Commission Chair: More than 88% of National Guard 'not ready', situation worsening

A National Guard helicopter prepares to rescue victims of Hurrican Katrina

WASHINGTON, March 23 (UPI) -- The chairman of the U.S. Commission on the National Guard and Reserves said Friday reserve readiness was worse than realized.

The commission reported three weeks ago that 88 percent of the Army National Guard units in the United States were not ready for their missions, lacking equipment, personnel, training or some combination.

"And I can tell you today the Guard is less ready than the 88 percent. It's gotten worse in the three weeks since we issued our report, not better," said commission chairman retired Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.

"We don't see the trend going up. We see the trend going down," he said.

Read the rest at UPI

Related Link:
Commission Report: Majority of National Guard Units Rated 'Not Ready'

Related Link:
Pentagon plans deployment of 14,000 in Guard up to 4 years early

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

Related Link:
Perspective: Guard's loss of hardware in war causes dire situation

Related Link:
Pentagon abandons Guard, Reserve protections; institutes re-mobilizations up to 24 consecutive months

Related Link:
Guard unit makes do