National Guard equipment-starved

DETROIT, March 31 (UPI) -- The commander of the U.S. National Guard says the war in Iraq has seriously depleted the equipment and readiness of his forces.

Lt. Gen. Steven Blum told the Detroit News that Michigan units only have about 40 percent of the gear assigned to them, and there are acute shortages of trucks and helicopters that would be needed to respond to disasters in the state.

"The ability for the National Guard to respond to natural disasters and to perhaps terrorist weapons-of-mass-destruction events that may come to our homeland is at risk because we are significantly under-equipped," Blum said.

Michigan's top Guard officer, Maj. Gen. Thomas Cutler, told the newspaper he was confident his troops could respond to any emergency, although they would likely require help from units in neighboring states.

Prior to Iraq, Guard units averaged about 60 percent of their authorized equipment levels.

Analyst Christine Wormuth of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington said under-equipped Guard units are a source of concern in the event of another event on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001, or Hurricane Katrina.