By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THE head of the National Guard Bureau has praised the performance of members of the Guam Guard.
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the NGB, told Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo that he is very aware of the “distinguished service” rendered by the citizen soldiers and airmen of Guam on the island, on the mainland, and overseas.
Blum delivered the remark during a hearing before the Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Readiness at which the senior leadership of the National Guard Bureau provided testimony on the readiness of the Army and Air Force National Guard.
During the hearing, Bordallo commented on the increased use of National Guard units as a part of the active component of the U.S. Armed Services and asked whether the Guard can expect their current operational tempo to remain unchanged for the foreseeable future and whether budget requests for Guard equipment, training and military construction will increase as a result.
Blum said he believes that the increased reliance on the National Guard will not be a short-term anomaly but is a new reality for the Guard and the U.S. military as a whole.
But he expressed confidence in the Guard’s performance toward making the transition from a strategic reserve to an operational force and toward fulfilling those responsibilities.
Blum noted, however, that the distribution of resources to the National Guard, along with policies and federal laws governing Guard components, must undergo some revision and updates in order to better reflect this change.
“I am a strong supporter of our country’s armed services. I am a particularly strong supporter of our country’s National Guard,” Bordallo told Blum.
Bordallo went on to say, “It seems that the men and women of our National Guard do more with less each year.”
On budget resources accorded to the Guard and of some laws and regulations governing Guard activities, Blum said they do not adequately address all of the operational needs of the National Guard.