Nat'l Guard Commander Says Iraq Hurt Us in NOLA

[AnnInLa]

Ntl Guard Commander Says Iraq Hurt Us in NOLA
by Dan K
Fri Sep 9th, 2005 at 18:11:57 PDT



According to a story just posted by the Washington Post, the chief of the National Guard, Lt. Gen Steven Blum, said that part of the reason for the slow response to Katrina was because much of the Louisiana and Mississippi national guard, and their equipment, were in Iraq:

snip

Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said that "arguably" a day or so of response time was lost due to the absence of the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Infantry Brigade and Louisiana's 256th Infantry Brigade, each with thousands of troops in Iraq.

snip

"Had that brigade been at home and not in Iraq, their expertise and capabilities could have been brought to bear," said Blum. Instead of being able to use people close by, who could get there quickly and who knew the territory, Blum had to call on troops from distant parts of the country:


snip

Blum said that to replace those units' command and control equipment, he dispatched personnel from Guard division headquarters from Kansas and Minnesota shortly after the storm struck.

much more at http://dailykos.com/story/2005/9/9/174353/3189

[havocmom]

1. We need to keep an eye on this man. He will need help with his back

They will go for him.

[Avalux]

2. Ruh Roh!!

I bet he didn't clear his statements with Rove first. :scared:

Could the military be getting sick and tired of these posers too?

[oasis]

3. Gen. Shenseki, you've got another golfing/fishing partner.