I think we are interpreting the term "Commanders" differently then. (Speaking about the Army NG) we have Commanders (who exercise command authority) at every level all the way from Company (60 to 300 soldiers) up to Division (10K to 15K soldiers).
The difference is the Governor of New Jersey directly controls the NJ National Guard. I have no doubt there was confusion about activating the DC Guard, as your sibling reply points out, the President is the Commander in Chief of the DC Guard. However, I doubt the Adjutant General of the DC Guard reports directly to the President, so for sure there was confusion in whatever layers of bureaucracy there are, and of course, the President wasn't exactly helpful in responding to the situation quickly or at all.
It's worth also pointing out that a big issue with National Guard mobilizations is funding. Since service members aren't on salary like the active component, then there has to be money set aside to pay SMs for their activation, someone has to decide which pot of money it's going to come from, authorize its use, etc, etc. It takes time.
In the case of DC (since Posse Comitatus doesn't apply), the capital would be better off having troops from the active component to draw on for emergencies.
The difference is the Governor of New Jersey directly controls the NJ National Guard. I have no doubt there was confusion about activating the DC Guard, as your sibling reply points out, the President is the Commander in Chief of the DC Guard. However, I doubt the Adjutant General of the DC Guard reports directly to the President, so for sure there was confusion in whatever layers of bureaucracy there are, and of course, the President wasn't exactly helpful in responding to the situation quickly or at all.
It's worth also pointing out that a big issue with National Guard mobilizations is funding. Since service members aren't on salary like the active component, then there has to be money set aside to pay SMs for their activation, someone has to decide which pot of money it's going to come from, authorize its use, etc, etc. It takes time.
In the case of DC (since Posse Comitatus doesn't apply), the capital would be better off having troops from the active component to draw on for emergencies.