Is deploying the The National Guard to Iraq (overseas) illegal?

[npincus]

Ok, not looking for snark or condescension- I'm really wondering about this.

Is there anything in the National Guard contract that one signs when enlisting which defines the scope and type of service for which they will be used? Including where they will serve (as within our country's borders)? Isn't the National Guard only to be deployed in the event of national emergencies and/or the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief within our borders? Where the HELL does it say in their contract that they may be deployed to fight in wars overseas (a.k.a. "back-door draft").

I presume that if this has action has not been challenged in court, then it is somehow legal. But I don't understand how that can be.

What a betrayal of trust, for the honorable men and women who sign up for what they believed was deployment in case of national emergencies like floods and hurricanes, only to end up in the f*cking Iraq shooting gallery, with third-rate gear and equipment, getting their asses blown up... for WHAT????? How can this be?

I'm really asking. Does anyone know or have Guard experience?

[Left_Winger]

1. I was in the Guard for a short while

I cannot recall anything which prevents oversea (out of USA) deployment. The enlistment oath is similar to the regular Army, but there was one exception: I had to swear (or affirm) to obey the orders of the Governor and the Constitution of my state, and at his (or her) discretion obey the orders of the President.

Only once has a governor refused to federalize his state's National Guard: Arkansas in 1956 to de-segregate the Little Rock schools.

Each state has a similar oath, but variations occur from state to state.

[npincus]

2. Jeez, I could drive a truck through that loophole

thanks for explaining. So, if fact, any governor could have refused to federalize their Guard to be used overseas in Iraq! Is that correct?

If so, how many Dem governors have given Chimpy carte blanche to ship off their Guardsmen to meet bloody deaths, for NOTHIING.

How did you get out of the Guard, if i may ask?

[Horse with no Name]

3. Not sure about this

Because Bush CAN federalize the guard.
I know Governor Blanco requested the Guard be sent home weeks before Katrina. Her request was denied.

[Left_Winger]

4. Yes, it is a giant loophole

Regulations concerning the Guard go back to the early national period and/or their dates of statehood; and, as I stated earlier, each state has a different oath. Basically the Guard is a state's military force with the governor as Commander in Chief to be used at his/her discretion.

How did I get out of the guard? My time was up.

Yes, technically any governor could have refused to federalize their troops, but how would the federal government have reacted? That's the $64 question. Eisenhower sent in the elite 101st Airborne to Little Rock which was very intimidating (in lieu of a regular unit). He claimed it was the unit which was located the closest to the trouble spot, but... who knows.

On edit: the situation with the Louisiana Guardsmen in Iraq was that they were mobilized prior to Katrina, hence placing them on federal service. When Gov. Blanco wanted them returned she had basically relinquished her command of them until the federal government released them.

Remember the fuss the Bushies made over the public funeral conducted by the state of Louisiana for their fallen Guardsmen? There was nothing the feds could do but cry as they were back under state control.

[npincus]

5. thank you.

I don't remember the fuss about the public funeral for La. fallen Guardsman. How disgusting... Bush*co wanted to slip the dead into the ground without any fanfare or ceremony to honor them? So the earth is the silent receptacle for wasted lives, to consume the dead in the dark of night, without a sound. Like they stopped photography of coffins returning from Iraq to Dover.