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Paper: Guard was snubbed with NorthCom pick

The Obama administration’s decision to nominate a career active-duty Navy officer to head the U.S. Northern Command is causing a ripple of discontent among senior National Guard officers who thought the time had come for a reserve component general officer to take that job.

While they are not speaking out publicly, a point paper comparing the experience of Vice Adm. James Winnefeld, nominated for the job Dec. 23, to the experience of former National Guard Bureau Chief Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum is circulating among Guard members and on Capitol Hill in an attempt to show the most qualified person was not nominated for the job.

Winnefeld’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee has not been set.

Exactly what Blum supporters expect is not clear; they do not appear to be mounting a direct campaign to block Winnefeld’s nomination. Instead, the effort seems to be designed to point out that a more experienced National Guard officer was overlooked to head the command in charge of protecting the homeland, in place of an active-duty officer who had worked closely with Pentagon military leaders — which for Guard members means that little appears to have changed when it comes to filling top posts.

One reason for the discontent is that Guard members thought Defense Secretary Robert Gates had signaled in a November speech that the NorthCom job would go either to Blum, the NorthCom deputy commander, or another National Guard officer.

In a Nov. 19 speech before a senior leadership conference of the National Guard Bureau, Gates said defense leaders “are focused on creating a pathway for a Guard officer to take command of NorthCom. It is a recognition that is long overdue.”

He went on in the speech to say that elevating the chief of the National Guard Bureau to a four-star position and giving the Guard more say over budget and policy issues were all signs that the Defense Department was giving the Guard more respect.

Winnefeld, whose nomination would have to be confirmed by the Senate, is a Navy fighter pilot and Iraq war veteran serving as director of strategic plans and policy on the Joint Staff. He is also a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Military Staff Committee.

In an 11-point comparison of how Winnefeld and Blum stack up to the duties of the NorthCom job that is being circulated among Guard leaders, Winnefeld gets credit for experience in securing sea and air approaches to the U.S., knowing how to conduct intergovernmental and interagency federal activities and being prepared to command the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is part of the assignment.

The point paper says Blum has similar or wider experience in those areas, and also has conducted domestic homeland defense operations, has planned and carried out homeland defense and civil support missions, has working relationships with governors and state adjutants general, has experience securing land approaches to the U.S., and has unified command experience.

The comparison was drawn up by Guard officers who had worked with Blum at the National Guard Bureau, sources said, although no single person appears to be taking credit.