Congressional action contact officers are starting points on state and federal issues

National Guard, Mar 2000 by Maddaloni, Chris

Politics and lobbying may seem (like a daunting maze to someone "outside the beltway," but the NGAUS has tried to make sense of the system by organizing a number of "go to" specialists who know how to best get around.

The center of the web for legislative issues in each state is the congressional action contact officer, or CACO.

Appointed by the adjutant general, in coordination with the state Guard association, they serve as aa point-of contact on any legislative action for the state.

The contact officer can be anyone from the executive director of a state association, a legislative assistant, to a public affairs officer.

"Basically, we act as the gobetweens," said Lewis King, the Texas contact officer. "We maintain contacts, and either try to help or stop legislation that affects the Guard."

Part of the contact officer's job is to maintain a wide variety of relationships with politicians.

"You have to build up credibility. You want to be able to get the relationship to a point to where [legislators] call up about a Guard issue and ask, `What is this all about?,'" Lewis said.

Some issues, like the successful effort against Guard personnel cuts in the last Quadrennial Defense Review, which examined the military's needs, are a one-time concern, but others are continual, like modernization, and require constant attention.

"The more you get involved, the more you get accomplished," said Brig. Gen. Howard Goodwin, a former Mississippi contact officer. The legislators "know you and what you want to get done."

Some contact officers said often it is easier to solve the larger, more public issues than those at the local level.

The reason: Education. If few lawmakers have military experience and there hasn't been a natural disaster recently, it is sometimes difficult for them to see the need to budget for the Guard, Goodwin said.

"You have to promote the Guard," he said.

Contact officers bring issues facing the Guard to the attention of the state Guard association.

"Problems are identified first at the state level," said Chris Small, NGAUS legislative director.

A contact officer or another member of the state Guard association, can propose a solution in the form of a resolution, Small said.

If the state association adopts the resolution, it goes to the NGAUS general conference for consideration. From there, it becomes part of the NGAUS' legislative agenda.

Another way to tackle problems is through one of the NGAUS' 10 issuecentered task forces focusing on Army, Air and Joint concerns.

The task forces carefully track issues and may find they require further attention either through a resolution, which will be considered at the general conference, or a public relations campaign.

They provide long-range and strategic direction to the NGAUS in each of their areas.

Each task force, which meets about four times a year, is comprised of a chairman with a secretary and representative from each of the association's six geographic regions. The rest of the group is appointed by the chairman, who has a two-year term. Many of the chairmen are current or former adjutants general.

Army Guard task forces include fire support, strategy, combat vehicle, combat support, combat-service support, engineering, and aviation.

The Air Guard's task forces include fighter/bomber, airlift, tanker and rescue; and C3I (command, control, communications, and intelligence).

The Personnel Task Force is the only joint task force. However, another group is forming on medical issues and will probably emerge as a joint task force, said Chris Small, NGAUS legislative director.

"We've seen quite a bit of interest coming back from the field," Small said. "It is encouraging to see that level of participation."

The task forces, which were reorganized three years ago to streamline lobbying, are a vital part of the resolution process for the association because they are issue-specific and represent a cross-section of the country

"Our focus is constantly egg," Small said.

"We want to inform the membership as much as members of Congress." Is:

Contacting Your CACO

For those who want to become involved or have a question, a phone call to the congressional action contact officer, or CACO, is a good place to start.

Another place to raise an issue is with a representative or senator. Ask to speak with the "military legislative assistant" in the office. They are part of the congressman's staff, and handle defense matters.

An inquiry with the state Guard associations is helpful as well because they have many committees and groups devoted to grassroots efforts.

The NGAUS' Congressional Action Team is also an option. Members can join by visiting the www.ngaus.org. CAT members receive issue updates and letters to send legislators.