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Casey: Continued Guard deployments essential

BALTIMORE — Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. told National Guard members Sunday that continued reliance on deploying reservists is the only way of meeting national security commitments without dramatically increasing active forces.

Speaking at a convention of the National Guard Association of the United States, Casey said there are 60,000 to 70,000 Army or Air Guard members deployed overseas who are vital to having a sustainable force, which he listed among six priorities for the future of the Army. Casey also said the Army must have a versatile force capable of expeditionary missions, that leaders and organizations need to be agile, and that forces need to be lethal.

“Freedom isn’t free. It hasn’t been and won’t be in the 21st Century,” Casey said. “We have to [be versatile]. We cannot predict the future. The best we can do is get it about right.”

Increasing the size of the Guard by 10 percent or more is one of the top priorities for the National Guard Association, said retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Koper, the group’s executive director.

Of particular concern is the need for more Guard members on fulltime active duty, an idea Pentagon officials have resisted, Koper said. The Army Guard’s longtime and unmet goal is to have about 32,000 guardsmen on active duty, but it is more than 35 percent short of meeting that goal, a level that Koper said would still be inadequate.

The association also is pushing for increased recognition within the Defense Department for Guard issues and more say about the allocation of resources, Koper said.