American forces have been deployed through executive actions or congressional resolutions on several occasions over the past eight decades, even though Congress has not formally declared war, as required by the Constitution, since the early years of World War II.
But as conservative commentators and elected officials draw increased focus to corruption within the upper tranches of the Pentagon and the broader military-industrial complex, some are advocating for states to withhold the deployment of their National Guard units in conflicts without a formal declaration of war from Congress. They believe this effort will restrain the Pentagon and other interests from pursuing lengthy overseas conflicts in an unconstitutional manner.
Arizona Republican State Senator Wendy Rogers and New Hampshire Republican State Representative Tom Mannion, who are each leading proponents of Defend the Guard legislation in their states, said in interviews with The Sentinel that passing such legislation is a necessary step toward reasserting state sovereignty over against the trend toward forever wars.
Rogers authored such a bill this year in the Arizona Senate, an effort which passed in that chamber and was cosponsored by every other Republican, a result she described as unprecedented.
Rogers commented that her constituents broadly concur with Defend the Guard and expects that the legislation will “go farther this coming year in Arizona.” The lawmaker also remarked that most of the Democrats oppose her legislation, contending that they “would rather have our National Guard deployed to a warzone halfway around the world like Syria, a war Congress has never voted on, rather than fulfilling their duty by stopping the invasion on our southern border.”
Mannion meanwhile noted that his bill passed in the New Hampshire House this year with a handful of “principled anti-war Democrats” supporting the legislation. The lawmaker considers that element of the success of the bill to be “a particular point of pride” and said that he “reached out to many of those same Democrats this time around to ensure the bill remains bipartisan.”
Both expressed optimism that the victory of President-Elect Donald Trump, and his nominations of Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard to respectively serve as Defense Secretary and Director of National Intelligence, would draw increased support for Defend the Guard. The two nominees, as well as other surrogates for the incoming commander-in-chief, have endorsed the movement.
At the same time, primary political opposition toward Defend the Guard has come in Arizona and New Hampshire by way of Adjutant Generals in charge of the National Guard in their respective states. Rogers said that they oppose the bill “because they claim the federal government will not financially support our Guard if we pass this.” Mannion likewise said that Adjutant Generals or even officials “flown in from the Pentagon” have threatened that “funding is at risk,” even though “there was never any concrete proof, no matter how many times I asked.”
Mannion added to The Sentinel that an alliance of veterans groups in his state known as the State Veterans Advisory Committee opposed the bill. He believes that their opposition is “largely a double-vote on behalf of the Adjutant General’s office putting their thumb on the scale.”
The lawmaker said that citizens who wish to support Defend the Guard can assist with grassroots campaigns from organizations such as Bring Our Troops Home to advance such legislation in their states, as well as educate veterans in their states on the issue and persuade local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters to “pass resolutions in support.”
“When it’s a couple of desk-jockey generals against a wave of combat veterans, it’s clear who has the real experience to speak on the futility of these forever wars,” Mannion remarked.
