FL H1145

Urges the U.S. Congress to direct the National Guard Bureau to examine and increase the force structure allocated to the Florida National Guard.

Florida is the third most populous state with approximately 21 million residents but has only about 12,000 Guardsmen, ranking 53rd out of 54 states and territories in its ratio of one Guardsman per 1,833 residents.

During 2020–2021, the Florida National Guard expended the same number of workdays in 18 months (due to COVID-19, natural disasters, and overseas deployments) as it had in the previous 20 years, leading to repeated deployments, excessive stress, and negative impacts on recruitment, retention, and readiness.

Cites the National Guard Bureau's April 2021 report, "Impact of U.S. Population Trends on National Guard Force Structure," which acknowledged the need to re-allocate mission sets to match changing demographics.

Directs the Secretary of State to send copies of the memorial to the U.S. President, Senate President, House Speaker, and all members of Florida's congressional delegation.