Springfield, Ill. –
Over the past few weeks there have been a lot of changes within the federal government including the U.S. Department of Defense. Each of you likely have an opinion about these changes. As a member of the U.S. military your opinion is important. However, your opinion is subordinate to the civilian authorities placed above you. These authorities were put in power by the citizens of the U.S. through free and open elections.
Every Soldier and Airmen in the Illinois National Guard took an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same."
We will follow the lawful orders of the President, who derives his powers from the U.S. Constitution. And, when in state status, we will follow the lawful orders of the Governor of Illinois.
When we "bear true faith," we are pledging to have trust and confidence in the U.S. Constitution and when we swear "allegiance," we are committing to remain loyal to the Constitution.
So, how best to do this as a service member?
As individual service members I encourage you to filter out the noise and focus on what you can do to help the Illinois National Guard increase its readiness and exceed the military standards.
What can you do to make the Illinois National Guard more accountable to our fellow service members and the U.S. taxpayers?
What can you do to make us more lethal? If an enemy decides to start a fight, we must win. Building a championship team starts with each of us training hard and exercising self-discipline and commitment.
As the Commander of the Illinois National Guard, my responsibility is to build the best team across the 50 states, 3 territories and district. As a member of the team, ask yourself what you can do to make us a lethal force that is ready to fight tonight.
Leaders of the organization must focus on training and mentoring our Soldiers and Airmen – regardless of their race, sex, or background - so we have the best of the best prepared to be the future leaders of our organization.
I’m going to concentrate on making the Illinois National Guard the best that it can be. I trust you will do the same.
Always Ready, Always There!
RODNEY C. BOYD
Major General, ILARNG
The Adjutant General