Trying an End Run Around the Guard: Maj. Gen. Michael Haugen, the commander of North Dakota’s National Guard, like other Guardsmen, is having trouble rationalizing Pentagon budget woes with the proposed plan to cut the Army Guard and Air Guard. Haugen tells the Associated Press that the Pentagon is trying “to do BRAC by another name.” He wants the Guard to “guide [DOD] into the smart budget.” North Dakota lawmakers are among those who have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld protesting Guard reductions.
Air Force senior statesmen explained the reasons they jointly sent a letter to Congress urging restoration of the E-7 Wedgetail and more F-35s to the fiscal 2026 defense budget.