Days after telling a nationwide TV audience that "the generals have been reduced to rubble" under the Obama administration, Donald Trump has joined several generals and others on the list of speakers at the annual conference of the National Guard Association of the United States in Baltimore.

The Republican presidential nominee will speak Monday afternoon – the conference's third and final day of business, according to a news release from the organization. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton also was invited, per the release.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will give Saturday's keynote address, while Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, will give a "State of the National Guard" address Sunday.

Other scheduled speakers include Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Army Gen. Robert Abrams, head of Army Forces Command.

At least one major presidential candidate has visited the annual event every election cycle since 1992, organizers said.

"We are participants in democracy as well as defenders of democracy," NGAUS president Gus Hargett, a retired Army major general, said in the release. "So, in both roles, we are curious to hear Mr. Trump's vision for national defense and how the National Guard fits into those plans."

The NGAUS has 45,000 members. This will be its 138th general conference since its founding in 1878.

About Kevin Lilley

Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.

Share:
In Other News
Load More