National Guard Education and Eradication Efforts - Support for Adequate Funding
Submitted by: Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee
ndd.015.A11

WHEREAS, Congress first authorized the National Guard Counterdrug Program in 1989; and

WHEREAS, 2,500 National Guard personnel are engaged daily in support of drug interdiction and demand reduction missions; and

WHEREAS, the National Guard Counterdrug Program reached over 3 million people in Fiscal Year 2009, with its positive anti-drug message; and

WHEREAS, the National Guard Counterdrug Program's personnel are woven into the fabric of our communities across America operating in all 54 states and territories; and

WHEREAS, the National Guard Counterdrug Program bridges the gap between Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD institutions in the fight against illicit drugs and transnational threats to the Homeland; and

WHEREAS, the National Guard Counterdrug Program includes a Demand Reduction Program, the National Guard Counterdrug School System, and robust aviation support; and

WHEREAS, the Demand Reduction Program's mission is to use the National Guard's resources to help create the best opportunity for America's youth to make the decision to be drug-free; and

WHEREAS, the Demand Reduction Program works closely with local law enforcement, educators, and community-based organizations to reduce the chances of exposure of illegal drugs to our nation's children; and

WHEREAS, one of the National Guard Counterdrug Program's missions is to provide education to include tutoring, mentoring, support of after-school programs, drug-free activities, role model programs, and sports-drug awareness programs; and

WHEREAS, one of the keystones of the National Guard Counterdrug Program is the education of this nation's youth, including Stay on Track which focuses on America's middle school students; and

WHEREAS, during the 2009-2010 school year Stay on Track was implemented in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; and

WHEREAS, the implementation of Stay on Track during the 2009-2010 school year reached over 120,000 students; and

WHEREAS, as of January 2009 and after middle school students had been exposed to the Stay on Track curriculum, 21% had an increased knowledge of the harmful effects of drugs, 50% of the students reported that they now had the skills to resist drugs, and 94% of the students advised that they now had the skills to help friends resist drugs; and

WHEREAS, after the 2009-2010 school year and after middle school students had been exposed to the Stay on Track curriculum, 10% had an increased knowledge of the harmful effects of drugs, 23% had an increased knowledge of substance use by their peers, 93% were prepared to refuse drugs, 87% were prepared to advocate that their peers resist drugs, 91% thought it was wrong for their peers to use drugs, and 81% perceived that it was risky to use illicit substances; and

WHEREAS, the National Guard Counterdrug School System consists of five schools that provide nocost training to law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations through resident, distance learning, and export courses offered by the Midwest Counterdrug Training Center, Des Moines, IA; the Multi-Jurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training facility, St. Petersburg, FL; the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center, Ft. Indiantown Gap, PA; the Regional Counterdrug Training Academy, Meridian, MS; and the Western Regional Counterdrug Training Center, Tacoma, WA; and WHEREAS, the National Guard Counterdrug Program provides National Guard personnel serving as investigative criminal case analysts to civilian law enforcement. These analysts focus on four core competencies: link analysis, document exploitation, commodity/financial transaction analysis, and drug trafficker case construction; and WHEREAS, as recently as Fiscal Year 2008, 781 National Guard investigative criminal case analysts supported drug law enforcement agencies and task forces throughout the nation including 471 who supported the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program; and WHEREAS, one of the National Guard Counterdrug Program's missions is to provide domestic cannabis eradication assistance, including: aerial, logistics, and communications support; intelligence, planning, and medical support; operational staff coordination; physical security; ground transportation; the actual eradication and destruction of contraband; and the spraying of herbicides; and

WHEREAS, National Guard Counterdrug Program funding has not kept pace with pay adjustments for program personnel, nor has it kept pace with demands for increased National Guard counter-drug support; and now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police, duly assembled at its 118th Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois, urges Congress to appropriate sufficient funds to adequately and fully fund the National Guard Counterdrug Program so that it can effectively continue its education, analyst, aviation support, and cannabis eradication missions.