{"id":594149,"date":"2026-04-19T18:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/594149\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:54:12","slug":"nordhaus-underscores-national-guards-indispensable-role-article","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/594149\/","title":{"rendered":"Nordhaus underscores National Guard\u2019s indispensable role | Article"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, joins reserve component chiefs to testify before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense during a National Guard and Reserve Forces oversight hearing in Washington, April 17, 2026.
\n (Photo Credit: Master Sgt. Zach Sheely)<\/p>\n

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Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, joins reserve component chiefs to testify before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense during a National Guard and Reserve Forces oversight hearing in Washington, April 17, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kelly Boyer)
\n (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Kelly Boyer)<\/p>\n

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WASHINGTON\u2013 In the span of a single year, the men and women of the National Guard conducted precision airstrikes to dismantle Iran\u2019s nuclear program, rescued dozens of children from rising Texas floodwaters, repelled cyber intrusions targeting critical infrastructure and surged thousands of troops to restore order and safety in American cities.<\/p>\n

Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense alongside reserve component chiefs today, the chief of the National Guard Bureau underscored the Guard\u2019s indispensable dual role as a warfighting and response force.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dual mission as the primary combat reserve of the Army and the Air Force, while also serving as the military first responders in domestic crises, is a challenge we accept,\u201d Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus said. \u201c2025 was a remarkable year for the National Guard, defined by the scale and simultaneity of our operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

When President Donald J. Trump called for action against Iran\u2019s nuclear program last June, National Guard aircrews contributed to the War Department\u2019s Operation Midnight Hammer, the largest operational B-2 strike in U.S. history. This mission began not at a forward operating base, but in Missouri, where the Air National Guard\u2019s 131st Bomb Wing has spent years working side by side with the U.S. Air Force\u2019s 509th Bomb Wing.<\/p>\n

This year, National Guardsmen have participated in Operation Epic Fury, flying strike missions against Iranian targets alongside Joint Force partners. U.S. forces, including Guardsmen, remain postured as U.S. combat power continues to build, while Iranian combat power declines.<\/p>\n

In January\u2019s Operation Absolute Resolve, Guard forces were employed to counter narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back home, Guardsmen logged more than 2.4 million hours of direct support to American citizens in response to domestic crises, from natural disasters to civil emergencies.<\/p>\n

Congressman Ken Calvert, the HAC-D chairman, praised the Guard\u2019s counterdrug efforts in the homeland, which Nordhaus said were responsible for removing $15 billion in illicit narcotics from American communities in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery dollar you give the National Guard, you\u2019re getting huge bang for your buck,\u201d Nordhaus said. \u201cBecause our Guardsmen are professional, they\u2019re experienced, and they use their civilian skill sets to come into those programs and make us stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, about 42,000 Guardsmen are currently engaged in the homeland and worldwide, supporting every combatant commander across the globe. Nordhaus said sustaining this operational tempo requires continued investment in facilities, equipment, medical readiness and people.<\/p>\n

The CNGB emphasized that the Guard will remain a credible warfighting partner if it modernizes alongside the active component.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo sustain strategic dominance, we must modernize concurrently with our services to aggressively outpace and overmatch tomorrow\u2019s threats,\u201d he said, calling for robust investments in flying hours, weapons systems sustainment, facilities maintenance, base operations support and the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account, or NGREA.<\/p>\n

Nordhaus also asked Congress to address a funding gap created when Guard forces are called into state active-duty status to respond to domestic emergencies. Under current policy, reimbursement funds for those activations are returned to the Treasury rather than restored to the units that spent them on training and equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we use these resources to serve our citizens in a state active-duty status, current policy sends reimbursement funds back to the Treasury,\u201d he said. \u201cWe ask for your support in restoring that readiness directly back to our formations.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most persistent challenges facing the Guard is a personnel system that has not kept pace with the demands placed on the force.<\/p>\n

Guard leaders have called on Congress to advance duty-status reform, a long-sought effort to simplify the patchwork of legal authorities under which Guardsmen are ordered to active duty, and to ensure that equal work is compensated with equal pay and benefits regardless of duty status.<\/p>\n

Last month, during a roundtable review of crime reduction in Memphis, Tennessee, President Trump announced that some National Guardsmen currently activated around the U.S. will soon receive deployment pay and benefits equal to those of active-duty troops.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most cost-effective security cooperation tool in the War Department\u2019s portfolio is the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, which pairs individual National Guard elements from every state, territory and the District of Columbia with partner nations for training, exercises and military-to-military engagement.<\/p>\n

The program now connects the Department with nearly 60% of the world\u2019s countries at just 1% of the theater security cooperation budget. Nordhaus told lawmakers, \u201cYour help with flexible, multi-year budget authority will allow us to sustain the pace of these highly effective engagements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CNGB closed by thanking the committee for its support and calling on Congress to continue investing in the Guard\u2019s warfighters and capabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are powered by our core advantage: the Citizen-Soldier and -Airman,\u201d Nordhaus said. \u201cThey combine the warrior ethos with civilian-acquired skills, creating an organization that is as innovative as it is lethal, a force that is community-based and globally engaged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always keep our promise to the Nation and to our citizens: Always Ready, Always There.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Links<\/p>\n

The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil<\/a><\/p>\n

State Partnership Program | NationalGuard.mil<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Guard on Facebook | Facebook.com\/TheNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Guard on Flickr | Flickr.com\/TheNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Guard on Instagram | Instagram.com\/us.nationalguard<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Guard on X | X.com\/USNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

The National Guard on YouTube | <\/a>YouTube.com\/TheNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n