A new strategy is foreseen by the director of the Army National Guard for short-notice deployments, which will imply more training days. As part of National Guard 4.0, the Guard has begun a transformation aimed at better meeting the needs of the operational Army.

The new plan is designed to bring the Guard up to a higher level of readiness (Picture source: US National Guard)

A major change is in sight, as the new strategy means that guard soldiers may not always be notified about upcoming mobilizations months or even years in advance. The notice could even be as short as a single day in advance, the guards having to be four days later at their mob station.

This is the fourth transformation of the National Guard since the adoption of the all-volunteer force in the early 1970s. With guidance from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, this effort is designed to bring the Guard up to a higher level of readiness, so it can be more responsive to contingencies in the future. The National Guard makes up about 39% of the Army combat force. That's eight of the Army's 18 divisions or 27 of the Army's 58 brigade combat teams. Currently, about 20,200 Guard soldiers are mobilized for missions around the world.

Later this year, Tennessee's 278th Armored Brigade Combat Team will deploy a battalion task force to Poland to participate in NATO's enhanced forward posture mission. Nine months later, another battalion task force from the 278th will take its place.

To prepare units for the increased operational tempo, some of the guard soldiers will be required to train more than the traditional 39 days per year, not an unprecedented situation.