Committee
Report on the New Jersey Naval Militia Joint Command (NJNMJC) to The
Adjutant General
Discussion and Recommendations
There is undisputed documentation that the members
of the NJNMJC provided valuable services during and in the aftermath of
September 11, 2001. In
the Global War
on Terrorism and with the transformation of both the Army and Air National
Guard,
more emphasis is being placed on the federal utilization of the National
Guard. In 2004,
mobilization of the New Jersey Army National Guard (NJARNG) reached historic
proportions with better than sixty percent of the NJARNG mobilized and
deployed
overseas. Ongoing rotations of the New Jersey Air National Guard (NJANG)
in AEFs
and in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom,
and Operation
Noble Eagle will continue to tax NJANG resources. Finally, gaps in the
ability to cover
all maritime missions are clearly articulated by the Coast Guard (Appendix
A).
With a continuing opstempo across the country among
Guard and Reserve, there
is growing interest in the development and utilization of state defense
forces. Nationally,
there are seven states with organized Naval Militias and twenty-seven
states and one
territory with a state defense force or state guard. New York State has
the most
robustand oldest organization. The New York Naval Militia is separate
from the New
York State Guard and, therefore, has federal recognition.
Given the unrelenting opstempo, the NJNMJC can be a
formidable force
multiplier. The volunteerism of their members and their motivation to
serve the State is
well documented. The membership also reflects many specialties that
can be utilized in
multiple homeland security operations. It is therefore recommended
that the New Jersey
Naval Militia Joint Command continue to develop its organization with
a modification to
their mission statement, changes to the organizational structure and
the adoption of
regulations by DMAVA that will address the issues of background checks,
medical
fitness, training requirements and accession and procedural criteria.
Legal review indicates that the organization complies
with federal and state
statutes. Recommended changes to the organizational structure will
best position the
NJNMJC to obtain federal recognition. Changes to the rank structure
at headquarters are
in keeping with the current membership. Rank structures in the military
increases with
force structure expansion and are reflected as such. Finally, the
DMAVA regulations
will reflect the requirements for activation as outlined in NGR 10-4.
Continued development of the NJNMJC will require the
commitment of state
resources. Currently, no funds are allocated and the NJNMJC uses
the Plainfield Armory
for training, which remains open solely for their use. Projected
total costs for year 1 just
to initiate operations are $92,100; to bring existing equipment up
to standards for
continued use would require projected total costs of $180,800 for
Year 1, $234,600 for
Year 2; and $291,400 for Year 3. |