WP: Majority (nearly 90%) of National Guard Units Rated 'Not Ready'

[DeepModem Mom]

Majority of National Guard Units Rated 'Not Ready'
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 1, 2007

Nearly 90 percent of Army National Guard units in the United States are rated "not ready" -- largely because of shortfalls in equipment worth billions of dollars -- jeopardizing the Guard's ability to respond to crises at home and abroad, according to a congressional commission that released a preliminary report today on the state of U.S. military reserve forces.

The commission found that heavy deployments of the National Guard and Reserves since 2001 for the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other anti-terrorism missions have deepened shortages, forced the military to cobble together units and hurt recruiting. The problems threaten to undermine the nation's 830,000-strong selected reserves, the commission said.

"We can't sustain the (National Guard and Reserve) on the course we're on," said Arnold L. Punaro, chairman of the 13-member Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, established by Congress in 2005.

"The Department of Defense is not adequately equipping the National Guard for its domestic missions," the commission report said. It faulted the Pentagon for a lack of budgeting for "civil support" for domestic emergencies, criticizing what it called the "flawed assumption" that as long as the military is prepared to fight a major war, it is ready to respond to a disaster or emergency at home.

Army National Guard units in the United States have on average about 50 percent of their authorized stock of dual-use equipment, meaning gear needed both for fighting wars and domestic missions, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. The National Guard estimates it would require $38 billion for equipment to restore domestic Army and Air units to full readiness. The Army has budgeted $21 billion to augment guard equipment through 2011....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/01/AR2007030100687.html

[Monkeyman]

1. Yep but Dubba still sending them

[DeepModem Mom]

2. It ain't right, Monkeyman. nt

[Monkeyman]

5. Nope and they are taking half of the KIA's

[DeepModem Mom]

8. I didn't know that. Oh, my Lordy. nt

[AnneD]

3. Is this the time to quote our infamous Sec. of Defense

'You go to war with the Army you've got'. Talk about words that will go down in infamy. Our Guard and Reserves have been killed, pissed away by these chicken hawks.

[sakabatou]

4. "Not with the army you want."

x(

[Tansy_Gold]

6. Someone needs to do a documentary on

the widespread damage done by the boooshies.

"How have I hurt thee, America.
Let me count the ways.
I have decimated the National Guard
And left the states and their citizens
Unprotected in case of crises
Not just by putting their members
Ten thousand miles away to fight my war
But by stripping the local armories of
Machinery and equipment needed for disasters.
But my damage goes deeper, so much deeper,
For I have destroyed so many individuals
Who have served so faithfully.
I have killed some and maimed more,
But even that is not the full extent
Of my pillaging.
Those who have served have seen their jobs evaporate,
Their homes go into foreclosure,
Their businesses dissolve into bankruptcy.
Oh how mighty am I to have destroyed so much!
And that is only the first way of so many. . . ."


Tansy Gold, who is not a poet (as this makes obvious)

[Caution]

7. Good thing we have a strong Republican President who supports the military

and is doing so much to keep us safe.

:sarcasm:

[Purveyor]

9. Shortages Threaten Army National Guard's Capability; 88 Percent of Units Rated 'Not Ready'

Friday, March 2, 2007

Nearly 90 percent of Army National Guard units in the United States are rated "not ready" -- largely as a result of shortfalls in billions of dollars' worth of equipment -- jeopardizing their capability to respond to crises at home and abroad, according to a congressional commission that released a preliminary report yesterday on the state of U.S. military reserve forces.

The report found that heavy deployments of the National Guard and reserves since 2001 for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other anti-terrorism missions have deepened shortages, forced the cobbling together of units and hurt recruiting.

"We can't sustain the on the course we're on," said Arnold L. Punaro, chairman of the 13-member Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, established by Congress in 2005. The independent commission, made up mainly of former senior military and civilian officials appointed by both parties, is tasked to study the mission, readiness and compensation of the reserve forces.

"The Department of Defense is not adequately equipping the National Guard for its domestic missions," the commission's report found. It faulted the Pentagon for a lack of budgeting for "civil support" in domestic emergencies, criticizing the "flawed assumption" that as long as the military is prepared to fight a major war, it is ready to respond to a disaster or emergency at home.

---end of excerpt---

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/01/AR2007030100687.html

[youngdem]

10. Flashback to Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign

Of all of Bush’s misstatements from the 2000 presidential election, one of the most obviously-false attacks was on military readiness. Indeed, then-Gov. Bush blamed Clinton and Gore directly for “hollowing out” the military. “If called on by the commander-in-chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report, ‘Not ready for duty, sir.’” BC00 campaign aides later acknowledged it was a bogus charge, but that didn’t stop Bush from repeating it.


http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10055.html


Hard to be a bigger hypocrite than this.

[Purveyor]

11. Ahhh yes and Cheney's "help is on the way" chant....indeed! n/t

[Erika]

12. Our National Guard units have to leave their choppers, etc

in Iraq and Afghanistan when they finish their tours.

Then they were told funding for new equipment to be used in-state would happen at a later date. So far, it hasn't come.

[Jacklyn75]

13. Unbelievable! n/t

[maddezmom]

14. US National Guard not fully equipped at home(or overseas)-paper

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - The Pentagon is not adequately equipping the National Guard and has not adapted to the increasingly important security role it plays in the post-Sept. 11 environment, an independent commission said in a report to Congress on Thursday.

The report said the global war on terrorism had placed increased demands for the National Guard to provide forces for both overseas and domestic missions, but added that the Defense Department, or DOD, had been slow to adapt to the change.

"DOD's failure to appropriately consider National Guard needs and funding requirements has produced a National Guard that is not fully ready to meet current and emerging missions," the commission concluded.

Among its findings, the 13-member panel said the Defense Department was not adequately equipping the Guard for its domestic missions.

more:http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N02369196.htm

Panel slams treatment of Guard, Reserves
WASHINGTON - The National Guard and Reserves don't get enough money or equipment and are left out of important planning for national emergencies, an independent panel concluded Thursday, long after the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina exposed serious stresses on the services.

The report from the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves compounds earlier criticism of the Bush administration's response to the devastating hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005. The administration also is still struggling to better manage the reserves nearly four years into the Iraq war.

The 151-page report found a significant lack of communication between reserve officials and other military leaders, the Homeland Security Department and U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for the military's defense of the U.S. homeland.

Calling those failures unacceptable, panel Chairman Arnold Punaro said in an interview that federal agencies must get past their turf battles to better protect the public.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070302/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/national_guard_woes

[rodeodance]

15. The Chair was on Lehrer last night. Excellant report--Now for Govs of

states to care enough!

[SpiralHawk]

16. What do you expect with a deserter as Commander-in-Chief?

And a war profiteer with 5 military deferments as Vice president?

Only the republicons and their chickenhawk cronies could screw
our military up this badly.