Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Baltimore Sun
May 11, 2007
By Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla.--With repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan leaving state National Guards without nearly half of their required equipment, some governors are loudly questioning whether they will be able to handle the next hurricane, wildfire or terrorist attack at home.
"We are not going to be able to continue to rely on the National Guard as a full-time operational force," North Carolina Gov. Michael F. Easley said.
Easley said his state has about half the equipment it needs and could probably respond adequately to a hurricane, but "a pandemic or something like that may be a different question."
The widespread problem of permanently losing National Guard equipment to the war was pushed to the forefront this week when Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius complained that shortages of equipment and well-trained personnel slowed Guard response to the killer tornadoes that ravaged her state.
"A lot of equipment has gone to Iraq and the equipment doesn't come back when the troops come back," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said yesterday.
The California National Guard is missing 700 Humvees and more than 1,100 high-water vehicles - nearly half the number it's supposed to have, according to documents reviewed by the Associated Press. The Guard also has 1,301 M4 machine guns, or less than a third of its required stockpile.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe acknowledged that his state, with much of its National Guard equipment in Iraq, could have similar problems to Kansas if disaster struck.
Beebe said that much of the Arkansas Guard's engineering unit is deployed in Iraq, and that the state's Blackhawk helicopters are also overseas.
National Guard troops take heavy equipment, such as Humvees, to Iraq where they are outfitted for combat and then left behind. Some states reported that the equipment was eventually replaced or returned but severely worn. Many are still waiting.
White House and Pentagon officials have said that equipment-sharing agreements among the states would ensure there would be adequate hardware available to handle any disaster. Such sharing is commonplace.
The Pentagon acknowledged this week that Army National Guard units had only 56 percent of their required equipment, the lowest levels since the Sept. 11 attacks. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the Bush administration is asking Congress for $22 billion for the Army National Guard over the next five years.
May 11, 2007
By Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla.--With repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan leaving state National Guards without nearly half of their required equipment, some governors are loudly questioning whether they will be able to handle the next hurricane, wildfire or terrorist attack at home.
"We are not going to be able to continue to rely on the National Guard as a full-time operational force," North Carolina Gov. Michael F. Easley said.
Easley said his state has about half the equipment it needs and could probably respond adequately to a hurricane, but "a pandemic or something like that may be a different question."
The widespread problem of permanently losing National Guard equipment to the war was pushed to the forefront this week when Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius complained that shortages of equipment and well-trained personnel slowed Guard response to the killer tornadoes that ravaged her state.
"A lot of equipment has gone to Iraq and the equipment doesn't come back when the troops come back," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said yesterday.
The California National Guard is missing 700 Humvees and more than 1,100 high-water vehicles - nearly half the number it's supposed to have, according to documents reviewed by the Associated Press. The Guard also has 1,301 M4 machine guns, or less than a third of its required stockpile.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe acknowledged that his state, with much of its National Guard equipment in Iraq, could have similar problems to Kansas if disaster struck.
Beebe said that much of the Arkansas Guard's engineering unit is deployed in Iraq, and that the state's Blackhawk helicopters are also overseas.
National Guard troops take heavy equipment, such as Humvees, to Iraq where they are outfitted for combat and then left behind. Some states reported that the equipment was eventually replaced or returned but severely worn. Many are still waiting.
White House and Pentagon officials have said that equipment-sharing agreements among the states would ensure there would be adequate hardware available to handle any disaster. Such sharing is commonplace.
The Pentagon acknowledged this week that Army National Guard units had only 56 percent of their required equipment, the lowest levels since the Sept. 11 attacks. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the Bush administration is asking Congress for $22 billion for the Army National Guard over the next five years.