The man who gave a big boost to citizen-soldiers

Editor's note: A story in Sunday's Seattle Times examined the challenges facing this war's citizen-soldiers — particularly those in the Washington State National Guard's 81st Brigade. Today: the state National Guard's leader.

CAMP MURRAY — Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg wanted plenty of fanfare to mark the August departure of the 81st Brigade for a second time to Iraq.

He planned more than a dozen community farewells spread out from Bellingham to Pullman, at which families, friends and politicians could say goodbye to 2,400 Washington National Guard soldiers and reflect upon the gravity of spending another year in a combat zone.

For Lowenberg, who has headed the Washington state Air and Army National Guard for nine years, these gatherings helped drive home an important message about American warfare in the 21st century: It requires ample use of citizen-soldiers who must be yanked from families and jobs.

"I think it helps raise the stakes for a president when he wants to go to war," Lowenberg said. "It creates a natural check and balance on executive power, and helps elevate the public discourse in a way that would not otherwise happen."

Lowenberg has led the state Air and Army National Guard through a period of protracted war and repeated call-ups to combat. Along the way, Lowenberg became a leader nationally in a successful campaign to increase the funding, equipping and clout of the Guard, which for decades had been relegated to second-tier status by the Pentagon.

That fight often put him into opposition to the Bush administration, whose first defense secretary — Donald Rumsfeld — chafed at the need to call up Guard units to fight a war, and also sought to expand federal control over the Guard in times of national crisis.

"Lowenberg is a true champion of the National Guard on a number of divergent fronts," said Maj. Gen. Francis Vavala, who commands the Delaware National Guard and is president of the Adjutants General Association of the United States.

Kayaks gather dust

Lowenberg came of age in the Vietnam era, when the Pentagon largely bypassed the Guard and instead relied on a draft to fight a war that claimed more than 58,000 American lives.

Reared in a small Iowa farm town, Lowenberg enrolled in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Iowa. He received a law degree there in 1971. He then served five years on active duty at McChord Air Force Base, where he put his legal skills to use as a judge advocate.

By the time Lowenberg left McChord, the Vietnam War had wound down and Gen. Creighton Abrams, the Army's top commander, had carried out a major overhaul of U.S. forces. Abrams felt strongly that the Guard forces should have been used in Vietnam, and his reorganization put many combat brigades within the Guard and reserves.

Lowenberg has served most of his military career in the reserves. His civilian career has included two years as an assistant state attorney general, in private practice and teaching at the University of Puget Sound and Seattle University's law school.

Lowenberg has a fierce work ethic, which has been tested at times by his dual careers. From 1993 to 1999, while in private practice, he constantly traveled to Washington, D.C., where he spent about 130 days of reserve duty each year as an assistant to the judge advocate general of the Air Force.

Lowenberg does have a few hobbies, including sea kayaking. But since being appointed adjutant general of the state Guard in 1999 by then-Gov. Gary Locke, he has had scant time to paddle.

"I have three sea kayaks, but don't ask me when the last time I was on the water," Lowenberg said.

Train as 1, deploy as 1

Lowenberg's first battle with the Bush administration came at the beginning of the Iraq war.

Rumsfeld wanted to invade Iraq with as few troops as possible, and with troops that could be assembled as quickly as possible.

In December 2002, four months before the start of the war, Rumsfeld was dismayed to find that some of the forces required would have to come from the National Guard, which included 15 of the nation's combat brigades. Those troops would take more time to activate and train than active-duty troops.

"It's a shame that we're organized that way, and we intend to see that we're no longer organized that way," Rumsfeld said.

The Army designated Washington state's 81st Brigade Combat Team for the initial call-up.

But the 81st Brigade had more than a half-dozen units, and Pentagon generals only wanted some of them. That angered Lowenberg and other Washington National Guard leaders, who felt that the units in the brigade trained as a cohesive fighting force — and should deploy as one. So they balked at the order.

"We pushed back through the established military chain of command, and resisted on a doctrinal basis," Lowenberg said. "We didn't think it was appropriate to break up the units and use them piecemeal."

Lowenberg won that battle, and the Pentagon went elsewhere for troops. Later, in November 2003, the entire 81st Brigade was called up. The brigade's marathon of service included six months of training and 12 months in Iraq.

When the 81st went to war, part of the largest state mobilization since World War II, the impact from decades of underfunding was plainly visible.

The state Guard operates with a core of year-round staff, who are responsible for keeping track of equipment and many other tasks. But staffing was a problem because the positions were funded at barely half the level deemed adequate by Pentagon studies.

The humvee vehicles Guard soldiers would drive on high-risk patrols lacked effective armor. Many brigades were so short-staffed that they had to recruit heavily from other units to reach battle strength and they had to borrow equipment.

When the brigades returned home, they left millions of dollars' worth of vehicles behind in Iraq, contributing to a serious equipment shortage at state armories. Meanwhile, injured reservists, assigned to medical hold units at Fort Lewis and other Army posts, complained of poor lodging, as well as inadequate care and health benefits.

As the war wore on, Lowenberg and other state Guard commanders joined with governors to lobby Congress for more money. They also wanted the Pentagon's National Guard Bureau commander upgraded from a three-star to a four-star general who could directly advise the secretary of defense.

"Many of these folks have gone two tours. Some of them are going three tours," Gov. Christine Gregoire said recently. "If that is how we are going to treat our Guard, then they need a seat at the table. They need a voice. They need to be respected."

But the proposal to boost the rank of National Guard commanders was unpopular with the Defense Department.

"Everyone in the Pentagon opposed it," Lowenberg recalled.

The Pentagon fended off the change for several years, but the legislation finally passed in 2007.

Guard funding also has been boosted. So have medical benefits, although they still fall far short of the full coverage that Lowenberg would like to see granted to Guard soldiers throughout their enlistment.

Relationships with the Pentagon leadership are more amiable.

Meetings with Rumsfeld were typically one-way conversations, with Rumsfeld doing most of the talking, said Vavala, the president of the Adjutants General Association. With Robert Gates, the new Secretary of Defense, "you are able to dialogue and he will listen to your point of view," Vavala said.

But Lowenberg and other Guard leaders still sometimes find themselves at odds with the Bush administration.

Last year, an amendment tucked into a bill gave the federal government power to seize control of a state Guard without contacting governors during times of domestic crisis.

In April 2007 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lowenberg unleashed a withering critique, blasting the new law for changing a century of law and policy without any consultation with state leaders. The provision was later repealed.

Lowenberg also opposes the Bush administration's attempt to control regular military troops that might respond to a home-front crisis. He is now working with Congress to clarify state control.

"The constitution says that all rights not granted to Congress or the president are reserved to the states," Lowenberg said. "And I can't tell you of any right more near and dear to our citizens than the right to supervise armed military forces operating within a state."

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com