Question About National Guard and Emergencies here at home

[LynneSin]

With all our National Guards being shipped overseas I have a question about problems here at the home-front.

Everytime there is a Natural or Man-made disaster here at home, I always read about how the National Guard is called in to help take care of situations.

Now if you're not into weather, you might not realize that Hurricane season is upon us. What happens when a Class4 Hurricane rips out part of the South - do we have any national guards at home to take care of this (mind you, you could substitute an earthquake out west, tornadoes in the Midwest, etc. etc.)

Help me out here folks - are we jeopardizing ourselves in order to ship more folks off to Iraq??

[PaDUer]

1. Fort Worth, TX ....flooded today...n/t

[MuseRider]

2. I have been wondering the same thing

and worried also about the fire situation with this large drought in the west. We could be in for some interesting times here at home.

[punpirate]

3. The latest call-up is for...

... ready reserves. I'm pretty sure that means inactive duty soldiers still with reserve time (those who have gotten out at the end of their active duty enlistments and are on reserve status until they complete their eight-year requirement).

Other than that, certainly, yes, the number of reservists now extended in Iraq and Afghanistan have depleted reserves in the US, which may make it difficult for governors in some states to bring in enough guardsmen to handle local emergencies. If there were, say, the sort of flooding along the Mississippi as happened a decade or so ago, some of those midwestern states would be hard-pressed to find an adequate guard force to meet that need.

[JayS]

4. Just call 911?

I am sure that states that have a State Guard still have some of their members here. The rest of the support troops would come from the general populace.

[Killarney]

5. I think you have a really good point

and it concerns me, too.

[Toots]

6. Every Governor of every state is asking the same question

Some have even laid the gauntlet down and said flat out no more. They have said no more National Guard troops will be activated for Iraq. The one really horrible thing about this stupid war is it really highlights our weaknesses and put the US in a terrible negotiating stance with countries such as China and Russia. They have less and less to fear from the US all the time. We are demonstrating to the world we are truly a paper tiger. Iraq was a country without any military at all to speak of and we have been fighting them for going on two years and no real victories to brag about. Sure we have killed thousands of Iraqis (mostly civilians) but the war is gaining momentum not winding down. Bush* is the sorriest leader this country has ever known and that fact is indisputable.

[salib]

7. FEMA will simply contract it out to TITAN

Hey, the fourth reich needs storm troopers.

[Hubert Flottz]

8. What you are talking about has already happened here!

Floods in several counties and all of the NGs heavy equipment was and still is in Iraq! It made for a VERY bad situation and people suffered badly because of it!

[trof]

9. Bingo, Lynne.

We're screwed.
Better than half of our Alabama guard and reserves are goners.
Including our local, hometown unit.
Hurricane comes and we're ferked.

Just sign me
"Hunkered Down in 'Bama"

[happyslug]

10. During WWII

When the National Guard was last 100% called up such emergencies ere to be handled by Various Non-National Guard Militia Groups that exists. In some states these groups exist only on paper. For example Pennsylvania has a "National Army" (Some times called a "Home Guard" and or "State Guard" among other names) law, which permits the Governor to name the officers and recognize "Home Guard" units. In Pennsylvania Governor Lawrence in 1959 withdrew all recognition of such units (Most states have have done the same, most prior to 1959) but the underlaying statute is still on the books and could be used to re-form such units as needed. In some states such groups still exist in Reality (You will have to Google for which states have what).

Now such "Home Guard" units do NOT receive any Federal Money and as such strictly the creations of the States. Some were activated during the Civil War during the invasion of the North by Lee in 1863 (and Some Maryland Home Guard Units participated in military activities in 1862, 1863 and 1864 in Maryland).

My point here is these units still exists (At least on paper) and could be called out to perform the duties of the National Guard. In Addition most states do have Militia laws that permit them to call out any body between 18 and 45 (some laws say 65) to perform Militia duty (including Civil Defense duties during a weather Emergency).

The problem with all of these units it the equipment they have to perform the duty will have to be obtained at the same time these people are called up (i.e. an Order that says "EVERYONE IS CALLED UP AND ARE TO REPORT TO THE RIVER WITH A SPADE TO FILL SAND BAGS"). This shows the biggest problem with these types of units compared to the National Guard which is NOT the lack of Personal but that the National Guard will take most of their equipment with them when they leave.

The Real Strength of the National Guard is its combination of men and Equipment. The "Home Guards" and the "Militia" will lack both and to be anywhere near as effective as the National Guard will have to work harder (i.e. dig more by hand than with backhoes) or work more (Use privately owned jeeps instead of 2 1/2 ton trucks to haul people through mud and debris).

Yes, problems, not insurmountable problems, but problems that would best be addressed by doing an early call up of the Militia (just to put people on notice WHO will be doing the job of the National Guard so they can better prepare themselves). Such early call up of the Militia will NOT occur for it will bring home WHY THE NATIONAL GUARD SHOULD NOT BE OVERSEAS and thus hurt Bush's election prospects.

[JayS]

12. Here is our State Guard if anyone is interested.

http://www.agd.state.tx.us/stateguard/default.asp?ldpage=about

[trof]

11. and not just "emergencies"

The added burden on state and local agencies has caught the attention of Gov. Bob Riley, who by office is chief of Alabama's National Guard. While concerned, Riley said the soldiers' military obligation outweighs the local staffing difficulties.

"It is putting a strain on us, not just on our law enforcement, but on our municipalities as well," Riley said. "But it's worth it."

The Department of Corrections has 173 of its 485 military employees on active duty. The Department of Public Safety and individual sheriff, police and fire departments have also had to find ways to fill positions left behind.

Maj. Patrick Manning, chief of the Highway Patrol division, said the deployments have forced his troopers to scale back on preventative patrols, including catching speeders. Nearly 30 of his 320 highway patrol employees are on active duty.

Troopers, like Trooper Michael Britton, say they will likely do another tour by next year.

"It reduces us to becoming almost totally reactive, instead of proactive," Manning said. "Our duty is preventative patrol, but that's hard when troopers are bouncing from one wreck to another."

Manning called the end result a "vicious cycle," where fewer troopers lead to more accidents, and more accidents strain the troopers.

Most law enforcement agencies have relied on their employees to work overtime to keep up with the workload. But, during a statewide budget crunch, that proves to be a very costly option.

Both Corrections and the Highway Patrol also have stepped up efforts to recruit more officers to training academies. Yet, with some training sessions taking about six months, that has not filled the drop in personnel.

Local sheriff, fire and police departments - especially in Jefferson, Mobile and Montgomery counties - are struggling as much as state agencies.

Montgomery County has one of the largest deployment groups, with 194 guardsmen on active duty.

"We absolutely feel the impact," said Sheriff D.T. Marshall. "When you have a small office with seven or eight folks gone, you have other people taking up the slack."

The sheriff has asked his deputies to work overtime and take on larger workloads, which he says they do gladly.

"All we can do is best is filling in for them while their fulfilling their duty for their country."
http://www.guardfamily.org/A00_admin/A0017_news%5Chtm%5C05_11_2004_NYCU.htm

[tilsammans]

13. In NJ too . . .

I've heard (someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this) that here in New Jersey, we only have one Guard unit left. All the rest are in Iraq. And I also heard that three other states were contacted about providing support to NJ in case of an emergency. Their answer? No.

:scared: