predictable deployment rotations, and enables us to better balance our resources. More importantly it gives us the flexibility to call a neighboring unit and know that the unit will bring the capabilities needed, with the identical gear and training. It is important to understand that the capabilities that our citizen-soldiers bring to the warfight are many of the same functions that are needed to respond to a catastrophe at home. Military police are called upon to protect property, as an engineer is needed to build a base or clear a path following a hurricane— the skills are interchangeable.
Q: What have been the biggest challenges to the success of ARNG and how has the command tried to deal with these challenges?
A: End-strength and equipping have been two of our biggest challenges. With a novel approach we have been dramatically improving our recruiting and our retention numbers. With a rigorous systematic approach to equipping, we’ve been good stewards of our equipment: maintaining, repairing and replacing equipment as necessary and possible.
END-STRENGTH
Regarding end-strength, the Army National Guard is authorized by law to maintain a level of 350,000—plus or minus 2 percent. We have been able to make a huge transformation in this area by going from a low of 330,000 in FY 05 to the success of today at more than 352,000. Of particular note our retention rates have remained well over 100 percent in the last two years and we are on track to do even better this year.
EQUIPPING
In keeping with the Defense Secretary’s new mandate, our goal of the 12-month mobilization policy is to reduce post-mobilization training time in order to maximize time spent conducting the mission in theater. We have started the process by obtaining both the equipment and the training needed to be able to conduct most of the pre-mob process at home station. Allocation of equipment to deploying units exacerbates shortages to support domestic missions. Equipment for moving and communicating on the battlefield is a priority. The Department of the Army has committed to equipping the ARNG to acceptable levels and has begun the process with the first installment of $21 billion of new procurement over the fiscal year 2005 to 2011 timeframe. The end-strength and equipping challenges will be with us for the foreseeable future, but through the creative approach of our adjutants general and many of our processes such as Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMAC) between states we will meet these challenges.
Q: What has ARNG implemented through its lessons learned initiatives to better improve training for its soldiers, particularly for those who have had to fight overseas?
A: The Army and the Army National Guard are always evaluating ways to improve training. With the current planned 12-month training cycles, more of the pre-deployment training must be completed prior to mobilization. This requirement puts more responsibilities on the shoulders of the states and territories and they have been rising to the occasion. One success story is the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center (MUTC), an Indiana-based, self-contained training environment that has evolved into a full-immersion contemporary urban training center. MUTC is a consortium of governmental, public and private entities that are pooling their unique capabilities in order to provide the most realistic training experience possible. Training can be tailored to replicate both foreign and domestic scenarios and can be used by various civilian and military organizations. Training is used in two ways: to help prepare soldiers to fight in foreign cities and to help prepare soldiers and others to deal with the aftermath of attacks on U.S. cities. MUTC will provide an Advanced Complex Urban Operations training environment. This capability will better train units for ongoing operations in urban environments and will meet a growing need for urban training capability for future operations. MUTC will also provide a training environment which will support training for natural and man-made disaster response and consequence management. ARNG this past year experienced one of its most successful recruiting and retention years in its history. The force experienced a net growth of 13,111 soldiers during fiscal year 2006, surpassing its retention goal of 34,875 by reenlisting 41,083 soldiers.
Q: What do you attribute this success to and how important was it for the ARNG to reach its congressionally authorized end strength of 350,000 citizen-soldiers six months earlier than originally projected?
A: The Army National Guard recruiting success has been the result of several innovative programs, soldier incentives, and command emphasis. The Guard took many steps to reverse negative trends and maximize end-strength. This included increasing bonus maximums to $20,000 for enlistments, $15,000 for reenlistments, and $15,000 for prior service enlistments. The Guard also increased retention bonuses from $5,000 to $15,000. These steps helped move our end-strength trend upward. The Guard has implemented several initiatives to help achieve and maintain congressionallyauthorized end-strength levels: the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP), improved recruiter training, and the Recruit Sustainment Program. The Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP) is a civilian contract recruiting program. G-RAP recruiting assistants are drilling members of the National Guard who also are privately-employed, performance-based subcontractors who provide recruiting services. More than 105,000 recruiting assistants have signed up nationwide. This program capitalizes on our greatest strength, which is our traditional citizen-soldiers who live and work in the communities all across the country. What better source than to get a soldier to bring a friend whom he or she wants to serve alongside. We also have adjusted our recruiting strategy. Recruiters in training now receive a course on Comprehensive Communication Skills. This program trains the force on how to recruit in a wartime environment and overcome the inherent difficulties of recruiting young men and women during the global war on terrorism. The Recruit Sustainment Program reduces training losses by introducing newly enlisted Guard soldiers to the military and eases their adjustment to basic combat training. No program can guarantee future success, but we have some excellent programs that, combined with command emphasis in each state and territory, provide promise for the future.
Q: What can industry do to better help ARNG accomplish its mission?
A: As citizen-soldiers, the vast majority of our members have jobs, careers, schools, and other activities to return to after a deployment. Our relationship with employers of Guard members is critical. Many workplaces become extended families for soldiers, and co-workers can provide much needed support before, during, and after deployment. Many companies have extended great benefits to soldiers and the families such as free admissions to theme parks, free meals on Veteran’s day, discounts on various rentals and purchases, and many other ways of saying “thank you” to our troops. We greatly appreciate these expressions of appreciation to our soldiers.
Q: What is the future of ARNG and what role will it play in the U.S. Army’s overall mission to meet the demands of a nation at war while simultaneously anticipating solutions to the challenges of tomorrow?
A: Our future will undoubtedly be a reflection of our past. We had an ARNG [former] Directors’ Panel recently at the Readiness Center. We asked our panelists to comment on their visions of the future. Lieutenant General (retired) Herb Temple, Major General (retired) D’Araujo, Mr. Navas (retired major general, now Assistant Secretary of the Navy), and Lieutenant General (retired) Roger Schultz all had distinct and interesting views. General Temple pointed out that in his career he saw three wars and every war was different. He predicted that most soldiers would see three unique types of war during their careers. He also emphasized the wisdom of accepting new missions, rather than resisting change. As an example, he pointed out that the other Army components did not want the counterdrug mission, but that this has been an incredible force multiplier for the Army National Guard. He noted that any threat to the nation is a mission for the Guard. General D’Araujo pointed out that the cycle of roles, responsibilities and relevancy has repeated in the past and is highly likely to repeat in the future. He also pointed out that regardless of improvements in smart bombs, information and network warfare, the future will still present the need for boots on the ground and soldiers with rifles. Mr. Navas categorized the 20th Century wars in a very cogent and concise way. He pointed out that World War I was a chemical war, World War II was a war ultimately for physicists, and the Cold War was a war of intelligence, information, and espionage. The current global war on terror he pointed out was a war on a globalized flat world where Al-Qaeda is a franchise operation with cells springing up in a difficult-topredict fashion. Lieutenant General Schultz spoke of the essence of formation and of maintaining focus into the future. Earlier he had pointed out that when he reported for his platoon assignment in Vietnam, the operations officer alerted him that his first sergeant was “from the Guard.” Then Lieutenant Schultz remarked that the first sergeant’s affiliation was fine with him, that he was in the Guard also. He noted that the Guard will continue to have resource problems and that it must maintain a dual focus with a balanced force, not one that overextends for homeland defense demands.
Q: What else would you like to add concerning ARNG and its mission going forward?
A: One of our more recent programs is the Post Deployment Health Reassessment (PDHRA). The PDHRA is a force health protection process designed to enhance the deployment-related continuum of care. Army policy offers this program to all soldiers who have returned from a combat deployment since 10 March 2005 and is highly recommended for all soldiers who participated in combat prior to 10 March 2005. Research shows that our soldiers may experience unrecognized and undiagnosed medical conditions that surface after release from active duty. The PDHRA helps leaders identify and resolve deployment-related medical issues, especially those related to behavioral health, as soldiers readjust back to life in their communities. Key elements of the PDHRA include outreach, education and training, screening, and assessment by specially trained health care providers, and a mechanism for follow- up evaluation and treatment. In addition to screening for deployment-related health concerns, the PDHRA brings needed health care resources to our soldiers in geographically dispersed locations to include outreach specialists from the Department of Veterans Affairs. PDHRA funds help alleviate lost income from civilian employment, which can create additional hardships during the reconstitution phase of deployment. The ARNG is committed to the long-term success of the PDHRA program and the longterm health and well-being of our Soldiers. The PDHRA program directly impacts the retention and well-being of our soldiers and their families, and it is critical to future deployment strength. In order to remain strong, every leader and soldier must be capable of identifying symptoms and ensuring that treatment is available to every soldier who requires or requests it. ♦