Bet your bottom dollar they will do the same thing to you, even if you are a Republican. Why the heck aren't you saying anything? Why aren't all the governors yelling.
Bill Nelson spoke up once, but haven't heard a peep out of him since then.
You guys need to get on the ball. Too much of our equipment for emergencies is in Iraq. And you, Charlie, are silent. Adam Opie Putnam has not squeaked a word either. Neither has Mel Martinez.
Governors need to speak outU.S. senator says the state National Guard will be ill-equipped to face hurricanes
Nelson: War Sapping Fla. Of SuppliesJACKSONVILLE - The war in Iraq has depleted the equipment inventory of the Florida National Guard, fueling U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's concerns that citizen soldiers won't have enough equipment to deal with a predicted heavy hurricane season.
A recent analysis by the Government Accountability Office found the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have depleted tools from the Florida National Guard, leaving it with 53 percent of the dual-use equipment it once had for responding to a storm or domestic disturbance.
Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, a spokesman for the Florida Guard, told Nelson that it had sufficient manpower and equipment to respond to a major hurricane in Florida. However, Tittle said the Guard was down 500 Humvees, 600 trucks, short 4,000 pairs of night vision goggle and needed 30 more wreckers.
More about this issue. Not a word from Charlie Crist. Maybe it will be like it was when 3 hurricanes hit Central Florida...and Ivan hit North Florida. Jeb was praised to the skies when he really did very little.
Guard's Fla. Situation Dire Troops of the Florida National Guard, at least for the moment, have apparently avoided participating in President Bush's planned "surge" in Iraq, although almost half - about 13,000 - of the 30,000 U.S. troops slated for that mission will be Guardsmen from Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio and Oklahoma, reports the Pentagon.
But the Bush administration's decision to rely so heavily on these, in normal circumstances, part-time soldiers has raised questions about the preparedness of the Guard for its duties closer to home, including in Florida.
As if plucking these cogs of our communities away from their families and jobs for service in Iraq wasn't stressful enough - many Guard members will be entering their second tour of duty in Iraq when the surge reaches high tide later this year - National Guard units are woefully lacking in supplies.
Gulley said it's too early in the budget process to try to fix the Guard's financial problems, although Nelson, a member of the Armed Services Committee, will advocate for that. In the interim, however, Nelson is hoping to broker an agreement between the state and the Defense Department that would allow the Florida Guard to use the equipment stockpiled around the state by the U.S. Army Reserve units, which are commanded by the Pentagon
The Palm Beach Post recognizes the problem. They ask Crist to work with Nelson in getting something done.
Florida: Think KansasAnd may I add after today really "think Kansas" because they are blaming the governor of that state.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
President Bush and the Pentagon have promised the nation's governors that extended duty in Iraq and Afghanistan won't prevent the National Guard from responding capably to disasters at home.
But Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius learned firsthand on Saturday what Washington's promise is worth. She tried to mobilize Guard troops after the tornado that all but wiped the town of Greensburg off the map. The Guard had only 40 percent of its equipment allocation on hand; the rest was in Iraq. Gov. Sebelius said the Guard's depleted resources are "really going to handicap this effort to rebuild." A government study has found the Guard's readiness nationally at a 35-year low, with 88 percent of units "not ready" to deploy.
Gov. Crist and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., have implored the Bush administration to shore up the Guard in Florida before hurricane season. The Florida Guard began the year with only about 25 percent of its equipment on hand, but has raised its stockpiles to about 50 percent of authorized levels.
As Gov. Sebelius would agree, Sen. Nelson is right to believe that's not good enough. He wants the Pentagon to allow the state to open federal military storehouses at Army bases so the Guard and first responders can get what they need quickly if storms hit. Florida would have to sign an agreement with the Defense Department to get access to the federal equipment. Gov. Crist runs the unacceptable risk of leaving Florida vulnerable if he doesn't learn from Kansas' problems and work with Sen. Nelson to pressure the administration to back promises with real commitments.
Crist should not just assume that he will be judged blameless just because he is a Republican. That bunch in the WH has no scruples at all.