The White House call to our Washington, D.C., headquarters the week before provided all but one detail. President Bush wanted to meet with the NGAUS senior leadership Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. We just didn't know exactly why.
All of us thought the invitation might be for a courtesy briefing before a major announcement. We even speculated among ourselves as to the possible subject. We understood many in the Pentagon were doing the same.
But upon arriving in the Oval Office, we quickly discovered the meeting had a simple agenda. The president held out his hand and said words I will never forget: "I just wanted to look you in the eye and personally thank you for what the Guard has done for our country."
His appreciation was intended for every soldier and airman in our force-all 460,000 of us. He also made it clear from the start that he wanted to hear our concerns.
On this day, President Bush wanted to speak directly with the Guard. We were merely the conduit. But it was a service we were happy and proud to provide.
The conversation lasted about an hour. The president first wanted to explain his vision for victory in Iraq and elsewhere in the war on terror. He said whoever succeeds him will have to face that nation's importance to regional stability.
And he is optimistic about the prospects of Iraq becoming a stable nation and even growing into a close U.S. ally.
President Bush said we shouldn't expect a quick pullout in Iraq, regardless of who is in the White House. He sees the situation there much like South Korea after the Korean conflict, with at least some U.S. troop presence for the foreseeable future.
He wanted to know if the association thought he could continue to rely on the Guard for the mission. I told him, "Yes, Sir."
The president then wanted to hear from us. The discussion was primarily between him and NGAUS, but we weren't the only ones in the Oval Office.
Also there were Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen, Army Secretary Pete Geren, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Richard A. Cody and Guard Bureau Chief Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum.
Equipment shortages at home dominated the conversation. The Army has programmed $36 billion for Army Guard equipment over the next five years, and we wanted to make sure that money won't be reallocated for other uses.
Secretary Gates, Secretary Geren and General Cody assured us and the president that the funds would be "fenced" to prevent any diversion.
President Bush asked about the war's impact on Guard families and employers. We told him about the strains, but that new shorter mobilizations should help.
We also expressed concern over the lack of command and control our brigade combat teams have over their subordinate units in Iraq.
And we talked about funding for Army and Air Guard modernization, especially as dependence on supplemental budgets reverts to the traditional "base" defense budget.
Our group asked how we might work together to convince the American public to spend more than 4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product on defense.
He said he intends to do everything possible to enable "follow-on" administrations to honor and build upon today's defense commitments.
We exchanged mementos during our meeting. The president gave each of us his commander-in-chief's coin. We provided him a framed photograph of his father, George H. W Bush, pinning Texas Air Guard second lieutenant bars on a young George W Bush.
The coin is something I will treasure. Judging from his reaction to our gift, I suspect he thinks the same of that photo.
Traveling home that day a thought occurred to me: When the president of the United States wanted to thank the Guard ... who did he call? ... NGAUS.
Proud to serve.
© 2007 National Guard Association of the United States Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Source: National Guard
