Iraq depleting Guard's equipment, Easley says

[struggle4progress]

Source: Raleigh News and Observer

By Jay Price, Staff Writer
Years of war in Iraq have cut into the North Carolina National Guard's fleet of trucks, communications equipment and other gear, and the state could come up short in a major hurricane or "no-notice" disaster, Gov. Mike Easley said today.

Easley is co-chairman of a committee of the National Governors' Association that deals with National Guard issues.

Speaking in a telephone news conference today, Easley said that the Guard in North Carolina has enough equipment to handle hurricanes up to category 3, such as Hurricane Fran in 1996. The state's Guard has about 55 percent of its "dual use" equipment, such as trucks, that can be used both in wars and in disasters at home.

Also speaking at the news conference was Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is trying to get Congress to approve $1 billion to help replace the Guard's missing equipment nationwide. The total needs are $24 billion, Leahy said. ~snip~



Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/574010.html

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Hurricane-prone states to get gear from Pentagon

By James W. Crawley
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

~snip~ Many Southeastern states have only half the Humvees, trucks, generators and other equipment that would be needed in a disaster, according to state and federal officials. ~snip~

The equipment shortage is magnified, said North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, because without equipment for training, Guardsmen may not be as ready to fight wars or hurricanes. ~snip~

Guard units have left thousands of vehicles and other pieces of equipment in Iraq or have lost it to war damage. ~snip~

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