Committee hears memorial urging limits on National Guard overseas deployments

Representative Alex Carlados told the House Committee on Rules that House Joint Memorial 13 would ask Congress to limit overseas deployment of National Guard units to purposes enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, such as enforcing federal law, suppressing insurrections and repelling invasions.

"The National Guard shall not be deployed as a filler or replacement for active duty troops, which is what we have been," Carlados said, citing longer deployment cycles for Guard members since 2003 and arguing that the Guard’s primary role should be homeland protection. He referenced his own deployments and said the practice of frequent overseas activations began in the early 2000s.

Members asked for historical context and whether similar memorials had been introduced elsewhere; Carlados said Montana and Virginia were considering related measures. Committee members also questioned whether guardsmen broadly share the view; Carlados said opinions vary and that many service members accept deployments but that legislators should be more judicious in authorizing them. He also raised equipment concerns, saying troops deployed to Egypt "didn't go through an RFI" and some deployed without IFAX personal medical supplies.

The hearing record included questions from Representative Bossard Davis and other committee members; no committee action or vote on HJM 13 was recorded during the session.

Notes: The testimony frames the measure as a memorial urging federal legislative action and cites the U.S. Constitution as the basis for limiting deployments.