Our Senators' Priorities--More Worried About Equipment Than Our People?

Tweet It seems to me the results of the senators' efforts could be that our national guard ends up staying longer in Iraq. Instead of bringing the guard home where it belongs for the purposes for which it was constituted, they try to get it supplied with more equipment. Linda

"WASHINGTON- The Washington National Guard's equipment is being overworked, that's according to a new government report.

"68% of Washington's equipment is deployed overseas right now, and much of that won't ever come home.

"Humvee's, other support equipment, even helicopters, most of it's in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"That means they have less to train on, but the most pressing thing, they say they barely have enough to respond to emergencies, and if they can't get it replaced soon, they may run into a situation where they simply won't be able to respond how they should.

"'As with everything else, there is a certain lifecycle, and the equipment that we have isn't being upgraded and replaced," said Maj. Phil Osterli with the Washington National Guard.

"Right now, Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray are fighting to get funding to replace that equipment.

"The Guard says that most of the equipment gets left overseas because once it's there, it's not economical to bring it back.