Restoration of America Foundation Salutes Sen. Moody’s Bid to Expand Florida National Guard

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Yesterday, Sen. Ashley Moody led a letter along with 13 other members of the Florida Congressional Delegation urging Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to review the Florida National Guard’s authorized force structure and approve an increase in its total allocation.

“The size of the Florida National Guard has not kept up with the Free State of Florida’s explosive growth. The Trump administration can fix this. As a military veteran, I understand what it takes to keep a force mission-ready. I want to thank Sen. Moody and every member of the Florida delegation that signed this letter to lead the charge on this important effort.”

Doug TruaxFounder & CEO, Restoration of America Foundation

The Florida National Guard has roughly 12,000 authorized personnel serving a state of approximately 23.5 million people. Measured per capita, Florida ranks 53rd out of 54 states and territories with a National Guard component, trailing smaller states such as Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.¹

The letter notes that the Florida Guard expended as many workdays in 18 months as it had in the preceding 20 years, driven by COVID-19 response, hurricane and disaster relief, and overseas deployments. Florida Guardsmen are currently called out roughly 106 days a year, compared to the 39 duty days required by statute, a pace that drives fatigue and undermines retention.

Sen. Moody’s letter builds on Senate Memorial 314, adopted by the Florida Legislature in 2025, which urged the National Guard Bureau (NGB) to examine Florida’s allocation.² The NGB itself acknowledged in its April 2021 report to Congress that it may need to reallocate mission sets to keep pace with shifting demographics.³