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.
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.
Thank you!!! I'm going to post your response so all We the People can see it. I appreciate your researched input.
The answer will come. Just be open to hearing what it is.