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Legislation & Resolutions

Thanks To You NGB Chief Gets Seat on Joint Chiefs

Thanks to the legislative efforts of NGAMA and the other members of NGAUS, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau is now a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley became a member of the Joint Chiefs on December 31, when President Barack Obama signed into law the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act which included this language.

The language that gives the Chief the boost in status in the Pentagon was the primary focus of the NGAUS and NGAMA legislative efforts in 2011. NGAMA members responded to Legislative Alerts and contacted their members of Congress urging the passage of the legislation.  The victory was hard fought. Every member of the Joint Chief s testified against the change before the Senate Armed Services Committee. But our coordinated effort prevailed.

“The Guard finally has a seat at the table,” said retired Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., the president of NGAUS. “This does not mean the Pentagon culture with all of its historic biases against the Guard will evolve overnight. After all, this is a move every member of the Joint Chiefs opposed.

“But at least now, the Guard will have a voice among the president’s military advisors, one that can’t be ignored or excluded from the discussion. It’s a huge victory for the Guard. More importantly, it could be a catalyst for the type of change needed to defend the nation in the tough fiscal environment ahead.”

The legislation also requires that National Guard general officers be considered for command of the Army North and Air Force North.

Thank you to all our members who responded to the Legislative Alert. Your efforts proves the strength of our organizations and our ability to get things done in Congress. Happy New Year!

Legislation Filed to Update Chapter 33, State Militia Law

The State Militia Law, Chapter 33 has not been updated since before the Korean War. As a result the law is outdated and does not reflect the actual missions of the Massachusetts National Guard. Representative Paul McMurtry (D-Dedham) has filed House Bill 2817 as a comprehensive re-write of the State Militia law. The bill has been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

NGAMA's Executive Committee as well as the Legislative Committee will keep the NGAMA membership informed of the progress of this legislative proposal.

The proposed legislation addresses some of the significant shortcomings of the current version of Chapter 33 including: 

  • Provisions for the use of appropriate powers of action if called to support times of emergency by the Governor.
  • Prevention of significant financial hardship to Guard members called to active duty through differential pay equivalencies.
  • Elimination of public employee double pay.
  • Protection of employment rights under State Law for activation in State Status through incorporation of the Uniform Service Member's Employment and Re-Employment Rights and Service Member's Civil Relief Acts.
  • Health insurance coverage for Service members called to state active duty.
  • Providing disciplinary systems for Commanders through the adoption of the National Guard Bureau's Uniform State Code of Military Justice.

Additionally, by revision and adoption to currently overriding Federal Laws, the proposed legislation streamlines chapter 33 from 137 to 55 sections.

Look for Legislative Alerts as well as more information regarding this significant state legislation.

Resolutions Timeline

May 1 Deadline
The NGAUS legislative staff distributes “standing” resolutions to state association presidents, executive directors, congressional action contact officers (CACO), task forces, and adjutants general (TAG) to initiate the resolutions process. States review standing resolutions and formulate draft resolutions which can either modify a standing resolution or create a new resolution.

Pending resolutions should be reviewed at the unit level and comments submitted to COL (Ret) Michael Kelley, Chairman of NGAMA's Resolutions Committee by May 1. The NGAMA Resolutions Committee will then forward resolutions to NGAUS.

The NGAUS legislative staff consolidates the draft and standing resolutions and forwards them to NGB and task forces along with a tracking sheet for their review and comment.  Emergency resolutions will be included as they become available. Resolutions will then be considered by the Resolutions Committee at the Nashville NGAUS Conference.

Links to Standing Resolutions

Air
Army
Joint 
Resolutions Site on NGAUS

Point of Contact

COL (Ret) Michael Kelley
Cell Phone: (508) 360-1008


LTC (Ret) Robert Swartz
Cell Phone: (978) 632-6772