The National Guard needs $20 billion more to pay for the equipment it needs to carry out the mission Washington has given it. Lt Gen H. Steven Blum says Guard units rotating out of Iraq have to leave their equipment behind for the arriving Guardsmen to use -- because the new guys simply don't have any of their own. Last year, an Arkansas and a North Carolina Guard detachment became the first since the Korean War to relieve a regular Army unit in a war zone. The Arkansas and Noth Carolina Guardsmen had to borrow equipment from the Kentucky and Ohio National Guard to take on the mission.
But the Guard isn't just running short on money and equipment. Long and repeated deployments are making it difficult for the Guard and the Reserve to hang onto people -- and attract new ones. The Guard hopes to fix this by tripling bonuses for some recruits. (BaltSun)
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