So it would seem that, going to war with the "Army you have", isn't the only problem going on. When fighting a war on foreign soil with National Guard troops (read that again) it isn't only that they were trained to protect the U.S., in particular, the state they're from, but also to assist in natural disasters, or any State related, state-of-emergency. Well, the Criminal-in-chief, who's closed the loop-hole of getting out of going to war by joining the Guard (guess how he knew you could do that) he just up and sent the guard to war, otherwise, with his foreign policy (also known as do as I say right now, not as I do, or may say in the future), he'd have to institute a draft. Which of course would mean, he would have never gotten a second term, and the midterms, would have been even worse. He's insuring that whoever inherits his broken excuse for a Presidential office, will either have to put a draft in or, pull out.
The thing that's most heartbreaking, is that the Democrats are missing a golden opportunity to shove the whole debacle straight up his ass. They should give him what he wants, and more, that way, they appear patriotic, no one can say they didn't "support the troops" and if he fails, like he has at EVERYTHING in his adult life (he wasn't elected), they can point to him and his administration as the reason, now, if we fail in Iraq, the democrats are a convenient scapegoat. And if the Surge works, then they look even stupider.
But in the mean time, if there was some kind of organized group of people who could help out state-wide in case of emergencies, keep order when it's beyond the scope of conventional law enforcement, or even travail terrain, that's impassable for most civilians, that would be keen. Maybe one the National Guard can come home...and do what they joined up to do.
From: The Kansas City Star
Guard shortages slow response to tornado
By JIM SULLINGER and DAVID GOLDSTEIN
The Kansas City Star
A shortage of Kansas National Guard equipment will slow recovery efforts in tornado-ravaged Greensburg, state officials say.
Because of the war on terror, Kansas has only 40 percent of its allocated equipment, said Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for the adjutant general’s office.
As a result, she said, the state is rushing to hire contractors to help clear debris.
The situation was no surprise to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has warned for months that the National Guard was ill-prepared for a catastrophe because so much equipment and personnel were in Iraq.
And national experts say the problem is not confined to Kansas.
A congressionally sponsored commission looking into military readiness reported last month that close to 90 percent of Guard units in this country were “not ready,” primarily because of equipment shortages.
In response, the Army has pledged to boost Guard spending by $23 billion though 2011, with further increases in subsequent years.
That spending won’t come soon enough for Greensburg.
“As you travel around Greensburg, you’ll see that city and county trucks have been destroyed,” Sebelius told CNN on Monday.
“The National Guard is one of our first responders. They don’t have the equipment they need to come in, and it just makes it that much slower.”
Col. Eric Peck of the Kansas National Guard said the most pressing shortage was in tractor-trailers for transporting heavy equipment used to clear debris.
Most of the heavy equipment is based in southeast Kansas, and some is in Wichita and Topeka. Ordinarily, the Guard would have more than 30 big trucks to transport that equipment. It now has fewer than 15, Peck said.
The Guard should have about 600 Humvees, but it has fewer than 400. It would usually have 170 medium tactical vehicles that are used to transport people and supplies, but it has fewer than 30. Because the tactical vehicles are some of the most advanced the Kansas Guard has, “they’re in very high demand overseas,” he said.
Nearly 70 Kansas National Guard troops arrived in Greensburg on Monday to supplement about 40 already there, Watson said, and some Humvees were available to start clearing wreckage.
The Guard is also responding to flooding elsewhere in the state, but Peck said the truck shortage wouldn’t stop the Guard from completing its missions.
But it will take longer, he said, because fewer trucks mean more trips.
The governor’s concerns date to at least December 2005, when she wrote to the then secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, pleading for the replacement of equipment that would be needed in a state emergency.
The following month, while riding with President Bush to Kansas State University, she again mentioned equipment that never returns from Iraq.
According to a 2005 Government Accountability Office investigation, the Guard has only about one-third of the supplies it needs because it shipped more than 100,000 pieces of equipment overseas.
“The equipment shortage across the Guard hampers the Guard’s ability to respond to a range of natural disasters,” said John Goheen, a spokesman for the National Guard Association of the U.S., a nonpartisan group that represents Guard officers and lobbies for better equipment and training.
As the Army boosts spending, the goal is to ensure that the Guard has 65 percent to 70 percent of its needed equipment by 2013, said Lt. Col. Mike Milord of the National Guard Bureau in the Department of Defense.
Milord cited the Guard’s response to Hurricane Katrina as an example of its ability to meet an overwhelming need, even amid equipment shortages.
A Pentagon spokesman said other states were supposed to provide resources in emergencies. White House spokesman Tony Snow said equipment would arrive if it was needed.
But Sebelius has her doubts. “We can’t borrow … from other states, because their equipment is gone,” she said.
Dion Lefler of The Wichita Eagle contributed to this report. To reach Jim Sullinger, call (816) 234-7701 or send e-mail to jsullinger@kcstar.com. To reach David Goldstein, call (202) 383-6105 or e-mail
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