National Defense

CUTTLER SEES FEWER DEPLOYMENTS, NEED FOR MORE RECRUITS

IRS 9-6-08
Recruiting for the Michigan National Guard and Air National Guard has been strong the past few years, but Military and Veterans Affairs Director Thomas Cutler said the deployments for Iraq, Afghanistan and other actions around the world could mean shorter enlistments for current troops.

Since Mr. Cutler took the helm of the state's National Guard, the United States and the Guard have been involved in the actions in the Middle East as part of the war on terror.   That has meant having some 2,000 troops deployed outside the state.
So far, those deployments, and knowing that in signing up they will be deployed, have not hurt efforts to recruit troops, he said.

"We've done a good job recruiting.   We're at 110 percent of our authorized strength (for the National Guard)," he said.   "There's a real willingness, a real desire in the community among our young people.   They're more inclined to serve today than six years ago."   In 2003, the Guard was at only 94 percent of authorized strength.
The Air National Guard in the state has held steady at 101 percent of authorized strength, he said.

But Mr. Cutler said the deployments, particularly now that units are beginning to see their second trips overseas, could begin to cut into overall troop numbers.   "Where some people used to come and spend 30 years with us, after a couple of deployments, that's hard to sustain," he said.
The Guard's role in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts is also beginning to wane, Mr. Cutler said.   "As I look to the future, that number will certainly become smaller," he said.   But by smaller, he expected a minimum deployment, at least for the short term, of 1,000 troops at any one time.

And he said there would be more overseas roles for the Guard.   "There really won't be a future conflict where you won't have Guard and reserve participation," he said.
Mr. Cutler said the foreign deployments have not hurt the Guard's ability to perform its other primary duty: protecting and assisting on the home front.   "We have to be ready to support our state and support the governor should there be any kind of natural disaster," he said.
And current troop levels leave some 10,000 troops home to perform those tasks should they be needed.

The Guard is also actively looking for additional things to do, Mr. Cutler said.   He has hired a general officer with the sole task of trying to bring new missions to the state's Guard bases.   "I think there's some tremendous potential out there," he said.
Though he could not discuss any of the proposals, he said there are a number of possible military programs that could be brought to the state.   And he said the "net centric" military broadens the types of operations that could be conducted in the state.
The air base in Battle Creek, for instance, will be taking over the Air Force African Command.   Any particularly humanitarian missions requiring aircraft to deliver troops or supplies would be coordinated through that base.
Mr. Cutler said the Air National Guard base lends itself to that kind of mission because most days it takes few regular military to support, but more guard troops can be called in for an emergency.

"We need to find new missions for Battle Creek to preserve the jobs in the area," he said.
The base, which had its squadrons of A10 fighter plans moved to Selfridge Air Force Base, will for the short term also be home to some of the Air Force's C21 troop transport plans (Mr. Cutler compared them to Lear jets) until the new cargo fleet is moved in sometime after 2012.
One area of the department that is not likely to shrink any time soon is troop and family assistance programs, Mr. Cutler said.   "When we do (deploy troops), we're very focused on supporting the families," he said.   "We have really grown our family support services."
In recent years the Guard has tripled the number of staff dedicated to those services, he said.
And that assistance is not only for while troops are overseas, but also for when they return, to help the family come back together and to help them recognize signs of post traumatic stress disorder or other counseling needs the soldier might have.
"We conduct strong bonds retreats to help couples rebuild their marital relationships," he said.
While he said it has still been difficult getting some soldiers to admit that they need assistance, he said both leadership and peer advocates have been working to build the attitude that asking for counseling help is acceptable.

"If they were physically wounded, they would accept the medical help," he said.   The goal is to have mental health assistance seen in the same light.
And he said the experience of troops coming back from earlier wars has helped.   "A lot of the people in leadership positions today served in Vietnam," he said.   "They understand we didn't do it right.   America understands we didn't do it right."
Mr. Cutler said the state's two veterans' homes will not face the maintenance scandal that hit Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital early last year.   "Despite the economic troubles (for the state), we've still been able to maintain a high level of service," he said.   "There's a very strong commitment in Michigan to maintain those two homes."