A strain military manpower

Miami Herald: The manpower system that the nation depends on to fight its wars and help Americans survive domestic disasters is blinking red. The combined active duty and military-reserve system may not be broken, but it's on the brink of a full-scale breakdown.
In testimony before Congress recently, Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, put it bluntly: The Guard is short of training, equipment and ready manpower, which has had a crippling effect on its ability to carry out the Guard's mission at home.
Coincidentally, on the same day, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that active-duty tours in Iraq and Afghanistan would be extended to 15 months, three months longer than the standard one-year tour. This is particularly bad news for soldiers and their families, who have had to shoulder the brunt of the sacrifice.
Casualties mount
The war in Iraq now is claiming the lives of U.S. soldiers at a higher rate than ever. March marked the first time that American forces suffered 80 or more fatalities for four straight months.
It all adds up to a manpower system under severe stress. It does not mean that the National Guard is not up to the job of providing help in times of natural disaster, but as retired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker often said, "Don't confuse enthusiasm with capability."
Gen. Blum estimated that the Army and Air National Guard are 40 billion short in terms of the equipment and training needed to compensate for the wear and tear caused by service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress can't be expected to provide that much extra funding all at once, but it has to figure out how to bring the Guard and other reserves up to speed before another disaster strikes.