By Megan Scully CongressDaily
February 7, 2008
The Commission on the National Guard and Reserves Thursday defended a controversial recommendation in its recently released report that suggests placing active-duty military units under the operational control of governors during state emergencies.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Commission Chairman Arnold Punaro and other commission members argued that the recommendation, which has been strongly opposed by Pentagon officials, would streamline the chain of command and improve disaster response. In most cases, active-duty forces under the president's command can supplement state-run National Guard units for only a brief period of time, said retired Maj. Gen. Gordon Stump, a member of the commission and the former adjutant general of Michigan. For "unity of command purposes," Stump said, those active-duty units should temporarily fall under the control of the governor in many cases.
"Every single response that we have is going to start with the National Guard," Stump said. "It doesn't matter what the government or anybody says -- that's just the way it is."
The commission's report "hit a small volcano" in the Pentagon over the recommendation on operational control, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., former committee chairman, said during the hearing. Indeed, Pentagon officials have argued that the recommendation, which they fear would take authority away from the federal government, is unconstitutional.
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