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| Wilson: Bigger Army Would Aid Guard |
July 12, 2004 |
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| By Dan Shingler
Albuquerque Tribune
U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson says she is well aware of the pressure being put on the National Guard by current U.S. military commitments in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The solution, the Albuquerque Republican says, is to expand the size of the regular Army, in part to take the pressure off the Guard.
"We`ve been working for more than year now to expand the size of the active duty force to relieve pressure on the Guard and reserve force," Wilson said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Wilson said she has helped lead efforts to expand the Army, including sending a letter signed by 130 members of Congress asking the Department of Defense to do just that. It was sent first to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld without results and then directly to President Bush.
"When we got one of those `Thank you for your interest in national security` letters, we sent one to the president," Wilson said.
Wilson said Guard members are being asked to make sacrifices beyond what they expected when they signed up, and she worries about the long-term effects on recruiting, re-enlistments and morale.
While Army soldiers are prepared for long tours of duty overseas, Guard members are not, she said. Service can be more of a hardship for them, she said.
"If you`re in the Guard and the Reserve, you`ve already got a life and a job," she said.
Wilson said she supports measures in the current House version of the Defense Authorization Bill calling for the Army to add 10,000 new soldiers a year for the next three years, while the Marines increase their ranks by 9,000 in each of the next three years.
In addition, she said she would like to see the Army train more of its full-time soldiers to take on roles now given to the Guard, such as transportation and civil service functions.
"We hope that will relieve some of the pressure on the Guard and reserves," she said.
If something isn`t done to relieve pressure on the Guard, Wilson said she and others worry about the effect on re-enlistments.
"People in the Guard and Reserve are serving and they`re serving well," she said. "There`s no question they`re doing the mission we`re asking them to do. The thing I worry about is when they get back home will they still be willing to serve? There may be some who say I really can`t risk being sent up again next year.
"All of us are worried that maybe we are asking too much of too few," she said. |
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