CHARLESTON -
"We thank you for everything you have done for us," said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, adjutant general of West Virginia, to the state's Congressional delegation.
National Guard personnel in all 50 states now have a voice on the Joint Chiefs of Staff thanks to the state's Congressional delegation. The Guardians of Freedom Act passed by Congress gives the Chief of the National Guard Bureau for the country the ranking with other branches of the military.
"It didn't make any sense and as they actively participated in these two wars to such an extent. They could see how painful that was and how stupid it was," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., sponsor of the bill in the Senate.
"If they are going through an event in a subway venue, they are going to have to negotiate the turnstiles," said Hoyer as he gave the delegation a tour of the Center for National Response. It's a former turnpike tunnel being used by military and first responders to deal with and potentially prevent attacks on this country using several different disaster scenarios.
"We interact daily with not only front line military members but members of the federal community and first responders on any given day of the week that we have here," said Maj. Bill Annie, of the Center for National Response.
"What would you be paying a private contractor to operate something like this? Think about that. The cost it would be to the American people," asked Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia
He believes elevating the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to the Joint Chiefs of Staff is perhaps one of the most important things Congress has done for the security of our country.
Next month the Center for National Response will host the first mass transit disaster scenario using the mock subway station in the tunnel. That training will be sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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