Guard chief warns of dangerous equipment shortage in U.S.; 90% domestic units have less than half of that needed

Washington - The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left the National Guard dangerously short of aircraft, trucks, radios and other gear, seriously hampering the ability of citizen soldiers to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies at home, the Guard's top officer warned Wednesday.

Almost 9 out of every 10 Army National Guard units that aren't serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have less than half the equipment they need to respond to a domestic crisis, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said in testimony to the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves.

"The units that are overseas are magnificently equipped," said Blum, whose job is to coordinate National Guard activities between the states and the Pentagon. "However, having said that, 88 percent of the forces that are back here in the United States are very poorly equipped in the Army National Guard."

Worse still, less than 45 percent of the Air National Guard's units have the equipment they need to deploy, the first time such a shortfall in equipment readiness has occurred in the past 35 years, Blum said.

Read the rest at the Denver Post

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