Neglecting the National Guard

In the past three years, more National Guard and Reserve soldiers have been called to active duty than have cumulatively been mobilized since the Cuban Missile Crisis (including for the Vietnam War, the Cuban refugee crisis, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo and Gulf War I). Fifty-five thousand Army Guard and Reserve soldiers have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan already - an incredibly high number that is putting an enormous strain on these units as they deal with rising casualty rates, training budget cuts and a severe lack of equipment.

The Bush administration strategy means a rising death toll for Guard and Reserve units. The war in Iraq has placed unprecedented strain on our reserve forces. Nearly a quarter of service members killed in action in Iraq since February were from the Reserve or National Guard. That proportion is six times higher than it was before President Bush announced the end of major combat in May 2003.

The Army Reserves are facing serious budget cuts. According to Inside Defense, the Army Reserves are confronted with "a potential shortfall of more than $280 million in its budget next year that, if left unchecked, would halt all training drills for soldiers next spring." (President Bush cut $280 million from the requested training budget.) This is serious matter - in May, four soldiers testified before Congress that there was a dangerous "lack of training reservists receive in urban environments" before being sent to fight in Iraq.

Guardsmen and reserves face equipment shortages and lack basic access to health care. National Guard and Reserve troops often lack up-to-date equipment (it wasn't until 15 months after the invasion of Iraq that all troops received the newest version of body armor). These troops also don't have full access to military healthcare. Twenty percent of Guardsmen lack health insurance, which means that not all soldiers called to active duty are physically prepared to deploy. The Army can't fight without its reserve component, but the White House has fought hard to prevent them from having access to TRICARE (the Pentagon health insurance), saying it is too expensive.

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