The USA Today report detailed wide-ranging abuses by Guard officials at the highest levels of command, including several Adjutant Generals, and even the director of the National Guard Bureau at the time. The fact that these stories were published over 10 years ago, and the fact that the same things are still going on today, are very important to the discussion about the changes that need to take place within the National Guard.

The lack of Federal oversight, and the unwillingness of the individual states to police their own, combine to create a recipe for abuse of power. The result is that Guardsmen and women are afraid to go against the powers that be, and those who do are sure to feel the brunt of retaliation, ultimately getting run out of the organization. Anyone who believes these are exaggerations is either unwilling to confront the truth, or has never been within the walls of the Guard machine.

One has to wonder why no one at the Federal level has taken any action, whatsoever, to bring serious reform to the National Guard. The NGDC will continue to bring these issues to the forefront in order to someday bring meaningful reform to those we represent. Until that happens, the men and women of the National Guard will continue to be harmed by the illegal practices of corrupt leaders in California and elsewhere.

Blow are links to the individual stories from 2001: