DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - National Guard Generals To be Added to Joint Chiefs of Staff- Go Obama!

**xT0U3UGh** · 12-06-2011, 04:01 AM

Actually I believe the CNGB is a four star billet by law.

I went looking on the NGB website, and we are both apparently right. General Craig R. McKinley IS the current Chief of the NGB, I looked at his bio here: http://www.af.mil/informa.ion/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6415 and he apparently started his career with a Reserve commission, and moved up to a Regular Commission the way Colin Powell did, and is in the NGB Slot as a Regular Air Force Officer, rather than with a Nartional Guard Commission. What suggests this is that the Bio says nothing about him holding both a Federal Commission AND as State Commission, which has normally been the case for National Guard officers in Federal slots. What makes this an issue is Article I, Section 8, Clause 16 of the Constitution, the pertinent part of which says: "Congress shall have power ... to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;..."

The only reason I can think of why there would be a General with a Regular Commission in the 4-Star NGB Slot instead of an NG General, would be that there are no 4-Star NG Generals, much less a 3-Star NG General. The reason why the NG has never bothered with 3-Star ranks is simply that they had no 3-Star commands because the States saw no need to make the State AG a 3-Star rank.

So, yes, there is a 4-Star in the NGB Chief slot at present, but I doubt that the States will keep that up once we get back to Peacetime, especially since this is the first time any NG Slot had a 4-Star rank attached to it.

12-06-2011, 04:01 AM	#13
xT0U3UGh Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 427 Senior Member	Actually I believe the CNGB is a four star billet by law. I went looking on the NGB website, and we are both apparently right. General Craig R. McKinley IS the current Chief of the NGB, I looked at his bio here: http://www.af.mil/informa.ion/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6415 and he apparently started his career with a Reserve commission, and moved up to a Regular Commission the way Colin Powell did, and is in the NGB Slot as a Regular Air Force Officer, rather than with a Nartional Guard Commission. What suggests this is that the Bio says nothing about him holding both a Federal Commission AND as State Commission, which has normally been the case for National Guard officers in Federal slots. What makes this an issue is Article I, Section 8, Clause 16 of the Constitution, the pertinent part of which says: "Congress shall have power ... to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;..." The only reason I can think of why there would be a General with a Regular Commission in the 4-Star NGB Slot instead of an NG General, would be that there are no 4-Star NG Generals, much less a 3-Star NG General. The reason why the NG has never bothered with 3-Star ranks is simply that they had no 3-Star commands because the States saw no need to make the State AG a 3-Star rank. So, yes, there is a 4-Star in the NGB Chief slot at present, but I doubt that the States will keep that up once we get back to Peacetime, especially since this is the first time any NG Slot had a 4-Star rank attached to it.
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