Guard Peacekeeping Role To Continue

Army and Air Force National Guard members can expect to see their peacekeeping roles in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, their commander said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., on May 13. The Guard’s role very likely would follow similar peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, the Horn of Africa, and the Sinai, said Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau. "I’ve challenged our staff with thinking through what happens after Iraq, what happens after Afghanistan," McKinley said. "In many cases, the National Guard — primarily the Army National Guard — stays behind, and they are the people who finish the job."