Governors want guard voice at the Pentagon.HEAVY NATIONAL GUARD deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a toll on state disaster preparedness pre·par·ed·ness n. The state of being prepared, especially military readiness for combat. Noun 1. preparedness - the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action); "putting them . The nation's governors are responding by seeking a presence at the Pentagon to protect their turf. "Governors are the commanders-in-chief of their state Guard and are concerned about the use of the Guard for national purposes," Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons Jim Gibbons may refer to:
"We need communication to coordinate with the Defense Department ... a lot of Guard equipment is worn out, people are over utilized" because of the war, Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
Gibbons and Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner Ruth Ann Minner (born January 17 1935) is an American politician and businesswoman from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. She is a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, two terms as Lieutenant Governor of Delaware, and is the incumbent introduced the "Governors' Guide to Homeland Security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States " that was produced by the National Governors' Association. The guide gives an overview of a governor's homeland security roles and responsibilities. It also outlines the role of the National Guard during state and federal mobilization mobilization Organization of a nation's armed forces for active military service in time of war or other national emergency. It includes recruiting and training, building military bases and training camps, and procuring and distributing weapons, ammunition, uniforms, . Guard troops have been an important and measurable presence in the war; at one point, more than 40 percent of units in Iraq were from the National Guard, the guide said. This is a prime cause of concern for governors because they don't have a voice at the Pentagon when their state troops deploy. Governors have their National Guard on alert in case of emergency and "speak with them daily about the status of the force," Minner said. But as soon as that force is mobilized for war by the president, governors cannot call them back for state needs. "The commission [on the National Guard and Reserves] recommends more formal communication among the Defense Department, the National Guard and governors," Minner said. "We haven't been able to get a Guard representative at the Pentagon," she lamented la·ment·ed adj. Mourned for: our late lamented president. la·ment  ed·ly adv. .
Support for a lead National Guard position at the Pentagon first surfaced in April 2006 when Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., introduced legislation to make the National Guard Bureau chief a four-star general and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace turned down the idea, saying that separating the Army and Air National Guard from each service would be disruptive. |
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