Archive for Monday, July 14, 2008
Equipment shortage persists for Kansas National Guard
Kansas National Guard Col. Vic Braden walks away from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after it landed last year in tornado-devastated Greensburg. At the time Braden, from Lawrence, was commander of the 69th Troop Command. He now serves as operations director for the Army National Guard.
July 14, 2008
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This was the view from the open door of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter as it flew over Greensburg after the May 2007 tornado. Only two Blackhawks were flyable at the time. At right, almost out of the picture, is Kansas National Guard commander Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting.
Kansas National Guard
When a tornado leveled Greensburg in May 2007, the Kansas National Guard had only two flyable Blackhawk utility helicopters available to support its response to the area.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made national headlines when she said the Guard's lack of trucks and Humvee all-purpose vehicles hindered its ability to respond to state emergencies.
Today, the Guard's equipment inventory has improved, but only slightly, according to Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the state's adjutant general and Guard commander.
"Fair but guarded condition," was how he summed up the situation. "We're better than we were."
But the equipment problem is far from fixed, Bunting added.
The number of helicopters available increased last fall when the 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation Regiment returned from Iraq.
The battalion has 15 UH-60 Blackhawks, which boosted the Guard's helicopter count at home to about 20. But only 25 percent of the helicopters are flyable. The remainder are undergoing maintenance and repairs.
That leaves just enough helicopters so crews can train to stay qualified to use them.
"Not only are they older helicopters, (Iraq) is a harsh environment," Bunting said. "We're running right on the edge of not having enough helicopters, but we're getting by."
Trucks, Humvees lacking
The Guard still has shortages of vehicles, including medium cargo trucks and Humvees. It has 50 percent of what it needs to move its engineering unit. The Guard also is lacking 40 palletized load system trucks. More than 200 Humvees (32 percent) are missing from what there should be.
There are several reasons the vehicles are missing.
Most of them had to be left behind when Kansas troops returned from deployments so other military units could use them.
Some of them were destroyed in combat, and others are being repaired from the rigors of war.
"In Kansas, our most critical shortage remains target acquisition radar," Bunting said. "That's our most deployed unit out of Great Bend."
Kansas is supposed to have five of the target radar systems, and all five were left behind at the end of deployments.
The radar systems are used to track incoming artillery or missile fire and locate their origin so they can be attacked.
Kansas now has one radar unit borrowed from another state so Guardsmen can continue to train with it.
The Guard doesn't mind leaving its equipment so that others can be safe in a war zone, but some replacements are necessary, Bunting said.
"The point we keep making is that you've got to give me enough to train on so that if you want me to come over and do another mission, I'm current on the equipment you want me to use," he said.
Maintaining readiness
The federal government is responsible for funding Guard equipment.
There are facilities across the nation for repairing equipment, and teams try to prioritize state needs.
During major disasters, states can call on other states for assistance with equipment, but timeliness is key, Bunting said.
The Guard has never had 100 percent of its equipment requests.
Before the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, it only had 40 percent of its needs met. It should be at 70 percent, Bunting said.
The Guard sent a few troops last month to help provide security when tornadoes hit Chapman and Manhattan. So far the state has not seen disaster on the level of Greensburg.
"The biggest concern is that if you have back-to-back storms over several contiguous states," Bunting said. "That's when you would stretch your equipment needs."
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14 July 2008
at 8:28 a.m.
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kusp8 (Anonymous) says…
since you can't travel on the roads because of debris you need to fly around.
14 July 2008
at 8:59 a.m.
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zzgoeb (Anonymous) says…
Another result of the Bush/Cheney dictatorship! Where is “I work for Kansas” Senator Roberts on this one? Is Sam snoozing at his desk? The state legislators and all Kansas citizens should be up in arms over this crisis! Hey wait, Ryun's current ad says he fixed all the military problems during his last term…somebody's not being truthful here!
14 July 2008
at 9:43 a.m.
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georgeofwesternkansas (Anonymous) says…
What the gov failed to mention was that the Kansas Air Guard did in fact have all assets in the state. But the gov did not activate the Kansas Air Guard to respond.
14 July 2008
at 9:47 a.m.
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georgeofwesternkansas (Anonymous) says…
The suprising thing is tat Kansas had/has any radar to track incomming mistles.
14 July 2008
at 9:52 a.m.
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LogicMan (Anonymous) says…
Assuming no Iran conflict, lots of equipment should be coming back from Iraq soon enough. Military equipment repair/restoration seems like the business to be in for the next couple of years.
14 July 2008
at 10:10 a.m.
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Shardwurm (Anonymous) says…
It was all a political move by Sebelius. Obviously it was pretty effective.I spent almost 20 years in the Guard and we never had enough equipment…and much of what we had was Korean War vintage. That never stopped us from accomplishing our mission.What the article doesn't mention is that Active Duty units are also short on equipment as much of it is left behind when they rotate home. It does point out that the Federal Gov't provides equipment for the Guard…which means that the equipment reverts to their control when a unit is mobilized.Sounds like the TAG for the State wasn't proactive enough to ensure emergencies were properly planned for when the equipment was utilized for - you know - THE WAR.
14 July 2008
at 10:14 a.m.
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just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…
“Assuming no Iran conflict, lots of equipment should be coming back from Iraq soon enough.”From what I've read, the extreme wear and tear on equipment in Iraq means it won't be worth bringing back. Just one more very big flush down that toilet.
14 July 2008
at 10:16 a.m.
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KUweatherman (Curtis Lange) says…
Yes, Blackhawk helicopters for tornado relief… Do some research on their capabilities before making a response like that.
14 July 2008
at 10:18 a.m.
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compmd (Anonymous) says…
sven, its a utility helicopter. Its not armed. Its also the fastest (and easiest) way to get people into and out of the area.george, the KS ANG flies KC-135s. Not particularly useful for disaster assistance.
14 July 2008
at 10:20 a.m.
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barrypenders (Anonymous) says…
We need the equipment to gather up illegal aliens and take them back to where they came from.
14 July 2008
at 10:38 a.m.
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toe (Anonymous) says…
Just a political message.
14 July 2008
at 10:45 a.m.
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BigPrune (Anonymous) says…
The Air Guard was never activated by Sebelius after the tornado and she b*tched nationally about the lack of air support?THAT is the bigger headline!
14 July 2008
at 10:54 a.m.
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just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…
“The Air Guard was never activated by Sebelius after the tornado and she b*tched nationally about the lack of air support?”If they had no aircraft, what's the point in activating them?
14 July 2008
at 11:56 a.m.
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compmd (Anonymous) says…
BigPrune,The Air National Guard in Kansas flies KC-135 tankers, not helicopters. Of course she wouldn't have activated them.
14 July 2008
at 5:07 p.m.
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Centerville (Anonymous) says…
Mr. Bunting, at a meeting in Greensburg with Brownback, Sobilious and several congressional staffers, said that he had plenty of men and material. He said that there was so much heavy equipment coming in from surrounding communities that they couldn't get any more National Guard equipment into town, even if they needed it, which they didn't. Sobilious did not speak during this meeting but went straight out to the microphones and parroted the lines she had been rehearsing in her head.Looks like he's received a new set of orders.