Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum

t a news briefing in May 2003, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, the National Guard Bureau chief, said that for the National Guard, the "real transformation will happen right between [its people's] ears. It's not about hardware, and it's not about [information technology]. It's about how you think. And we need to change the way we think."

Blum, a 32-year veteran of the National Guard-including a six-month stint as a commanding general in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001 and 2002-is overseeing the most comprehensive changes in the National Guard in decades.

He has undertaken a major overhaul of the Guard, which includes 460,000 members nationwide, by merging the separate Army, Air, and state National Guard headquarters from 54 states and territories into single Joint Force Headquarters in each state. Streamlining the system, Blum says, will make the Guard more effective and let it mobilize more quickly when needed.

Blum, 57, began his career in 1971with a Special Forces unit in the Maryland Army National Guard; his last assignment before accepting the top post was as chief of staff of the U.S. Northern Command-the organization responsible for the military defense of the United States.

Blum's widespread changes have upset some Guard members. But Blum says that overall, the states' response "has been nothing short of remarkable. They have moved faster than I anticipated it could be done."

Blum must also address the concern that the Guard is being overused. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, about 300,000 National Guard members and reservists have been called to active military duty. "General Blum is doing what needs to be done," says Albert Zapanta, chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board. "He's seen as a doer, not a bureaucrat. How he is as a manager has yet to be seen, but he's not someone who's afraid to take a hit."

Blum, a native of Baltimore, graduated from the University of Baltimore with a bachelor's degree in history; he earned a master's in social science from Morgan University in Baltimore. He also graduated from the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.