“We owe it to the men and women of the National Guard to make wise decisions about how we will draw upon their service—and we owe it to each other as Americans.”
In 2023, Count Every Hero convened a group of former civilian defense and retired military leaders who are committed to supporting current National Guard leaders, elected officials, and others in keeping the National Guard a strong, ready, and trusted military force in the service of all Americans. Led by former National Guard Bureau chiefs General (Ret.) Craig McKinley and General (Ret.) Joseph Lengyel, the Working Group includes former Adjutant Generals and other state and federal civilian and military leaders.
- In July 2024, National Guard Working Group members issued a Statement of Principles outlining the factors policymakers and the public should consider when evaluating domestic deployments of the National Guard, and published an accompanying opinion piece warning that overuse of the National Guard for domestic missions outside of its core functions threatens to undermine preparedness.
- In April 2024, Count Every Hero hosted a panel of retired high-ranking military and former senior defense officials at the Brookings Institution to discuss the recent surge in unconventional state-directed National Guard deployments and what that means for the U.S. military and the 2024 election. Watch a video recording of the event or listen to the audio.