Maj. Gen. John Haas, adjutant general of the Florida Department of Military Affairs, told the Florida Senate Committee on Military, Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security that the Florida National Guard remains well‑staffed for recruitment but faces growing retention pressures amid a high operational tempo.

Haas said the Guard has “over 12,000 soldiers and airmen” assigned, manages roughly 82,000 acres in more than 900 buildings, and operates 62 readiness centers. He told the committee the state force routinely exceeds the statutory duty-day requirement, conducting roughly 106 duty days per year compared with the statutory 39 days, and that the resulting operational tempo is the Guard’s main retention challenge.

The presentation focused on three lines of effort to grow and sustain the force: strength management, military construction (MILCON) and force‑structure stationing. Haas described a state-funded, three‑year, $480 million Camp Landing MILCON program that will add a level‑2 garrison training capability on a 75,000‑acre training center and anticipated a January ribbon cutting for a battalion administration facility that will provide about 470 beds for training and domestic operations staging.

Haas outlined domestic and federal missions that drive tempo. He said the Guard provided up to 400 personnel over two years to support the Florida Department of Corrections at 13 facilities, supported Operation Vigilant Century in the Florida Keys with “400 service members and 4 aircraft,” and provided immigration‑related support including up to 280 guardsmen at 21 locations. He also reviewed hurricane response in 2024, saying the Guard deployed “over 3,500” for Hurricane Debbie, “over 4,000” for Hurricane Helene and “over 6,700” for Hurricane Milton and conducted “over 550 missions” totaling roughly 17,000 man‑days.

On deployments, Haas said that as of Sept. 26 the Florida National Guard had 512 service members deployed and expected to deploy an additional 2,159 over the next 12 months in support of federal requirements.

Haas told the committee Florida’s recruiting market is large — he said the recruiting‑age population is in the millions — and that the Guard’s recruiting performance is strong (he reported an Army end strength near 106 percent). He said the more difficult problem is retention, noting the Guard finished the year at about 90 percent of retention goals and that many Guardsmen seek transfers to Reserve components that do not perform the same level of domestic missions.

The adjutant general described recent force‑structure gains being pursued through coordination with the Army National Guard and the National Guard Bureau: a projected net growth of about 937 spaces and eight units through fiscal year 2029 that Haas said would include a new infantry battalion, a military intelligence company, two engineer companies, a new military police battalion headquarters and an expanded Lakota helicopter detachment. He also noted the Florida Air National Guard’s conversion to F‑35 Lightning II aircraft, with conversion work expected to complete in March and a force of 20 F‑35s in Jacksonville and four on alert in Homestead when complete.

Sen. Sharif and Sen. McConnell asked questions about recruiting methods, brigade size and the scale of duty days. Haas told the committee the Army’s recruiting is community‑based and that Air Guard recruiting relies on a higher‑scored applicant pool; he said the largest Florida brigade has roughly 4,200 members and the smallest about 1,600. On duty days, Haas said he could not give an exact target for how many personnel would be required to reduce average duty days to the statutory level but said growing force structure was the only practical lever to reduce per‑service‑member duty days.

No formal committee action or vote accompanied the presentation. Committee leaders and members thanked Haas for the briefing and said they would continue to support state MILCON and advocacy for additional force structure.

The committee record contains the adjutant general’s slides and data summaries; the presentation did not include a formal vote or a committee directive.