Former Pentagon spokesman says state defense resources bolster National Guard

State defense forces can offer valuable help to supplement the National Guard and other responders during natural disasters, Brigadier Gen. Robert Hastings (Texas Military Department, ret.) said at a Sept. 3 lunch meeting of the National Press Club's affiliated American Legion Post.

These forces are state-authorized units under command of the governor and provide services such as disaster relief and search-and-rescue during emergencies. 

Hastings, a former principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs, said 26 states have standing defense forces. Some states pay these volunteers, and others do not. These units are not subject to federal call-up, and are generally state funded.

"We may have gone down a path where we think all good comes from the federal government," Hastings said.

But he added that the standing state defense forces taken together amount to an extra brigade of available manpower. A brigade comprises 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers.

Hastings also discussed leadership principles described in his book, "People First, Mission Always: Lessons from 40 years in the Leadership Laboratory of Military Service."

Communication ranks as his first principle.

"Communication is the lifeblood of leadership," Hastings said. "Ask: Who else needs to know what you know?"

Hastings also said a leader should get used to stress.

"Stress comes with the territory," Hastings said. "If the leader panics, everybody panics."

He also said taking prudent risks comes with the territory, as well.

"You can help people learn by giving them the confidence to go out on the thin ice," Hastings said.

American Legion Post 20 has been affiliated with the Club for more than a century. The post was founded at the suggestion of famed World War I General John J. Pershing, who was an associate member of the Press Club at the time.