§10508 National Guard Bureau: General Provisions

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must set the rules for how many people the National Guard Bureau needs. He must work with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when making those rules. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau can hire, assign, and manage people under sections 2102, 2103, 2105, and 3101 of title 5, under subchapter IV of chapter 53 of title 5, or under section 328 of title 32. Those people can serve in the National Guard Bureau or in the National Guard of each State, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands to do Guard work and missions the Chief gives them. The Chief can let the adjutants general named in section 314 of title 32 handle hiring and administration. Even if the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.) might apply, the adjutant general must carry out all personnel actions and employment decisions under rules the Chief sets. For any administrative complaint or grievance about those actions, the adjutant general is treated as the agency head and the State or territory’s National Guard is the employing agency and the sole defendant; the Guard must defend and follow final orders. If a court case arises instead, the United States is the only defendant and the Attorney General defends it. Any settlements, judgments, or costs from those administrative or court actions must come from funds appropriated to that State or territory’s National Guard.