Lawmakers file measure requesting federal increase to the Florida National Guard

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, filed a house memorial Wednesday requesting Congress ask the U.S. National Guard Bureau to supplement the size of the Florida National Guard during its assessment of its force.

An identical proposal, Senate Memorial 226, was filed by Sen. Tom Wright, R-Port Orange, in October.

According to House Memorial 1145, Florida’s National Guard is composed of 12,000 guardsmen, or “citizen soldiers.”

Despite having a state population of just over 21 million, third most in the nation, Florida’s National Guard ratio of one per 1,833 residents is 53rd out of 54 states and territories of the United States, the memorial said.

The memorial also cited a United States National Guard Bureau report from April 2021 on population trends on the National guard in its argument.

“The National Guard may need to evaluate re-allocating mission sets to other geographic areas to keep
with changing demographics across the country,” the report said.

The memorial explained, as part of its reasoning for an increase, the state’s activity level during the coronavirus pandemic and other natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Over that period, the guard logged the same amount of work days in 18 months as it did the previous 20 years.

While maintaining its mission, the guard has been plagued by “stress and fatigue” due to overlaps in deployment, according to the memorial. It also listed recruitment, retention, and readiness as mitigating factors.

Currently, a national guard’s “force structure” is determined by the United States National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.

If passed, the resolution would be sent to the president and other federal leaders.