Gates Memo Announces Final Assimilation of National Guard and Reserve

From http://www.infowars.com/?p=6467

Gates Memo Announces Final Assimilation of National Guard and Reserve
Carolyn Harris

Infowars
December 11, 2008


As has mentioned several times on-air, this is a very disturbing development: the National Guard is being assimilated into the "Total Force" of the US military. As with many other issues, the government and military directives and memos are couched in the typical flowery language that is written in a code that few outsiders understand. Once one reads enough internal documents the code becomes clear. Understanding the code words and language helps to clarify what is actually being recommended and is occurring right in front of our eyes. It utilizes the often-stated tenet that their anti-freedom measures are "best hidden in plain sight."
The Gates memo declares that it will make changes with state governors and representatives "as appropriate" which is code for including only those persons who are amenable to federal control, and naturally exclude any governor or representative who truly asserts their rights and those of the People.

A commission was created by Congress [established by section 513 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (P.L. 108-375, Oct 28, 2004, 118 STAT. 1880)] to study the state of the National Guard and Reserves and to make recommendations regarding their composition, management, roles, funding and missions. The commission was required to make several reports to the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) as well as a final report with recommendations. The 95 recommendations in their final report, published on January 31, 2005, were considered and 82 of the recommendations either have already been implemented or have been accepted and will be implemented by the Department of Defense (DoD) through policy changes or changes to the statues via the National Defense Authorization Act of 2009, as announced in a memo dated Nov. 24, 2008. The remaining 13 were accepted are under the purview of other Departments or SecDef Gates has decided that no action be taken.
The recommendations that are so disturbing are those involving the assimilation the National Guard and Reserves into the regular US military, under control and management of the DoD. Some recommendations that were accepted and show this disturbing trend include the assertion that it should be codified into federal law that it is the DoD’s responsibility to provide support to civil authorities, is a "core competency" and comprises and equal importance to its combat responsibilities. In addition, DoD should prepare the bulk of necessary planning etc., and the response to any catastrophe. Further, proposed changes in legislative language will created after an assessment by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in consultation with DHS, other federal agencies and " representative State and local officials as appropriate (which may be accomplished through the Council of Governors, once established)."
The statement that the DoD, various intelligence, various federal agencies and "representative State and local officials as appropriate (which may be accomplished through the Council of Governors, once established)" will be determining the role of the Guard and Reserves - and the "integrated role" of the National Guard and Reserves in the "Total Force" - in emergency situations that affect states is alarming on several levels. Notice how the input from representatives of the People are "as appropriate" listed with the Federal agencies, and listed last. Just like ingredients listed on food labels, the departments and responsible persons listed here are listed in order of their importance and level of input. And note also the "Council of Governors" which has "yet to be established."
A d v e r t i s e m e n t


There is no hiding the disdain of the military for "civilian" participation in decision-making and control over the National Guard. The yet-to-be-established Council of Governors will eliminate the control of state Governors, who are representatives of the People of their states and the bulwark against federal intrusion and co-opting of the rights of the People within their states, over the National Guard of their states. Without the control of the National Guard, the governors no longer have the authority to deploy them to protect the People of the state from the federal government. "Homeland missions" are now under federal control of the DoD, according to the recommendation accepted by SecDef Gates.
Reserve and Guard designations are to be eliminated in rank and title, the Guard and Reserves have a common personnel management system (combining Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) and the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA)), pay system, education (to achieve "joint qualification" certification and credits), retirement system, medical and dental care system, and their command structure within NORTHCOM. Guard and Reserve members now have common missions ("Joint Duty Assignments") and "all reserve duty will be considered active duty." In addition, the military will now "reduce duty statuses from 29 to 2" (active/non-active), create a civilian skill database that is like NATOs and will "allow worldwide interoperability." All of these measures are intended, as repeatedly stated to achieve a "Total Integrated Force."

The DoD will write legislative language that will be delivered to Congress so that existing laws will be amended to enable these changes to be made, in addition to policy changes within the Department itself. Some of these changes have yet to be codified into law and reflect only the recommendations accepted by SecDef Gates, others have already been implemented.
Many laws, such as the Patriot Act, Victory Act (analysis here), and the John Warner Military Commission Act, authorize the federal government to forcibly vaccinate, remove and redistribute the population, and to designate anyone who talks about the Constitution as a "terrorist" and enables the military or police to kidnap a Person secretly designated as an "enemy combatant" and rendition them to a secret facility in which they will be held and tortured, since they have no more rights under that designation.
This Gates memo declares that it will make changes with state governors and representatives "as appropriate" which is code for including only those persons who are amenable to federal control, and naturally exclude any governor or representative who truly asserts their rights and those of the People. This enables the DoD and other agencies to steamroll these changes and pressure Congress into passing laws codifying these new powers of the DoD.
Attempts to remove or lessen control by governors of the National Guard is nothing new. In 1986 "James H. Webb, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, disclosed a week ago that he had been directed to prepare a bill that would prevent governors from blocking the assignment of their Guard units to Central America for training." In August 2006, a letter was sent to leaders of both political parties in Congress protesting what they saw as an "unprecedented shift in authority from the states to the federal government" and urging them to "remove a provision included in the House-passed version of the National Defense Authorization Act giving the president … authority" to control the National Guard in natural disasters or a threat to homeland security. Notably, it was signed by 51 governors including some US territories showing the clear opposition to the "authority creep" of the executive branch.

It cannot be overstated that now that most of the local Sheriffs and municipal law enforcement have been federalized, it falls upon the governor’s ability to control and deploy the National Guard to protect the People of the state from the federal government. Now this seems to have been accomplished, although using the code language. "The DoD should develop protocols that allow governors to direct the efforts of federal military assets responding to an emergency such as a natural disaster. This direction may be accomplished through the governor’s use of a dual-hatted military commander." There is a critical difference between "directing the efforts of" and having direct control.
And notice the word "may."