General admits most National Guard units not ready
General admits most National Guard units not ready
By Lolita C. Baldor
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Copyright by The Associated Press
Published August 2, 2006
WASHINGTON -- More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum spoke to a group of defense reporters after Army officials, analysts and members of Congress disclosed that the majority of the active Army's brigades are not ready for war.
The budget won't allow the military to complete needed personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan, they said.
"I am further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army, but we both have the same symptoms; I just have a higher fever," Blum said.
One Army official acknowledged Tuesday that while all the active Army units serving in the war zone are "100 percent" ready, the situation is not the same for those at home.
"In the continental United States, there are plenty of units that are rated at significantly less than a C-1 rating," said Lt. Col. Carl Ey. "Backlogs at the depots, budget issues and the timeliness of receiving funds to conduct training are all critical to the Army's ability to keep their force trained, ready and at the highest readiness level possible."
Once a taboo subject for the military, readiness levels--generally ranked from C-1 (the best) to C-4 (the worst)--are now being used as weapons to win more money.
A key element of the problem is that Army units returning from the war have either left equipment behind or are bringing it home damaged. Once back, many soldiers either leave the Army or move to other posts, forcing leaders to train others to replace them. As a result, the unit's ratings drop, said Ey.
Last week, several House Democrats said publicly that two-thirds of the Army brigades are rated not ready for combat, and Army officials have not disputed that figure.
On Tuesday, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said the Army is "very much worse off" than it was in late 1999 when the military said two of the 10 Army divisions were ranked at the lowest readiness level. He wouldn't be more specific.
The Senate late Tuesday agreed to an amendment, offered by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to add $7.8 billion for the Army and $5.3 billion for the Marine Corps to the defense spending bill for 2007. Stevens said the $13.1 billion is for equipment repair and replacement, and for continued combat operations, primarily in Iraq.
By Lolita C. Baldor
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Copyright by The Associated Press
Published August 2, 2006
WASHINGTON -- More than two-thirds of the Army National Guard's 34 brigades are not combat ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum spoke to a group of defense reporters after Army officials, analysts and members of Congress disclosed that the majority of the active Army's brigades are not ready for war.
The budget won't allow the military to complete needed personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan, they said.
"I am further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army, but we both have the same symptoms; I just have a higher fever," Blum said.
One Army official acknowledged Tuesday that while all the active Army units serving in the war zone are "100 percent" ready, the situation is not the same for those at home.
"In the continental United States, there are plenty of units that are rated at significantly less than a C-1 rating," said Lt. Col. Carl Ey. "Backlogs at the depots, budget issues and the timeliness of receiving funds to conduct training are all critical to the Army's ability to keep their force trained, ready and at the highest readiness level possible."
Once a taboo subject for the military, readiness levels--generally ranked from C-1 (the best) to C-4 (the worst)--are now being used as weapons to win more money.
A key element of the problem is that Army units returning from the war have either left equipment behind or are bringing it home damaged. Once back, many soldiers either leave the Army or move to other posts, forcing leaders to train others to replace them. As a result, the unit's ratings drop, said Ey.
Last week, several House Democrats said publicly that two-thirds of the Army brigades are rated not ready for combat, and Army officials have not disputed that figure.
On Tuesday, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said the Army is "very much worse off" than it was in late 1999 when the military said two of the 10 Army divisions were ranked at the lowest readiness level. He wouldn't be more specific.
The Senate late Tuesday agreed to an amendment, offered by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to add $7.8 billion for the Army and $5.3 billion for the Marine Corps to the defense spending bill for 2007. Stevens said the $13.1 billion is for equipment repair and replacement, and for continued combat operations, primarily in Iraq.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 11:24 AM
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