Bond says Guard needs more money to buy equipment

National Guard equipment shortages "should set off alarm bells," according to Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., co-chair of the Senate National Guard Caucus.

Bond said Wednesday it was past time the White House and Pentagon ensured that the Guard was adequately equipped to do its job.

Bond's comments came after Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, the senior uniformed officer in the National Guard, said the Guard has only half of the equipment it needs to respond to state emergencies, according to a news release from Bond's office.

"There is no question that the Guard's equipment stocks for domestic response are low," Bond said in the news release. "The shortage is the result of decades of inadequate funding for Guard equipment."

Bond also has been critical of the Guard's lack of a stake in budget decisions. He and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the other Guard caucus co-chair, introduced the National Guard Empowerment Act, which is under review in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The act aims to secure a stronger voice for the National Guard and improve the integration between civilian and military emergency personnel. The act also calls for increased National Guard presence in Pentagon budget and mission decisions.

Bond and Leahy praised the $1 billion in additional Guard funding added to the supplemental funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan that was signed into law May 25.

The funding will allow the Guard to purchase equipment for domestic emergency response.

However, Bond said that funding was just a down payment and called for immediate additional funding to help the Guard resolve its equipment shortfalls.

Bond has previously said that Missouri's National Guard has only 33 percent of the equipment it needs to fulfill its missions.

pwylie@semissourian.com

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