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Statement by Arnold L. Punaro

The Commission members and I are extremely pleased with today's announcement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that he supports the vast majority of the 95 recommendations contained in the final report of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves (CNGR), which we submitted to Congress and Secretary Gates on January 31, 2008. In 2007, the Secretary had accepted 20 of the 23 recommendations made in our interim report.

Secretary Gates's decisions recognize that the Guard and Reserves are absolutely essential to a strong national defense—and as their role will continue to increase in importance, so too must their capability. We recognize that his decisions were not easy to reach and will not be easy to implement. They demonstrate, once again, the Secretary's decisive and bureaucracy-busting leadership style. Many of the problems he is confronting have been languishing for decades; others have developed as a result of the current conflicts.

Make no mistake—his decisions are aimed at landmark changes, changes that are essential if the Guard and Reserves are to remain fully capable of meeting current and future threats.

And make no mistake—making the operational Reserve both feasible and sustainable, expanding DOD's role in the homeland (particularly to deal with weapons of mass destruction), and enhancing the stature and clout of the National Guard represent a historic break with the past.

Secretary Gates's announcement affirms the relevance of the CNGR's work and is a tribute to our 12 commissioners and superb staff, who worked for more than two and a half years to carefully identify and document the problems and develop cogent recommendations. We said from the outset that we would remain focused on fixing the problems, not on which recommendations would be adopted. DOD and Congress have both built on the product of our review and charted an irreversible course leading to future improvements.

Too many commissions have their work consigned to the dust bins of history. We were willing to be bold and innovative in our approach in order to avoid that outcome. I hope that in the future, our approach can serve as an example for similar efforts that will undoubtedly be undertaken to address the broad range of seemingly intractable problems that face our nation.

The winners today are the men and women in uniform, their families, their employers, and the citizens of the United States. All will benefit from Secretary Gates's landmark decisions.

Arnold L. Punaro is the Chairman of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves

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The independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves was charged by Congress to recommend any needed changes in law and policy to ensure that the Guard and Reserves are organized, trained, equipped, compensated, and supported to best meet the national security requirements of the United States. The Commission was established by the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005.

The Commission held its first meeting in March 2006. During its tenure it delivered three reports to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and the Secretary of Defense: a 90-day report outlining a strategic work plan, planned activities, and initial findings, in June 2006; an interim report on additional issues assigned to the Commission by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, in March 2007; and a final report recommending reforms in legislation and Defense Department policies, on January 31, 2008 The Commission terminated on April 30, 2008.

The complete documentation of the Commission's work—including the three reports published since its official launch in March 2006, transcripts of all hearings, all press statements and releases, biographical information on Commissioners, and other resources—is available on the Commission's Web site at www.cngr.gov. Chairman Punaro can be contacted at (703) 676-5026