REPORT OF THE NATIONAL CONVENTION COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY
On Sunday, August 27, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., 48 delegates and alternates convened in Room 207, Section A-D of the Charlotte Convention Center for the Convention Committee on National Security. Matthew Shuman (AZ) was elected as the Chairman during the meeting, and Mike Cooke (WY) was elected as the Secretary.
On Sunday, August 27, 2023, at 9:30 a.m., 48 delegates and alternates were assigned to the National Security Committee. The convention committee met in Room 207, Section A-D, on the first floor of the Charlotte Convention Center. They reviewed and discussed recommended actions on resolutions.
Eleven resolutions were assigned to the Convention Committee on National Security or prepared by the Committee to address The American Legion's principles and objectives. The Convention Committee authorized the Chairman to sign the report on behalf of its delegates and make technical and administrative corrections to the resolutions reported by the Committee.
Resolutions Approved (1), Resolutions Approved with amendments (2), Resolutions Received and Recorded (1), and Resolutions Referred to Standing Commission or Committee on National Security (7.)
APPROVED
RESOLUTION NO. 48
SUBJECT: REBUILDING THE U.S. DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE
ORIGIN: VIRGINIA
Whereas, The United States is facing growing threats from near-peer adversaries like China, and history shows wars between major powers often expand into protracted conflicts; and
Whereas, Current U.S. military planning focuses too much on short, sharp battles instead of the demands of an enduring war; and
Whereas, The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) resiliency required to sustain the U.S. in great power conflict was sacrificed as part of the 1990s peace dividend; and
Whereas, The U.S. can no longer rely on mobilizing the "Arsenal of Democracy" like in WWII due to decades of deindustrialization and globalization, with 75% fewer defense companies today compared to 1993; and
Whereas, Small business participation, including those owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans, in defense procurements as prime and subcontractors is vital to the defense mission, competition, and health of the DIB; and
Whereas, The powerhouses of industrial readiness – stable and predictable budgets, an experienced and specialized workforce, diversified and modern infrastructure, manufacturing innovation; and sufficient, including idle, capacity – have all atrophied under the combined transition to a services-based economy with a premium on just-in-time commercial supply chains; and
Whereas, The advanced technologies and weapons platforms that underpin American military superiority depend on fragile global supply chains vulnerable to disruption; and
Whereas, Critical industries like machine tools, forging, and foundries have seen 50% or more of businesses disappear, and manufacturing employment has declined by 75% since 1950; and
Whereas, The U.S. share of global rare earth production and refining capacity has declined precipitously, posing risks for advanced systems like hypersonic missiles; and
Whereas, The war in Ukraine demonstrates the continued importance of industrial capacity, production, and logistics for victory in modern warfare; and
Whereas, The United States must rebuild its industrial base and make sustained investments to prepare for the possibility of a protracted conflict with a near-peer adversary; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, By The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 29, 30, 31, 2023, That The American Legion recommends the U.S. government should map industrial capabilities against long war scenarios, wargame with industry, and invest in expanding capacity; and, be it further
RESOLVED, Congress should fund programs to re-shore and expand key defense industries, including rare earths production, while developing synergies between the U.S. industrial base and that of its allies; and, be it further
RESOLVED, Congress should consider measures to diversify the domestic defense industrial base, including increased oversight of mergers, changes to intellectual property provisions in defense contracting, acquisition reform, and strengthening incentives for small businesses and new defense industrial base entrants, including those owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans; and, be it further
RESOLVED, Public-private partnerships should be strengthened to enable rapid industrial mobilization; and, be it further
RESOLVED, Congress should modernize the Defense Production Act for the 21st Century to enable holistic solutions for critical manufacturing facilities, such as targeted visa approvals forSTEM talent, direct project financing, and automatic fast-tracking of permits; and, be it further
RESOLVED, Congress should scale up workforce development programs to credential more workers and veterans for high-demand trades; and, be it finally
RESOLVED, that educating the public about the importance of a robust, secure industrial base is a critical homeland security issue.
APPROVED WITH AMENDMENTS
RESOLUTION NO. 17
SUBJECT: POLICY ON TAIWAN
ORIGIN: TEXAS
WHEREAS, The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a long-time friend, ally, and key partner of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Taiwan closely cooperated with the United States against Japanese imperialism during World War II and in the fight against communism during the Cold War; and
WHEREAS The United States and Taiwan share democratic values, deep commercial and economic ties, and strong people-to-people connections, which serve as the impetus for expanding engagement by the United States with Taiwan; and
WHEREAS, Taiwan is strategically located and is extremely important to the peace, prosperity, and stability of the Indo-Pacific Region; and
WHEREAS, The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is consistently building up its military capabilities and flexing its muscles in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and most aggressively in the Taiwan Strait; and
WHEREAS, The PRC is continuously blocking Taiwan’s participation in international affairs; and
WHEREAS, It is in the best interests of all parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to resolve political differences peacefully; and
WHEREAS, Taiwan is the eighth-largest trading partner of the United States, and the United States is the second-largest trading partner of Taiwan; and
WHEREAS, The United States and Taiwan initiated trade negotiations in August 2022 called the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade with the goal being to create trade agreements that will strengthen and deepen economic and trade ties between the United States and Taiwan; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, By The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 29, 30, 31, 2023, That The American Legion encourages the creation of new trade agreements that will strengthen and deepen economic and trade ties between the United States and Taiwan; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the United States strongly advocate for the full membership of Taiwan in the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and other international organizations; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the United States should continue to take all necessary measures to boost Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities to deter possible aggression by the People's Republic of China; and, be it finally
RESOLVED, That the United States should encourage the parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait: the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China, to promote peaceful dialogue and avoid any unilateral change of the status quo which might lead to military conflict.
RESOLUTION NO. 30
SUBJECT: MODERNIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES
ORIGIN: MICHIGAN
WHEREAS, The American Legion has a longstanding commitment to supporting our military and advocating for policies and programs that enhance our national security; and
WHEREAS, The international rules-based order that has kept great power peace since the end of World War II is under stress, and the United States is facing growing rivalry with China, Russia, and other authoritarian states whose national security interests are in competition with the United States; and
WHEREAS, The national security environment is undergoing a profound transformation, and new technologies and strategies are necessary to ensure that our military remains prepared to dominate and, if necessary, defeat emerging threats; and
WHEREAS, The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has stated that the United States Joint Forces is at an inflection point and must balance current operations’ readiness with future modernization; and
WHEREAS, Modernization is a continuous process that is based on understanding emerging and evolving threats, the changing character of warfare, the rapid proliferation of technology, and the missions the U.S. military will be ordered to undertake while ensuring a warfighting advantage over adversaries; and
WHEREAS, Modernization of the armed forces is essential to maintaining the readiness and effectiveness of our military and requires sustained investment in research, development, testing, engineering, acquisition, recruiting, training; and
WHEREAS, The joint force must fully integrate emerging technologies, including precision long-range fires, hypersonic weapons, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and pervasive all-domain sensors, assured all-domain command and control to maintain its position as the most lethal and capable military in the world; and
WHEREAS, The Army of 2030 vision aims to transform into a multi-domain force capable of conducting large-scale combat operations and engaging in sustained competition through modernization efforts such as soldier lethality, future vertical lift, air and missile defense, longrange precision fires, network-enabled mission command, and robotic and autonomous systems; and
WHEREAS, The Marine Corps Force Design 2030 seeks to create a more lethal, agile, and distributed naval expeditionary crisis response force through prioritization of stand-in forces, expeditionary advanced base operations, all-domain command, control and fires capabilities, training, and talent management to deny an adversary its immediate objectives and enable other joint forces; and
WHEREAS, The Navy’s Force Design 2045 modernization efforts seek to maintain open sea lanes through distributed maritime operations, integration of additional unmanned vessels in a hybrid fleet, installation of ungradable higher-power weapons and sensors, ensuring delivery of support/logistics, and generating advantage for making decisions to decisively win our nation’s wars when called upon; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Air Force and Space Force are modernizing their ability to protect and maintain supremacy in air and space through improving airborne battle management, electronic warfare, tactical air dominance, resilient forward basing, agile combat employment, increased global strike capacity, and high readiness levels to deploy and win; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, By The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 29, 30, 31, 2023, That The American Legion supports the modernization of the United States Armed Forces to ensure that it is ready to fight and win in all domains of conflict, taking into account the evolving character of modern warfare; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That The American Legion calls upon Congress to provide adequate funding to support the joint warfighting modernization efforts and ensure the U.S. military retains its lethality and capability advantages around the world; and, be it finally
RESOLVED, That The American Legion reaffirms its commitment to the defense of the United States and its allies and supports efforts to maintain high states of current readiness while simultaneously modernizing for the future operating environment and taking care of our servicemembers and their families.
RECEIVED AND RECORDED
RESOLUTION NO. 21
SUBJECT: IMMIGRATION POLICY
ORIGIN: TEXAS
REFERRED TO THE STANDING COMMISSION ON NATIONAL SECURITY
RESOLUTION NO. 2
SUBJECT: PERMITTING CONCEALED CARRY OF PRIVATELY OWNED FIREARMS ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE INSTALLATIONS
ORIGIN: ARKANSAS
RESOLUTION NO. 11
SUBJECT: EXPAND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OF THE YEAR ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TO INCLUDE CORRECTIONS OFFICERS
ORIGIN: VIRGINIA
RESOLUTION NO. 25
SUBJECT: NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND (NORAD) ASSESSMENT
ORIGIN: VIRGINIA
RESOLUTION NO. 31
SUBJECT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ORIGIN: MICHIGAN
RESOLUTION NO. 35
SUBJECT: SUPPORT LEGISLATION ON THE IMPORTANCE OF VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
ORIGIN: NEW YORK
RESOLUTION NO. 43
SUBJECT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ORIGIN: NEW YORK
RESOLUTION NO. 46
SUBJECT: INVESTIGATION OF UNITED STATES AIRSPACE SECURITY
ORIGIN: ILLINOIS
Mr. Commander, National Officers, and Fellow Delegates. I am pleased to announce the National Blood Donor Awards winners this past year.
Category I - Departments with 100,000 or more members
Post Participation: Pennsylvania
Individual Participation: Pennsylvania
Category II - 70,000 to 99,999 members
Post Participation: New York
Individual Participation: New York
Category III - 40,000 to 69,999 members
Post Participation: Minnesota
Individual Participation: Minnesota
Category IV - 25,000 to 39,999 members
Post Participation: Virginia
Individual Participation: Virginia
Category V - 10,000 to 24,999 members
Post Participation: Alabama
Individual Participation: Maine
Category VI - less than 10,000 members
Post Participation: Vermont
Individual Participation: Vermont
Many of our Departments participated in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Awards Program this year. 6,501 medals were awarded to deserving cadets in Senior ROTC and Junior ROTC Units. The Winning Departments for 2023 were Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. On behalf of The American Legion and its nearly 1.6 million members, job well done to the Departments and our youth of America enrolled in the ROTC programs.
