11 terrorist attacks and helped inspire a renewed interest in state guards around the country. The organization was crucial in responding to the Sept. Director of Public Affairs for the NY Guard Eric Durr told NBC 6 their duties revolve around logistics, staffing tactical operation centers, and working as medical personnel inside the state’s nursing homes during a chronic staffing shortage. The New York State Guard has been deployed for more than 600 days responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York Guard has 400 members but is authorized to go up to 804 with an annual training budget of $60,000. “That frees up the National Guard service members to focus on their warfighting capabilities.”Īt 200 members, Florida would have a smaller force compared to its peer states. “We can become the subject matter experts on these state-level missions,” said Warager. Most work without pay.įor instance, the National Guard may not have many lawyers in a given state, but volunteer members could spend time with legal issues or writing wills. Two types of people join, according to Retired Brigadier General David Warager, who now leads the State Guard Association of the United States: people who could not serve in the traditional military for job or family reasons, and retired service members who want to stay involved. State guards across the country have teams dedicated to fire response, cyber security, search and rescue, legal, medical, along with other duties.Įach organization has a mission statement, usually to augment and support the state’s National Guard. State defense force members usually have a week of training before being deployed and have an additional training day each month. The vast majority of guard members are unpaid volunteers but can be reimbursed by state or federal budgets. State guards usually fall under the command of an adjutant general who reports to the governor. If the state legislature passes his desired budget, the Florida State Guard could begin recruitment and training as early as the second half of 2022. In response, DeSantis’s press secretary Christina Pushaw wrote their accusations were “disrespectful, not only to the service members who assist states in emergencies, but also to people who have experienced firsthand the violence and trauma inflicted by actual paramilitary forces in other countries.” “Wannabe dictator trying to make his move for his own vigilante militia like we’ve seen in Cuba,” wrote state Sen. “Millions of Floridians know what it’s like to live under regimes like this - and came to our state to escape them.” “Florida doesn’t need a paramilitary force,” wrote Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. ![]() “No Governor should have his own handpicked secret police,” wrote Rep. The Florida State Guard would act similar to the National Guard in the state per the law, meaning they could be trained and armed with protective equipment and weapons.ĭeSantis’s three opponents in 2022 don’t trust him creating this new force. The governor said relaunching the state guard would allow the state to respond “in ways that are not encumbered by the federal government.” DeSantis has fought against vaccine mandates. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned National Guard members may soon be banned from training and getting paid unless they are vaccinated against the COVID-19. “We want to make sure that we have the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible,” DeSantis said. ![]() Currently, some units of the Florida National Guard are deployed to Ukraine amid a buildup of Russian forces along the border of the two countries. Per his office, the Florida National Guard has spent three times as much time on federal missions over state missions in the past five years. The law authorizing a state guard in Florida already exists but has not been funded since the late 1940s.ĭeSantis’s office says a major reason for relaunching the organization is to have more control and additional resources when responding to disasters. A state guard would report only to the governor and his executive branch. ![]() The key difference is the National Guard can be "federalized" to be directed by the President’s Department of Defense. Twenty-two other states have something similar, along with Puerto Rico. In next year’s budget, he’ll push for $3.5 million to start a force of 200 service members. Ron DeSantis wants to relaunch the Florida State Guard, a volunteer state defense force to support the Florida National Guard.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |