State legislators in Montana are coming under enormous pressure from two-star generals who are lobbying against the Defend the Guard Act, legislation that would prohibit the state’s National Guard from being deployed to combat zones where Congress hasn’t declared war.
A committee in the Montana House of Representatives is set to vote to advance Defend the Guard on Wednesday. Generals have arrived in the state to take Democrats who support the legislation up for a helicopter ride, where they will likely threaten federal funding if the bill is advanced. Similar pressure tactics have been used in other states, and one general even told lawmakers in Kansas that the state would be nuked if Defend the Guard became law.
The pressure from the generals in Montana could undo months of painstaking grassroots activism led by Bring Our Troops Home, the organization behind the Defend the Guard legislation.
Please help and contact the Democratic lawmakers listed in the graphic below. They have all said they will vote in favor of the legislation but that could change after the visit from the generals. If you live in Montana, please call and tell them you’re a Montana resident who supports the bill. If you’re outside Montana, tell them you appreciate their support of Defend the Guard and that you’re hoping it can advance in your home state as well.
Diego Adrian Rivera, Director of Field Operations for Bring Our Troops Home, previously explained to Antiwar.com the importance of grassroots support to advance Defend the Guard.
“The generals never fail to show up and apply pressure,” Rivera said. “They never fail to call, to show up to testify, and threaten the lawmakers. Every time the grassroots fail to show up, the generals get their way.”
Members of the National Guard have started speaking out in favor of the legislation in anonymous letters since they could be punished if they did so publicly.
An anonymous Airman with the Montana National Guard said in a letter to lawmakers that the legislation would “ensure that I can fulfill my domestic duties first without being sent to global operations that have not been approved by a Congressional declaration of war as laid out in the Constitution.”
The Airman added that the bill could be “passed in Montana without having funding cut for Guard units,” noting that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has previously expressed support for Defend the Guard.
“Additionally, the Trump administration in general relies on veteran and military support and ergo is unlikely to push for any Guard budget slashes,” the Airman added.
National Guard soldiers are often deployed in combat zones, including in Syria, Iraq, and Somalia. If Defend the Guard legislation starts becoming law in US states, it would significantly impact the federal government’s ability to wage unconstitutional wars.
Defend the Guard legislation has been introduced in multiple states this year, and Bring Our Troops Home needs volunteers to help push it across the finish line.
Click here to volunteer for phone banking for Defend the Guard, and go to Defendtheguard.us to see if the legislation has been introduced in your state.
