Sen. Kit Bond sent out a statement with Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy today that urges the Bush administration to address "troubling shortfalls" within the National Guard.
The Senators released the statement in response to the Army's decision to alert more than 12,000 members of the National Guard that they would be deploying to Iraq starting in December.
Bond and Leahy are co-chairs of the Senate National Guard Caucus.
"This substantial deployment of members of the Army National Guard shows how indispensable the Guard is to our military strength," said Bond and Leahy. "To ensure that this vital force remains strong, it is imperative that the National Guard have a stronger voice in key policy and debates. The National Guard comprises a substantial portion of the nation’s military strength, but it lacks representation in the upper echelons at the Pentagon, where the decisions that affect the health and welfare of the 500,000 person force are made. By now it also is clearly established that the National Guard simply does not have the equipment here at home to deal with such emergencies as natural disasters, and it is imperative that the Administration develop a real plan to address these troubling shortfalls."
Bond and Leahy said ultimately Congress will have to become involved to appropriate additional funding for the Guard through legislation.
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