Last week, the Senate passed legislation to give the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I strongly supported the measure, and worked for much of my first year in the Senate to help build bipartisan support that reflected not only the immense respect the citizen soldiers of this nation have earned, but the extraordinary potential they have for enhancing our national security.

Though the courage of members of the National Guard is no less respected than the other branches, and the sacrifice of their families is every bit as great, passing the legislation was not about rewarding extraordinary service. Rather, it was about recognizing what we need to do for our future in order to keep our country safe. It was about bringing to bear every resource we have for the defense of this nation.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff are the top military advisers to the president and to the Secretary of Defense. They are responsible for making sure our military is prepared for every threat to our national security, but as those threats tilt toward the asymmetric, so must our military planning.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have begun a fundamental transformation of our military, shifting away from a posture designed to counter Soviet aggression in Europe toward a posture that confronts new threats to American lives and interests.

Writing in a report for the Center for New American Security last year, retired Gen. Gordon Sullivan described the National Guard as at a crossroads: “Down one path lies continued transformation into a 21stcentury operational force and progress on the planning, budgetary and management reforms still required to make that aspiration a reality. Down the other path lies regression to a Cold War-style strategic force meant only to be used as a last resort in the event of major war.”

There was a clear choice, and this week, the Senate made it, taking what I believe is a significant step toward strengthening our national security.

When national defense solely meant fighting our enemies abroad, the current organizational strategy made sense. But now that we are more likely to have to simultaneously defend against threats to America’s national security here on American shores, we need the National Guard to have a seat at the table. We need the National Guard’s resources and capabilities to be a first line consideration that matches its first-line mandate.

Here in Delaware, the 31st Civil Support Team is the tip of the spear of the military response to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack. Following closely behind police, fire and EMS services, our CST would diagnose the threat, inform and update the chain of command, and prepare the affected area to receive a response by larger military units.

When the Joint Chiefs sit down to plan for a biological attack on this country, they need someone at the table who fully understands the mission of units like the 31st Civil Support Team, whose members are full-time Guard, but are not active- duty military.

One area that needs more thought by the Joint Chiefs is the important role the Guard can play in cyber security — an area where most threats are decidedly asymmetric.

The Delaware Air National Guard’s 166th Network Warfare Squadron is already playing a key role in our nation’s defensive and offensive cyber capability working with U.S. Cyber Command, but its potential as a bridge between the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, between federal and state governments, and between the public and private sectors has barely been considered outside of a few circles. Determining what unique role the Guard can play in cyber security to create a more robust, more flexible defense-in-depth is just one of the new ideas I believe the chief of the National Guard Bureau can bring to the planning process.

The men and women of the National Guard bring extraordinary capabilities to our armed forces, and because of the Senate’s actions this week, I know that our military will be better prepared for new and emerging threats to our nation.

The op-ed appeared in The Delaware State News.