Governors: Guard short of gear - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Governors: Guard short of gear

Several governors are urging the U.S. Congress to add perhaps billions of dollars to the 2008 defense spending measure to replace National Guard-operated vehicles, aircraft and other gear damaged or left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The plea for dollars to buy the new items came in a March 19 letter addressed to Reps. John Spratt, D-S.C., and Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., House Budget Committee chairman and ranking member. The letter is signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz., and Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Napolitano is National Guard Association chairwoman and Pawlenty is the organization’s vice chairman.

“Unless this equipment is replaced in a timely fashion the ability of our Guard units to train for future military actions or respond to citizens’ needs in an emergency is greatly diminished,” the letter states. “We urge you to work with the National Guard Bureau to identify equipment shortfalls and provide necessary budget authority to reequip our National Guard forces.”

The missive does not call for a specific amount of needed funding, but tells the senior lawmakers that a need exists for “adequate budget authority to reequip Army and Air National Guard units returning from abroad.”

The Guard is $20 billion short of funds needed to replace helicopters, Humvees, fixed-wing aircraft and communications gear that have been ravaged by war or simply left behind in Iraq and Afghanistan, said David Quam, director of federal relations at the National Guard Association.

Quam said the Guard units need the equipment for future deployments, combat training and responding to state emergencies.

“It’s hard to train without the right equipment,” Quam said March 21. “And they need to train with the equipment they’ll have in the fight.”