OK - About this "ONLY 40% of the NG are in Iraq" stuff...

Every military organization has a 90/10 ratio of "support personnel" versus "on the ground with weapons personnel".

I submit the 60% of the NG that is still here has a WAY larger ratio and finding anything like a sufficient number of TRAINED Guardsmen with weapons so that order can be restored may well be an impossible task.

The point is that a war of choice, poorly planned, resulting in mutiple tours of douty and national guard call-ups, clearly leaves us more vulnerable at home. The national guard was not in a position to help the way it should have been, and that should be blatantly obvious.

They also started activating a lot of available guardsmen on TUESDAY. They should have been activated on Saturday to prepare for what might come -- not after the fact.

I'm afraid that we're going to get clerks who MAY have gotten weapons training in boot camp sent out to NOLA.

I'm sure the best-trained members of the NG are thousands of miles away.

if 60% of the equally trained troops were at home.

now in Iraq. Many other units have already served in this area. My husband has served a year in Iraq already. The southeast has had more troops sent to Iraq per capita then almost any region (might be the highest actually). Most of these units come back nearly wiped out. They lose personnel, their equipment is no longer any good. They are not considered "ready" until 2 years after return from a long combat deployment because of the time needed to rebuild. This is the case with many of the NG units here. Even the first units deployed in early 2003 are barely back up to "ready" status.

When Ivan hit here less than a year ago, not only did we have NG deployed in Iraq, but the couple of local units that had just returned didn't have their equipment. It was either destroyed by use in Iraq or still on a ship being transported back so they were almost useless because of not only that but just being mentally and physically exhausted. They did everything they could anyway. Many of them missed the 30 days they were guaranteed off when they returned from over a year long combat deployment to Iraq.

The NG was never meant to fight in guerrilla occupations outside the country. They have been used and abused by this incompetent, horrible administration.

Crossed the wires 20 min ago

:shrug:

I thought based on all the posters cries about LA NG being all off in Iraq, the posters would take this as a small sign that the recovery is getting into order