Durbin Raises Concerns About Future of Illinois National Guard Units

DURBIN RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT FUTURE OF ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD UNITS

After a meeting with Illinois National Guard Leadership today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) expressed concern with recent proposals by the Department of Defense which would have a direct influence on the future of the Illinois Guard and its ability to respond to state and national crisis.

"The Administration's proposed cutbacks of the Guard would result in the loss of up to 1,000 of Illinois' 9,500 Army National Guard members. This loss would significantly handicap the Illinois Guard's ability to respond to everything from natural disasters to terrorist attacks," Durbin said.

"Our nation and our state are more dependent on the Guard for our safety and security than ever in our history," Durbin said. "This is the wrong time to eliminate more than 10 percent of Guard strength in Illinois."

In a January 25th press conference, the Secretary of the Army, Francis J. Harvey, proposed to reduce "the authorized end strength" of the Guard from 350,000 members to its current operating level of 333,000 members - essentially proposing to abandon critical recruitment goals. Authorized end strength refers to a recruitment goal which the Department of Defense has defined as the number of members necessary for the National Guard to successfully carry out its responsibilities.

The Secretary's proposal would result in a significant reorganization of the Guard and an initial loss of approximately 1,000 soldiers from the Illinois National Guard. Some of that force could be eventually replaced with a different mix of units and capabilities. It is currently unknown how that reorganization would be structured. This proposal was laid out as a part of the Quadrennial Defense Review and the 2007 Defense Budget.

"The Department of Defense continues to mislead the public with the claim that this proposal does not require a cut to our Guard forces," noted Durbin. "Abandoning national recruitment goals will require a restructuring of the Guard; and that could translate into real and significant cuts for the state of Illinois."

In addition, Durbin noted that the Illinois National Guard is still experiencing severe equipment shortages. The Illinois Army National Guard's commitment to combat operations overseas means that a great deal of its equipment is unavailable for use at home. The operational demands of the war have caused the Illinois Army National Guard to leave more than 400 vehicles and generators behind in Iraq so far. This compounds significant shortages that already existed, with a lack of trucks, radios, night vision devices and tactical generators.

In November of 2005, Durbin spearheaded a bipartisan letter to President Bush, signed by 41 other Senators, expressing alarm at serious equipment shortages now faced by National Guard units in Illinois and across the nation. The shortages were documented in a report released in November by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The letter called on the President to immediately implement a plan to replace the missing items and to fully fund the needs of the National Guard.

"This is a serious problem - it impacts the ability of these units to respond as they should in a crisis; it affects their ability to conduct training exercises; it affects the morale of the units," Durbin noted in 2005. "Replacing this equipment has been slow, and the replacement items are often not adequate in terms of quality or quantity. The Department of Defense still has yet to outline how it plans to replenish these critical supplies."

Today's meeting was attended by Major General Randall Thomas, the Adjutant General for the state of Illinois, Brigadier General Dennis Celleti, the Assistant Adjutant General of the Illinois Army National Guard and Brigadier General Hal Keistler, the Assistant Adjutant General of the Illinois Air National Guard.

Senator Durbin is a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. He met yesterday with Army Secretary Harvey, Army officials, and the Senate Army Caucus, of which he is also a member.

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=251321&&