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National Guard Bill Passes House CommitteeFeb 16, 2019JOSELYN KING Staff WriterWHEELING — A bill to keep West Virginia’s soldiers out of active combat when no war has been declared passed its first hurdle and is now before the state’s House Judiciary Committee.House Bill 2732, the “Protect the Guard Act,†was introduced by Delegate Patrick McGeehan, R-Hancock. It would require that Congress declare war or call forth the state militia before the West Virginia National Guard could be released from state control and sent into combat. Currently, the authority to activate the Guard rests with West Virginia’s governor.HB 2732 this week passed the Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee, which is chaired by McGeehan. He said he introduced the same bill each of the past four years before becoming chairman.McGeehan is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a veteran of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.“The aim is to make efforts to restore some form of sanity that properly reflects constitutional law … while in the long run curbing the ease of initiating offensive and wholly unnecessary foreign war,†McGeehan said. ...