@Cale,

This has been talked about off and on for the last decade. It’s not a horrible idea, if implemented correctly. When I joined the National Guard in ’99, my unit was part of an “enhanced Brigade,” and we were authorized 60 UTA a year, on top of the 15 day Annual Training. Given, that only equated to 45 days a year, but it’s a great deal more than the 39 days M-Day/TPU Soldiers are required to serve today.

Not every NG unit was like this, and participation in the unit was voluntary (you could always transfer out). However the retention and morale was high because we trained hard, often, and sent a LOT of lead down range.

If the Guard implemented something like that, it might work. Identify tier 1 units and tier 2 units, of all MOS. Tier 1 units get those extra training days, 60-70 UTA / 15-18 AT, but they’re then protected from state activation (unless absolutely necessary). Whereas the tier 2 units have the normal 48 UTA/15 AT, but they can be called up for emergency activations. I think having the 2 tiers would be important in order to give Soldiers the opportunity to take a knee if needed.

I’ll level with you, it’s not the training days that have killed the morale of my unit; it’s the fact that on top of the 48/15, my Soldiers have spent 39 days of the last year in uniform on emergency state active duty.