An open letter to the people and elected officials of the State of Idaho,
Recently, the Idaho State Defense Force (IDSDF) conducted its 1st annual “wildfire Hike”. The membership executed a 10k hike, wearing 45 pounds of gear to raise awareness of its mission to provide wildland fire relief; search and rescue, search and recovery, and disaster recovery; damage assessment; and route reconnaissance.
We are at risk from natural or man-made disasters and our neighbors to the west Washington and Oregon are significantly more prepared to respond to large-scale natural disasters because they have a organized state defense force. They could even provide support to our state should we be faced with a situation and should the governor ask for such support. I believe Idaho should be similarly prepared and mission ready to assist the state of Idaho.
Everyone knows of the National Guard. Serve two weeks a year, and one weekend a month. While the men and women of the National Guard deserve the highest respect, what most people don’t know is that the National Guard exists to serve the federal government first and Idaho second. If the National Guard has to choose between fighting our nation’s wars and responding to a forest fire, our troops will be deployed to the wars.
State Defense Forces on the other hand, exist solely to serve their state. By law, they cannot be federalized. They operate under the command of their state governor for use with emergency operations. According to a December 2004 report by COL (Ret) John R. Brinkerhoff, originally published in the Joint Center for Operational Analysis Journal, state defense forces “can be a highly effective, yet low cost, addition to the nation’s defenses. The lessons of the past and the exigencies of the present strongly suggest that it makes good sense to have strong and effective state defense forces.”
Idaho fielded a State Guard during the First and Second World Wars to provide a “home guard” the Idaho State Defense Force was used to man the armories of deployed National Guard units in order to provide the same level of emergency response while our citizen-soldiers answered the call of duty to our nation.
In August of 1946, after the second world Wars conclusion, the Idaho State Guard remained in active service and was subject to call-up. However was ordered to stand-down while the state addressed possible future missions but, no longer seen any use for the state guard.
Since that date, the entire membership of the IDSDF has been ignored, and they became unsure of their status. Are they still active members of the IDSDF? Have they been released from their oath of enlistment? What do they do with state equipment that was issued to them? If a member signed for a radio, are they still accountable for that radio? Can they release that equipment to another member, or to a resident of the state acting as a member of the “unorganized militia” as defined in Idaho law?: 46-103.
It’s been over 75 years since this order was issued. The world has changed for the worse since then. We’ve had significant terrorist attacks on US soil. We have an organization that is actively working to bring its holy war to our soil. There are men and women willing to train and serve our state for free, defending it from natural and man made disasters and terrorist attacks at the Governor’s call.
Indeed the world has changed and it’s time to resolve this seventy-five year old issue. There is twenty-one states with state defense forces it’s time to recall into service the Idaho State Guard.
