[RickSp]

General Says National Guard Is Weakened by Deployments in Iraq

The National Guard is overstretched by deployments in Iraq and can't properly respond to local emergencies in the U.S., said retired Major General Melvyn S. Montano, a former adjutant general of the New Mexico guard. ``The National Guard, our nation's first responder to hurricanes, forest fires, tornadoes and other natural disasters, is not as prepared as they should be,'' Montano said in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address. ``It is not only a matter of equipment, but of personnel as well.'' A tornado that nearly leveled Greensburg, Kansas, last week and killed about 10 people underscored that both guard members and equipment are depleted by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Guard forces in Kansas had about half their usual equipment available when the tornado hit, slowing the recovery process, Montano said. The strains of keeping high troop levels in Iraq, where more than 145,000 soldiers are deployed, has forced the government to rely heavily on guard units. About 80 percent of guard and military reservists have served in either Afghanistan or Iraq since 2001, with some deployed more than once, Montano said.