LoungeMachine
07-17-2005, 11:00 AM
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY and ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: July 17, 2005 NY Times
DES MOINES, July 16 - The nation's governors are expressing growing concern that the extended deployment of National Guard soldiers in Iraq is depleting troop resources at home, threatening to leave states unable to respond to the natural disasters, civil unrest and other domestic emergencies that traditionally lead governors to call out the Guard.
The state's leaders, meeting here at the summer gathering of the National Governors Association, said they were worried that the extended overseas deployments, combined with declining enlistments as National Guard stints have become lengthy postings in war zones, would strip them of what has for years been a bulwark against domestic emergencies.
"If we had a major natural disaster, we would be stretched thin," said Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, a Republican who will take over as the chairman of the association on Monday. "I think all governors right now are worried about the long-term impact of long deployment and frequent deployment on recruiting and retention. It is a major topic of concern."
Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat and the departing chairman, said, "We are changing the role of citizen-soldier to soldier-citizen."
He later added, "Is it really the best use to take a first responder from home and put him in to guard an airport in Saudi Arabia?"
Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a Republican, said he was confident that his state could deal with an emergency today, but feared the changing nature of guard duty would force a decline in enlistments and re-enlistments.
"It's working today," Mr. Rounds said. "But the concern that a lot of us have is keeping them in for a second and third enlistment."
The governors, in two days of interviews and public appearances, said they were not questioning the heroism of National Guard troops, or, in most cases, the necessity of the war. "This is not governors being critical of the war effort," Mr. Warner said.
They also said there had been no talk among the governors about reinstituting a draft to compensate for the military shortfalls that are a cost of an all-volunteer army. The governors are planning to meet privately with the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, on Monday to discuss their concerns. A spokesman for the Guard, Major John Toniolli, said that General Blum was "well aware of the concern" and that he promised shortly after he became chief to try to assure states they would always have 50 percent of their Guard troops at home and available.
Over all, the number of Reserve and National Guard troops on both domestic and overseas missions is dropping, and military officials expect that trend to continue, offering part-time soldiers who have been on long tours of duty the chance to return home.
Still, several governors described their states as one disaster away from a calamity. "Being in the West in the sixth year of a drought, we have concern about what we've seen in the past, such as that a wildfire can hit where we have to utilize the National Guard," said Governor Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, a Republican.
For Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana, the major concern was with hurricanes. She and three other states in the hurricane belt - Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi - have agreed to help one another in the case of the threat, hurricanes or other disasters, as they tried to adjust to tighter circumstances in their states.
"Jeb Bush already called me once this year to say, 'I'm just checking in,' " said Ms. Blanco, a Democrat, referring to Florida's governor. Mr. Bush, a Republican, did not attend the conference.
Mr. Huckabee said the fear in Arkansas was tornadoes.
"We could manage it now," he said. "But the problem is if we had to deploy our guards for an extended period of time for recovery of, let's say a tornado or some other type of natural disaster, we would by necessity be pulling people who had just gotten back from war. And who have already been gone from their families for almost three years."
For the fiscal year ending June 30, the Army National Guard fell 23 percent short of its recruitment goal, signing up only 34,589 troops; its goal was 44,989. The numbers were reflected in anecdotal reports by the governors here.
"We are not meeting the recruitment levels that we need," said Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, a Democrat. "And I think it's abundantly clear that we don't have personnel - whether it is full time or part time - to take care of all the needs and concerns of Americans."
A number of governors, including Mr. Vilsack and Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, said they had taken steps in their states to try to counter the decline in enrollment by offering incentives, such as college scholarships and subsidies for first-time home buyers.
"We think we are going to need to recognize the greater demand on the young men and women that serve in the Guard by substantially improving their benefits," said Mr. Romney, a Republican.
Even with the number of Guard members decreasing in recent months, Mr. Warner said: "It still begs the larger question: What is the role of the Guard 10, 20 years from now, and how does it fit in with our overall force structure?"
Published: July 17, 2005 NY Times
DES MOINES, July 16 - The nation's governors are expressing growing concern that the extended deployment of National Guard soldiers in Iraq is depleting troop resources at home, threatening to leave states unable to respond to the natural disasters, civil unrest and other domestic emergencies that traditionally lead governors to call out the Guard.
The state's leaders, meeting here at the summer gathering of the National Governors Association, said they were worried that the extended overseas deployments, combined with declining enlistments as National Guard stints have become lengthy postings in war zones, would strip them of what has for years been a bulwark against domestic emergencies.
"If we had a major natural disaster, we would be stretched thin," said Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, a Republican who will take over as the chairman of the association on Monday. "I think all governors right now are worried about the long-term impact of long deployment and frequent deployment on recruiting and retention. It is a major topic of concern."
Gov. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat and the departing chairman, said, "We are changing the role of citizen-soldier to soldier-citizen."
He later added, "Is it really the best use to take a first responder from home and put him in to guard an airport in Saudi Arabia?"
Gov. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, a Republican, said he was confident that his state could deal with an emergency today, but feared the changing nature of guard duty would force a decline in enlistments and re-enlistments.
"It's working today," Mr. Rounds said. "But the concern that a lot of us have is keeping them in for a second and third enlistment."
The governors, in two days of interviews and public appearances, said they were not questioning the heroism of National Guard troops, or, in most cases, the necessity of the war. "This is not governors being critical of the war effort," Mr. Warner said.
They also said there had been no talk among the governors about reinstituting a draft to compensate for the military shortfalls that are a cost of an all-volunteer army. The governors are planning to meet privately with the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, on Monday to discuss their concerns. A spokesman for the Guard, Major John Toniolli, said that General Blum was "well aware of the concern" and that he promised shortly after he became chief to try to assure states they would always have 50 percent of their Guard troops at home and available.
Over all, the number of Reserve and National Guard troops on both domestic and overseas missions is dropping, and military officials expect that trend to continue, offering part-time soldiers who have been on long tours of duty the chance to return home.
Still, several governors described their states as one disaster away from a calamity. "Being in the West in the sixth year of a drought, we have concern about what we've seen in the past, such as that a wildfire can hit where we have to utilize the National Guard," said Governor Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho, a Republican.
For Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana, the major concern was with hurricanes. She and three other states in the hurricane belt - Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi - have agreed to help one another in the case of the threat, hurricanes or other disasters, as they tried to adjust to tighter circumstances in their states.
"Jeb Bush already called me once this year to say, 'I'm just checking in,' " said Ms. Blanco, a Democrat, referring to Florida's governor. Mr. Bush, a Republican, did not attend the conference.
Mr. Huckabee said the fear in Arkansas was tornadoes.
"We could manage it now," he said. "But the problem is if we had to deploy our guards for an extended period of time for recovery of, let's say a tornado or some other type of natural disaster, we would by necessity be pulling people who had just gotten back from war. And who have already been gone from their families for almost three years."
For the fiscal year ending June 30, the Army National Guard fell 23 percent short of its recruitment goal, signing up only 34,589 troops; its goal was 44,989. The numbers were reflected in anecdotal reports by the governors here.
"We are not meeting the recruitment levels that we need," said Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, a Democrat. "And I think it's abundantly clear that we don't have personnel - whether it is full time or part time - to take care of all the needs and concerns of Americans."
A number of governors, including Mr. Vilsack and Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, said they had taken steps in their states to try to counter the decline in enrollment by offering incentives, such as college scholarships and subsidies for first-time home buyers.
"We think we are going to need to recognize the greater demand on the young men and women that serve in the Guard by substantially improving their benefits," said Mr. Romney, a Republican.
Even with the number of Guard members decreasing in recent months, Mr. Warner said: "It still begs the larger question: What is the role of the Guard 10, 20 years from now, and how does it fit in with our overall force structure?"