http://www.dod.gov/transcripts/2005/tr20050920-secdef3941.html<snip>
Q Right. But I'm saying it's doing a lot all at one time. Estimates are it needs billions of dollars or more in equipment and training. Is there any particular focus on that in the wake of Katrina?
SEC. RUMSFELD: Well, I met with the secretary of the Army today and his folks, and -- just one of my regular, periodic meetings with them where we review a series of issues that I think are important -- and one of the things we discussed was the -- which I've explained here many times -- the rebalancing that's taking place between the active component and the Reserve component, and the rebalancing that's taking place within the Guard and Reserve and within the active force. And, for example, they're in the process of reducing the number of tank units and artillery units within the Guard, which are obviously of less use in the event of a domestic issue than they -- some of -- alternatives like civil affairs, or engineers, or Seabees, or the various kinds of things that they might be called on to do domestically. So it's the kind of thing that's been reviewed and -- over a continuing time.
Do you want to --
GEN. MYERS: Let me just set -- just a kind of a little context here. This period in Iraq -- and it's starting to change a little bit now, but in the past year we've had seven brigade combat teams from the National Guard involved in combat in Iraq. They have done a terrific job. We were heavy on the Guard because we were transforming the Army. So the next rotation you'll see will be less reliant on the Guard, more reliant on active duty, because we're going to build some new -- some new brigades in the Army. So you just need to know that was going on.
And the same time, during Katrina, the Guard deployed I think over 50,000 men and women to help with that. And, as you heard from the director of the Guard Bureau, General Blum, there were hundreds of thousands that could have been called to that.
And just one more factor, just to make sure the context is right: and the reenlistment in the National Guard is at an all-time high. Q General Myers --
SEC. RUMSFELD: Just a minute. Just a minute.
GEN. MYERS: So -- so -- so, we have a force, we have a National Guard force -- and I could talk about the Reserves in the same light, we have a Guard force that has never been more ready to support whatever mission this country calls upon; never been more ready. And you can talk to any Guard leader and say, Are you more ready today than you were four years ago, and they would say, Yes, we are. And you'd also find morale is extremely high because this has been a very effective force, they like to be called upon. Yes, you can overuse them; yes, there's some equipment issues that have to be dealt with, as there are for the active component as well because of the way we're trying to husband resources inside Iraq and not move a lot of equipment back and forth.
So there are those issues. Absolutely. But a lot of that stems from prior decisions a long time ago, and not current decisions, I can tell you that.
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