OSS CEO Applauds Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Northern Command for Proposing Domestic

OSS CEO Applauds Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Northern Command for Proposing Domestic Stabilization & Reconstruction Force

Washington, D.C., September 27/PRNEWSWIRE/ -- Robert David Steele Vivas, CEO of OSS.Net, Inc. today applauded the proposal from Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Combatant Commander of the U.S. Northern Command, for a more active role in domestic stabilization & reconstruction efforts..

“Admiral Keating is right on the money. A number of professionals have been converging for some time on the need to reconfigure the National Guard into a true ‘home guard’ role while also creating rapidly-deployable forces for stabilization & reconstruction missions, as recommended by the Defense Science Board.

“My third book, ‘INFORMATION OPERATIONS: All Information, All Languages, All the Time—the New Semantics of War & Peace, Wealth & Democracy’ (forthcoming in December 2005) recommends that USNORTHCOM be given the global Stabilization & Reconstruction mission, at the same time that it receives the mission of reconfiguring the National Guard into state-based units specializing in disaster relief, fire fighting, medical emergencies, civil engineering, support to law enforcement, and domestic intelligence analysis.

“The National Guard is still organized in a Cold War mode, as replacements for regular military forces. It is long over-due for re-direction. Many in Washington, and many in the military, do not recognize the unique value of the Guard that is associated with its unique character as a state-based force—being subordinate to the Governor, it is able to fulfill local law enforcement and other duties without encroaching on the sovereignty of the state, while also being effective at drawing on its federal military heritage and capabilities.

“I hope that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appreciates the initiative and vision that USNORTHCOM is projecting, because it is both timely and necessary. Instead of drawing the National Guard into prolonged occupations of other countries, they should be focused on a mix of rapid-response homeland emergency responses, and short-term, limited-duration stabilization & reconstruction missions overseas, such as in Bangladesh or Pakistan or Turkey after tsunamis or earthquakes.

“The Guard should also be used to man the new CommunityIntelligenceCenters and networks being discussed for each state, with a tentative allocation of $30 million per state per year., since the Guard is unique in being able to have both law enforcement data access and national foreign intelligence access at the same time.

SOURCE: OSS.NET

-0- 10/2112005 /CONTACT: Robert David Steele Vivas 703-242-1700

Web: