Broadband tools would make Guard stronger

Last fall, I gave a short speech at an event in Bangor sponsored by this newspaper and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, among others. The event was focused on how residents and businesses in rural Maine in particular could benefit from greater access to broadband services, and what needed to happen to get broadband service options – wired and wireless – in place as quickly as possible.

I was there as the author of a multipart series on this topic that ran earlier in the summer in the Bangor Daily News. About 150 people were present, including several from the Maine Air National Guard who sat quietly in the back row.

After all the speeches were over, I had the opportunity to talk to these National Guard members, and when I told them it would be great if everyone had access to all the Internet and broadband tools that they probably have access to, all I got was a very puzzled look in response.

This brief exchange prompted me to reflect on a situation that has received very little attention, and the result is a relatively unusual proposition. In effect, I now want to amend The National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007, which has been introduced in both houses of Congress as S. 430 and HR. 718.

This legislation seeks, among other things, to provide the National Guard with the ability to identify and validate equipment needs essential to National Guard missions. As you might imagine, this list includes a mix of aircraft, Humvees, trucks, weapons and other pieces of equipment.

What I am proposing is that this list be expanded, and that language providing “free access to broadband equipment and services at home” to all National Guard personnel be inserted into the legislation. This would affect all National Guard personnel in the U.S.

The intent here is not to fund any broadband infrastructure expansion, but rather to make sure that a broadband link is installed and maintained in every National Guard household. This involves the use of all existing broadband tools, including cable modems, phone line-based DSL services, advanced wireless platforms such as cell phone-based High Speed Downlink Packet Access systems, and satellite broadband systems.

In other words, we should use whatever broadband tools are available to get the job done.

Because there is already a strong emphasis on distance learning in the National Guard anyway, what is proposed here is merely an extension of this approach to training and education. As training has intensified for homeland security-related missions – adding a greater burden to what is already a steep training and learning curve – all National Guard personnel would no doubt benefit from being able to engage in continuing training at home.

In all rural states, including Maine in particular, the idea of putting broadband tools to work in this fashion simply makes a lot of sense. We depend more on the National Guard today than ever before, and if the Guard really has to evolve into a 21st century organization, it needs 21st century tools.

With all of the multimission requirements as well as manpower and deployment issues facing the Guard, training and readiness should be the primary concern. This broadband-based program would be a positive step, one that would improve the ability of the Guard to respond effectively to crises at home and abroad.

Amending the National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007 in this way is going to require an expenditure amounting to millions of dollars at a time when budgets are being stretched to the limit. The question of how to go about funding this initiative might require some innovative approaches and partnerships. For example, reaching out to broadband service providers and inviting them to help solve the problem might be beneficial in this instance.

So think hard before you reject this idea. If we want to send a strong message right down the line to the effect that this nation is ready and able to support our National Guard troops in every way possible, this is a good way to do so.

Taking the necessary steps to ensure that all Guard households are equipped with a broadband connection will simply reinforce the core mission of the National Guard and make this organization more effective in the long run.

Peter J. Brown is a freelance writer from Mount Desert.