We the People of Johnson Co MO, Wednesday, October 26, 2022 🚁 More thinking on Amendment No. 5: National Guard
Hi Folks!
I’ve been asking God for guidance on Amendment 5 regarding the National Guard. The question is: Should the Missouri National Guard remain under the Missouri Dept. of Public Safety - or - should they have an administrative move to become their own Missouri Department of the National Guard directly under the Executive Branch under the Missouri Governor?
The budgetary cost will remain the same at $132,000 annually.
It seems like a really low-key question with very little hubbub occurring from the change. The alleged advantage is that the Guard may be able to move faster if they are their own department directly under the Governor instead of under the Dept. of Public Safety.
That could be true, but my thought is if Missouri has an actual crisis the Guard will be moving fast no matter what. Whatever checks and balances are part the Public Safety Dept. will be swept aside during a true crisis. In a crisis their ability to move into action will be expedited. I see that administrative move as neutral, as opposed to positive or negative.
Last night I was contemplating what I’ve heard and read about Constitutional Amendment No. 3, supposedly about marijuana, but not really about marijuana at ALL, my mind drifted to the Guard amendment. What if the Guard amendment isn’t really about what department they’re under, but what will their duties be?
The Current Role of the Missouri National Guard
The Missouri National Guard is composed of Army National Guard and Air National Guard units. According to the Missouri National Guard, their state mission is to “provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise required by state law under the authority of the governor,” and help “during floods, tornadoes, civil disturbances, winter storms, hurricane responses, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.” The federal mission of the Missouri National Guard is to “maintain properly trained and equipped units for prompt mobilization for war, national emergency, or as otherwise directed by the president,” and “must always be ready for any mission from the president, including peacekeeping missions and overseas contingency operations.”[5]
However, with the Administrative Move the Role of the Guard Changes
Section 54, Article IV states the NEW role of the Missouri National Guard: There shall be established a Missouri Department of the National Guard in charge of the adjutant general appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, who shall:
provide for the state militia,
uphold the Constitution of the United States,
uphold the Constitution of Missouri,
protect the constitutional rights and civil liberties of Missourians, and
provide other defense and security mechanisms as may be required.[3]
The fourth bullet: protect the constitutional rights and civil liberties of Missourians nags on me. I know, I know, what could be wrong with protecting the constitutional rights and civil liberties of Missourians??? It’s highly possible the last couple of years have warped my brain into a tight box of paranoia, I’m not sure. But here are the scenarios I keep envisioning:
The Left somehow renders the 2nd Constitutional Amendment powerless, and the Missouri National Guard becomes the group designated to go house to house collecting guns.
If the Left wins amendment No 3, and we have a Chief Equity Officer who is in charge of deciding who gets business licenses according to ESG, might the National Guard be asked to enforce the revoking of business licenses…and the incarceration of business owners?
I know, maybe I just need to take a cold shower, have a glass of wine and watch a Carol Burnett rerun!
Hm. What if in reality, this amendment truly is trying to help Missourians FULLY KNOW our Constitutional Rights and Civil Liberties are protected by our National Guard? The amendment is supported by 3 Republican legislators: Gov. Mike Parson (R), State Rep. Bill White (R), State Rep. Adam Schnelting (R), so that seems positive. It was an “aye” vote by most of the Republican House and Senate.
You know when you pray and don’t feel like you’ve heard the answer yet? That’s where I am!!
I hope I might be able to answer some of your questions regarding Amendment 5-MO NG. The MO legislature has worked on this bill in a bi-partisan fashion for three years. In the final vote all Denators present voted “Yes” and in the House the vote was 126-2. As you stated, the NG has both a federal mission and a state mission that has been part of the U.S. and MO Constitutions along with state law for many years. Prior to 1974, the NG was its own department. The Governor wanted a couple of additional departments but was prohibited by the Constitution to increase the number of departments without a vote of the people so he decided to consolidate and reorganize some departments in order to create the new departments he wanted. NG was placed as a division within Department of Public Safety (DPS). That was right after the Vietnam War and there was not a lot of unrest in the world so the NG’s primary focus was state emergencies. Then 9/11 happened and NGs from around the country were deployed to NYC. Since then the mission has changed to a federal mission consuming around 90% of the NGs time. Federal seldom is there not a MO NG unit deployed somewhere in the US or world. For MO the federal mission includes a nuclear mission….we are the only state that is home to B-2 Bombers. With federal missions comes highly classified information and NG is currently a division within a department of civilians. 48 states have decided the best place for military programs is to be contained within their own department. Additionally, the state and federal governments are on different budget cycles in regard to military programs. Most of MO NGs budget dollars are federal dollars. If MO does not get into a federal military program when it is initially offered, they have to wait 5-7 years for the program to be offered again. State departments are limited on how many legislative proposals can be proposed for legislative consideration. Therefore, MO may be missing out on additional dollars for the state that might be used for additional training, upgrading equipment, facilities, etc. On the state emergency side of things the Governor and the Adjutant General will cut out the middle man and have a direct conversation about the emergency, determining what the ultimate goal is and how the NG can accomplish that goal based on troops, equipment, training and time frame. There is no hidden agenda here…there are no new duties, authorities, powers given to anyone that does not already exist…..the concerns you expressed can happen now whether the NG is in DPS or becomes their own department….that is why elections are so important and that we elect leaders who have very high moral and ethical character who will not abuse their power. I hope this helps your comfort level and I hope you will support the 12,000 Guard men/women and their families with a “yes” vote on 5.
The answer will come. Just be open to hearing what it is.