National Guard association says more guardsmen should be called up under Title 32 provision

The Pentagon should back more state requests to use their National Guard troops in federal Title 32 status to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, as is now the case in New York, California and Washington, the head of an organization that represents current and former U.S. Army and Air National Guardsmen, said on Friday.

Bringing the Guard onto active duty under Title 32 provides federal pay for the mobilized troops, but they remain under the command of their governors, “who know best what their states need in a crisis,” said retired Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, president of the National Guard Association of the United States, known as NGAUS.

The troops also receive military medical coverage if activated under Title 32. That’s not the case for National Guardsmen working during a state-only call up, Brig. Gen. Robinson said.

“If a Guardsman in a purely state status gets in an accident or is infected by the virus, he or she would be turned away from the military medical system — despite wearing an Army or Air Force uniform in service to their fellow citizens,” Brig. Gen. Robinson said.

Some Pentagon officials seem to oppose increasing the number of Title 32 status beyond Washington, California and New York, Brig. Gen Robinson said.

“They say they’re concerned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency won’t reimburse the Defense Department in a timely manner,” he said. “They also fear that wider authorization would set a precedent and the governors would then want to use Title 32 when responding to the next major hurricane or other regional disaster.”

The federal stimulus package expected to soon be voted on in Washington, D.C., includes nearly $1.5 billion for National Guard troops.

“It’s enough to mobilize 20,000 Guardsmen for six months,” Brig. Gen. Robinson said.