Big mistake in terms of political optics for Barack Obama to send Joe Biden to address the National Guard Association yesterday. But the proposal Biden floated to elevate the National Guard to the level of the Joint Chiefs strikes me as the first substantial change in military posture presented by either candidate. It reflects the fact that the Guard has been transformed from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve to meet the needs of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. I suppose one more Chief at the table could be a recipe for more turf wars and gridlock. But it also seems justified if the Guard is to defend itself from being treated like a second-class citizen while functioning as an essential warfighting element. I’d be curious to hear how this sits with any of WPR’s readers in the DoD.
