Ohio National Guard asks for higher state funds to sustain cyber reserve, counterdrug and mental‑health programs

Major General John Harris, adjutant general for the state of Ohio, told the House Public Safety Committee the governor’s proposed general‑revenue appropriation would provide $16,790,000 for fiscal year 2026 and $16,990,000 for fiscal year 2027 to sustain personnel, cyber and counterdrug programs and expand behavioral‑health support for members of the Ohio National Guard.

Harris emphasized the Guard’s statewide role and community footprint, saying the department represents more than 16,000 soldiers, airmen, state defense force members and civilian employees and maintains roughly 1,500,000 square feet of facilities across 55 sites in 36 counties. "This budget request allows the adjutant general's department to retain the capacity to alert, mobilize, and deploy personnel and equipment anywhere in the state or in the nation at a moment's notice by maintaining staffing levels," he told the committee.

A central theme of Harris’s testimony was the Ohio Cyber Reserve, created by Senate Bill 52 in 2019. Harris said the volunteer reserve expanded from 52 members in 2022 to 71 in 2024 and "completed 88 nonemergency cyber missions resulting in 1,650,000.00 in cost savings to the state of Ohio and the municipalities throughout the state." He said the reserve has conducted vulnerability assessments and incident response work and that the department is partnering to prioritize water‑infrastructure assessments and to help entities meet National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity standards.

Harris described the counterdrug program as another growth area, saying it grew from 58 to 83 Guard members and that it provides administrative and analytic support embedded in federal, state and local law‑enforcement efforts. He said the program has contributed to substantial seizures and arrests, though the transcript did not record a clear, unambiguous figure for the cryptocurrency amount or the final arrest tally; Harris did say "seizures totaling over 22,000,000 in traditional cash," and committee members asked staff to provide a detailed disposition of seized assets after the hearing.

Recruiting incentives also featured in the testimony. Harris credited the Bucks for Buckeyes program with helping boost accessions from about 1,135 new recruits in 2022 to roughly 1,700 last year, an increase he described as "significant." He said maintaining recruiting momentum matters for readiness and the Guard’s ability to sustain domestic and overseas missions.

On mental‑health services, Harris said the department seeks additional psychological‑health coordinators and other behavioral‑health investments to reduce caseloads and provide care where service members are stationed. He described a desire for better predictive tools to identify at‑risk members earlier and said the department partners with the Ohio Department of Veterans Services and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services on peer support and other programs.

Members asked about border deployments and authorities. Harris said the Guard currently has no troops on the Southwest border and "we have no orders" for a deployment there, though he said pending mobilizations could change the mission set. He distinguished between deputized Texas National Guard personnel and the traditional federal mission for which Ohio Guard members have previously provided surveillance and support to Customs and Border Protection.

Harris also warned against state laws that would sharply restrict Guard mobilization for non‑declared wars, calling a movement to limit state Guard deployments a "Trojan horse" that would render the Guard less relevant and jeopardize federal resources and training tied to overseas missions.

The committee asked for follow‑up information on asset dispositions from counterdrug cases and on other program details. No formal committee action or vote was recorded in the transcript of the hearing on the appropriation request.