S.D. Official, Obama Offer Views On Guard

[livvy]

S.D. Official, Obama Offer Views On Guard

The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Dec 27, 2008 11:20:11 EST

MITCHELL, S.D. — President-elect Barack Obama has said he’d like to relieve some of the pressure on the National Guard.

But a prediction by South Dakota’s National Guard adjutant general, Steve Doohen, that the Guard’s role won’t change under the new commander in chief conflicts with Obama’s earlier statement.

During a June campaign visit to Mitchell, a reporter asked Obama what the National Guard’s role would be under his presidency.

Obama said he wants to expand the nation’s active-duty military force.

“If we expand our ground forces, then we should be able to put the National Guard back in the business of protecting our homeland and providing emergency services here,” Obama said. “We won’t be able to do that immediately, obviously, because it will take some time to build up our core structure, but that would be my intention.”

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_guardchanges_122708/%2e