Emerging missions
National Guardsmen are effective at conducting "smart power" missions that utilize their blend of civilian and military skills. The National Guard has been conducting such missions globally for over two decades, including in Afghanistan. Examples of these missions include the State Partnership Program, agribusiness development teams, and training and reconstruction teams that support combatant commanders. Additionally, the National Guard provides forces for innovative teams operating in Afghanistan and Iraq focused on training and reconstruction. Guardsmen have also helped locals in Iraq and Afghanistan through noncombat initiatives like improving infrastructure, law enforcement, utilities, and relationships with local leaders. For instance, during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan, one brigade took on roles providing medical assistance and operating radio stations to counter propaganda.
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Emerging missions
- 1. Emerging Missions National Guardsmen have a unique blend of civilian and military skills. It is this dual, Citizen-Soldier nature and temperament of Guardsmen that allows them to be so effective when conducting smart power missions. The National Guard has been conducting such missions in Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, and Central America for over two decades and is heavily involved in smart power operations in Afghanistan. The State Partnership Program, agribusiness development teams, and training and reconstruction teams are excellent examples of the National Guard using civilian skills to support the geographical combatant commanders theater campaign plans. The National Guard also provides forces for several innovative training and reconstruction teams, including the operational mentor and liaison teams, embedded training teams, and provincial reconstruction teams, all operating in Afghanistan and Iraq. Helping the unfortunate and oppressed through noncombat initiatives is nothing new to the National Guard. In the War on Terror, Guardsmen have helped Iraqis and Afghans improve infrastructure, advance law enforcement, bring utilities to towns and villages, and enhance relationships with local leaders. For example, Guardsmen in Georgias 48th Brigade took on several noncombat roles during their 2010 deployment to Afghanistan. Soldiers of the 121st Infantry Regiment provided medical assistance to children of the Kuchi nomadic tribe. Members of the 1-108th Cavalry Regiment opened two radio stations in the Muhmand Dara and Shinwar provinces to give the people of those regions a voice to counter Taliban propaganda. Georgias Citizen-Soldiers were also actively involved in civil-military projects designed to create Afghan jobs and offer militaryage men a paying alternative to joining the insurgency. A year later, Guardsmen with the 3-108th Calvary went to Uganda to teach the Uganda Peoples Defense Force parachute skills. Two Agribusiness Development Teams with the 78th Homeland Response Force have deployed to Afghanistan to teach the farmers there sustainable agriculture techniques. And our 16-year State Partnership Program with the nation of Georgia continues, as that country became the largest non-NATO contributor to the fight in Afghanistan. Georgias Guardsmen have proven themselves repeatedly in combat as well as in humanitarian and domestic response missions. They consistently perform at the professional level that the state and nation expects. (Word Count 360)