Ohio deserves assurance that Guard troops are ready for premature return to Iraq

Ohio's Democratic governor and its Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate have at least one thing in common. All are concerned about the ability of the Ohio National Guard to meet the increasing demands of the Bush administration is placing on Guard and Reserve personnel and equipment.
None question the dedication or willingness of the troops to respond to a redeployment to Iraq. All want assurances that the troops have been given the time, training and materiel to perform an inherently dangerous job without unnecessary risk.
The Defense Department is notifying some 13,000 National Guard troops to prepare for possible deployment to Iraq, which would be the second tour for many of them. Included is the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team based in Columbus, which includes 1,200 from Michigan and 2,400 from Ohio. Among the Ohio units is one from Austintown. If all 2,400 Ohioans are deployed, it would double the number of guardsmen currently deployed from the state and increase by sixfold the number from Ohio in Iraq.
Presidential letter
In a letter to President Bush, Gov. Ted Strickland noted that the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was in line for possible mobilization in 2009. The troops could now be sent to Iraq as early as December or early 2008.
He described the advanced deployment as "a significant departure from the commitment made to Ohio soldiers and their families" and asked for an assurance from the president that prior to deployment, every Ohio soldier has the most up-to-date equipment, including individual body armor systems, M-4 rifles, night vision devices and up-armored vehicles, as well as all appropriate training.
Republican Sen. George Voinovich expressed a fear that the Ohio Guard is being asked to train its members without the right facilities or equipment. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown took a harsher political tone, saying Ohioans are paying a high price for the president's "misguided policy in Iraq."
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, about 11,000 Ohio Guardsmen have been deployed -- 9,000 from the Army Guard and 2,000 from the Air Guard. About 1,200 Ohio Guardsmen are deployed now, 400 of them in Iraq.
Others are concerned
Strickland, Voinovich and Brown join a growing chorus of governors and senators -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- who question the toll the war is taking on National Guard and Reserve units.
A recent analysis by the Government Accountability Office found that Florida, Texas, California and Louisiana have on hand about half of the equipment that is normally available to nondeployed Army National Guard forces. Florida, for instance, has about 600 soldiers in Iraq. Members were sent overseas with their equipment, but when they come back, the gear often stays in the war zones.
The Florida Guard is down 500 humvees, 600 trucks, 30 wreckers and is short 4,000 pairs of night vision goggles, said spokesman Lt. Col. Ron Tittle.
Such shortages are particularly worrisome to hurricane-prone states at this time of year. But the shortages are symptomatic of a larger problem in that the war is using up personnel and equipment at rates that were not anticipated by the administration when the war was launched.
The administration has not yet explained how it intends to rebuild the nation's armed forces or how it will pay for the rebuilding.