The Pentagon takes pity on hurricane-prone areas

How nice of the military.

They're sending us extra equipment as hurricane season approaches.

The Pentagon is sending about 2,100 trucks, Humvees and other equipment to National Guard units in hurricane-prone states from Virginia to Texas.

The move will help ease an equipment shortage as hurricane season starts June 1. 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.

Some vehicles will be permanently stationed in the Southeast, while some equipment will be borrowed from Army units, said Paul Brown, the Army National Guard deputy logistics chief, in an interview Monday with Media General News Service.

Even with the new equipment, some Guard units may have to borrow equipment from other states or lease it from the private sector if a large hurricane, widespread flooding or terrorist attack occurred, state officials said.

To fill shortages, Brown said the military will divert new and repaired vehicles to the Southeast, delaying replacements for other states. Some will be “loaners” from deployed Army units that left unarmored vehicles behind, he added, and will be returned after hurricane season at the end of November.

And why do you suppose there's such a shortage of equipment? And what might be some of the less obvious results of the equipment shortage?

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.

“You can’t train personnel without equipment, so they aren’t as well prepared for an emergency,” Easley said Monday.

The Iraq war is largely to blame for the shortage, said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who co-chairs the Senate National Guard Caucus.

He and Easley spoke during a telephone news conference. Easley represents the National Governors Association on Guard issues.

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

Another factor is many Guard units are trading in older equipment as part of an Army-wide modernization program.

Odd. I thought this war was only going to last a few months and cost only a few million dollars. Now that I think about it, I thought it was over four years ago and we won?! I'm so nonplussed.

The actual statistics are startling:

The Government Accountability Office reported in January that 38 states had less than 55 percent of their dual-use equipment available in November 2006.

State inventory levels, as reported by GAO, were:

Virginia—40 percent
North Carolina—50 percent
South Carolina—55 percent
Georgia—64 percent
Florida—54 percent
Alabama—56 percent
Mississippi—50 percent
Louisiana—50 percent
Texas—52 percent

Let's just hope there's not some other need for National Guard troops and equipment if (when?) we're struck by a hurricane. I mean, that's pretty far-fetched, right?

Easley said the Guard could handle a Category 3 hurricane, but a larger storm would require assistance from other states. More troubling would be other disasters.

“The bigger problem is if you have a terrorist attack or a (influenza) pandemic,” Easley said. In either case, state and local officials could be on their own for days or weeks without significant federal aid.

In Florida, the Guard has less than a third of its complement of long-haul trailers and only 36 percent of the night-vision goggles. The state also is short on Humvees, trucks and wreckers, but by smaller margins.

“We have sufficient resources to respond effectively to an emergency,” said Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, Florida Guard spokesman.

If more equipment is needed the state will ask nearby states for assistance as part of an emergency compact between all 50 states to share Guard equipment and personnel.

"On their own for days or weeks without significant federal aid." Now, why does that ring a bell with me?

So, in short, the collateral damage from Drunky McStagger's folly in Iraq continues to be felt here in the U.S. day after day.

I'm so glad we're fighting "them" there so we won't have to fight "them" here. After all, we have our hands full here as it is.