The Army’s Aviation Restructure Initiative (ARI) will remove the National Guard's attack aviation capability in order to provide the active Army with it. The initiative prompted Granger and Womack to write a letter asking the NCFA to fully consider the potential consequences of the initiative on the National Guard.
“The National Guard must be recognized as a legitimate combat reserve of the Army,” the letter said. “To relegate them to the sidelines by stripping them of assets, reducing their readiness levels and removing combat capability is simply unacceptable. In addition, we urge you to reexamine the Department of Defense dwell time guidelines: some adjustments would make the Guard a cost-effective and viable choice for maintaining combat power.”
In addition, Granger and Womack also directly criticized the ARI.
“We refuse to believe that the Army honestly thinks it does not need an operational reserve in attack aviation,” the letter said. “ Unfortunately, that is exactly what will happen if ARI continues as planned. ARI is a though out, ill-informed, budget-driven plan that strips the National Guard of its attack capabilities and relegates them to the sidelines in the fight.”
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