[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 192 (Wednesday, December 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S8596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL GUARD

  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, today I would like to 
congratulate the National Guard on 375 years of service.
  It was on December 13, 1636, in Massachusetts that our Nation's 
military heritage was born. It was the members of the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony who stood together and founded an organization to protect and 
defend the peoples of the Bay Colony. They provided watch to ensure the 
security of their fellow settlers in Massachusetts, and they drilled to 
ensure they were prepared to fight if called upon.
  From these grassroots origins comes today's National Guard: the most 
prepared, best equipped, and most mobile National Guard our Nation--or 
any nation--has ever had. Like the guardsmen of the first days of this 
Nation, today's guardsmen continue to answer the call to duty. They 
serve as leaders in our homeland defense response and disaster relief, 
and over the past 10 years, our guardsmen have served with courage and 
honor in Iraq and Afghanistan, right alongside our Active-Duty Forces. 
They are fighting on many fronts overseas and fulfilling many different 
missions.
  Sometimes they are coming home with devastating injuries. When they 
return, these citizen soldiers and airmen face the challenges of 
recovery, readjustment, and finding jobs. The unemployment rate of 
today's National Guard remains well above the national average. To 
ensure that we honor the service of these guardsmen and veterans, I 
introduced the Hire A Hero Act which gives a tax credit to small 
businesses that hire veterans and members of the National Guard and 
Reserves, and I am pleased to say that the legislation has become law.
  I have also pushed to ensure that all our National Guardsmen receive 
fair housing allowances. I introduced an amendment included in this 
year's National Defense Authorization Act that makes certain every 
guardsman who gets deployed will receive the housing allowance they 
need and deserve. When a guardsman is ordered to Active Duty for a 
contingency operation, the housing allowance for that guardsman 
currently reverts back to his or her home-of-record status rather than 
the current housing allowance of his or her present duty station, 
despite any significant loss of income. Basically, guardsmen are being 
punished financially for being deployed to a war zone. My amendment to 
this year's National Defense Authorization Act will rectify this 
inequity.
  Also included in this year's National Defense Authorization Act is a 
monumental provision recognizing the significance of today's National 
Guard. As a 32-year member of the Massachusetts National Guard and a 
member of the Senate Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs Committees, I 
am proud to have cosponsored the amendment to make the Chief of the 
National Guard Bureau a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It is 
a long overdue measure that gives the National Guard the recognition 
and respect that it deserves. I am proud to have supported it, and I 
look forward to its final passage.
  Today our National Guardsmen continue the tradition of service begun 
by the militia of 1636, and I want to pay special recognition to the 
guardsmen of the 26th Yankee Brigade serving overseas and to their 
families for their service and sacrifice. Massachusetts's own 26th 
Yankee Brigade is currently serving in Afghanistan. When asked, they 
answered the call to duty. This summer while I was in Afghanistan, I 
was fortunate enough to see firsthand the selflessness, courage, and 
professionalism of ``The Nation's First.'' They are a credit to the 
State of Massachusetts, the National Guard, and to this Nation.
  Congratulations to the National Guard for its 375 years of service to 
this Nation and to all the guardsmen who are prepared to support and 
defend this great Nation in its times of need.

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