Interview with The Commanding Officer of The Michigan Defense Force, Lieutenant Colonel (MI) Michael E. Ewing
1. Before we begin can you tell us a little about you and your history in the military?
I served in the USAFX-Civil Air Patrol for 20 plus years, serving in various capacities, most recently as Michigan Wing Legal Officer. I Served as Defense Force Third Battalion Operations Officer, Brigade Operations Officer, and Sixth Battalion Commander for some seven years combined–before being selected by the TAG’s appointed hiring board to serve as Brigade Commander.
2. Moving over to the Michigan Defense Force, what is the current status of The Michigan Defense Force?
Current status is working on integration with Michigan National Guard. The Defense Force, for the past 20 years, acted autonomously, largely, but now we’re working to integrate with JFHQ. We have undergone a complete reorganization and implemented new personnel standards, etc. The next step is integration with JFHQ.
3. What notable missions has The Michigan Defense Force performed in the last year? Any Joint Task Force missions with The National Guard?
In the last year, we have pivoted towards integration, as previously mentioned, so we have been involved in numerous meetings with JFHQ staff, including the TAG, to reorganize and integrate.
4. Can you list the missions your Defense Force performs today?
The mission right now is reorganization and integration. We had a wide host of missions previous to the reorganization, but most are on hold while we work with our partners at JFHQ.
5. Is your Defense Force expanding its mission set to include new missions other State Defense Forces are performing such as assisting The National Guard with Cyber Defense, providing Point of Distribution during emergencies, or maritime Search & Rescue?
The new mission sets have not yet been approved by the TAG. Cyber was not on the list. We have looked at mission sets of defense forces across the country to try and find pairings that would benefit the state. Michigan does not have hurricanes, border issues, and other maladies that other states have, so our function has been largely focused on SAR. Traditionally, that has been a big part of our operations.
6. How many troops are in the Michigan Defense Force?
7. What amount of a fiscal budget did The Michigan Defense Force receive this year?
The annual budget for previous years has been $35,000. This FY, the MIDF received a one-time allocation of $100,000.
8. How are your recruiting efforts going? Do you bring in more Prior Service than Non Prior Service members?
Losses over previous year: 26 (2 retirements, 1 death, 23 discharges). Gains over previous year: 10 (prior service: 40%). During the reorganization process we have implemented mandatory retirements/discharges for those out of compliance with new standards (i.e. age, health, etc).
9. Does The Michigan Defense Force have any full time active duty staff that have permanent day to day positions?
FT staff: None, yet. (2 working FT (Bde S1 & S3), but not yet on AD orders). Numerous positions on the Unit Manning Roster (UMR) are denoted as FT (for future use).
10. Does The Michigan Defense Force have any full time Active Duty recruiters?
FT recruiters: 18 positions on UMR (Bde S1 currently working as recruiter), but none on AD orders yet.
11. Let’s move over to training, what kind of training is the Michigan Defense Force focusing on these days? What kind of training should new recruits expert when joining your Defense Force
One definite priority for SDFs should be the acquisition of the basic skills which the Army and Air National Guards almost inherently possess, specifically military culture (mindset and history), customs and courtesies, basic military lingo and acronyms (communication skills), and knowledge of the SDF and NG chain of command and its units.
12. For NON-Prior Service, do you have a basic training for such new recruits? If so how long is it? What skills do they learn?
Currently, the MIDF has no formal basic training. Such indoctrination is currently performed at the unit level. A formal basic training program, as well as MOS and branch-specific training, is being developed and will be presented to the MI TAG soon.
13. Do you have other development courses such as BNCOC or ANCOC?
Professional military education at all levels is being developed in conjunction with the basic and advanced training mentioned above.
14. How is your working relationship with your states National Guard? Do you work hand in hand with your states Army National Guard and Air National Guard?
15. Curious, throughout the thousands of missions your Michigan Defense Force performed, have you ever deployed out of the state?
To date, no MIDF soldiers have deployed out of state for official missions.
16. Regarding the Covid-19 Pandemic, was your Defense Force activated? And if so what kind of missions were performed? How many troops went on Active Duty in total?
The MIDF did assist with the Covid-19 response in Michigan. The missions were primarily assisting with vaccinations in the Detroit area. An estimated ten MIDF members worked on this mission. No MIDF soldiers were on active duty during this time.
17. We did a poll a while back asking State Defense Force members what mission they would like their State Defense Force to take on, surprisingly one choice got most of all the votes which was Assisting the Army National Guard by acting as an Opposing Force for their Urban Warfare Courses. The Georgia State Defense Force has been engaging in such a mission for years, do you think such a missions would work for your Defense Force?
(Opinion) The MIDF acting as an opposing force (OPFOR) would be an excellent value-add for Michigan’s NG units. The MIDF has acted in the capacity on a limited basis in the past. The brigade S3 and S1 are working on an expanded plan to qualify selected MIDF soldiers as a trained, field-ready opposing force. This plan will then be presented to TAG.
18. Let’s move on to another subject, there are over approximately twenty SDF’s / SG’s, each with their own set of uniform standards, training standards, height / weight regulations, and so we recently put out a poll on the website asking ‘Do you believe there should be a central organization that requires each & every State Defense Force to maintain certain Age, Height/Weight, Training Certification standards? And If so which organization should that be?’ What are your thoughts on this?
The MIDF has implemented its own age maximums and height / weight requirements. A certain level of training across the force is definitely essential in order to be a valued asset to the state. Since each state’s needs are different, however, the training requirements should be unique to those needs. The same applies to the age and height / weight requirements though it must be said that a professional appearance – and ultimately acceptance by the state’s NG – is heavily influenced by these. However, once more, those standards should be determined by the state concerned rather than a central organization.
19. One question that I wanted to ask you, in 2007 the Maryland Defense Force did something no other SDF ever did, they deployed with the Maryland Air National Guard on a mission to provide medical & humanitarian assistance in Bosnia. Do you believe the SDF / SG’s could assist the National Guard in overseas locations in support role missions?
Deployments out-of-state would be a superb way to increase the experience, skill sets, and viability of the MIDF to the state. While this has not happened in the past, at least in Michigan, it is an excellent option to consider.
20. What do you think State Defense Forces need to do to better grow and develop in the short term and long term?
Defense Forces across the country seem to flourish when they are brought in to act as a force multiplier by their guard components–and they rise to the challenge. The state guards (defense forces) that act independently, without integration, don’t do as well due to lack of funding, training, and missions. There’s real opportunity for states to utilize their defense forces in creative ways to address issues unique to each state. Unfortunately, many defense forces are their states best kept secret. Elected leaders need to know about what these units are capable of–and how they can add value to their states. In the short term, defense forces, that haven’t already, should work on organization and professionalism. And once they accomplish that, they need to begin an awareness campaign and work towards integration with their national guard counterparts. The states that have accomplished this, i.e. Texas, California, have produced an impressive catalogue of work and accomplishments.
