Army GEN Randy A. George ’88 conveyed his perspective on the state of the Army, his vision for its future and how the National Guard — one of its two reserve components — fits into the current environment on Aug. 20.
First, George, the Army’s vice chief of staff and nominee to lead the service, shared how essential the National Guard is to the Army.
“The Army Guard is nearly 40% of our operational force,” George told an annual meeting of National Guard leaders. “We don’t go anywhere with only 60% of our team. We’re going to need everybody. I’m used to that because that’s what I’ve seen over the last 20 years.”
Since 9/11, more than 1 million Guardsmen have deployed overseas to theaters, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
In April, George, who served in the Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom operations, was nominated to become the Army’s top officer. He shared his latest impressions of the Guard from a recent visit to Camp Grayling, Michigan — his first trip as nominative CSA — to observe exercise Northern Strike.
“What I saw up there was super impressive and very refreshing,” George said. “I was impressed, but I wasn’t surprised because every time I’ve deployed, I’ve had National Guard Soldiers right there inside my formations.”
