LOCAL MILITARY UNITS SHOULD NOT BEAR ALL CUTS

The Persian Gulf War affirmed a great many things about America's military capabilities. One of things it proved beyond doubt is that National Guard and military reserve units provide an outstanding service for this county. Outside the structure of the regular military, men and women serving in these units showed the ability to deploy quickly and perform admirably in an international emergency. As our hats go off to members of those units, a plan has been launched to trim their military participation. We believe guard and reserve units should not be hit with excessive cuts that will lessen their effectiveness and hurt their communities.

Missouri Adjutant General Charles Kiefner, administrative head of the state's Army and Air National Guards, spoke to a Southeast Missouri Press Association gathering Saturday in his hometown, Perryville. During his speech, Kiefner made an impassioned and reasoned plea for a reprieve from Defense Secretary Dick Cheney's guard and reserve cuts. It was not only the appeal of an officer trying to guard his own turf but one of a man who understands the role guard units play in small communities.

Secretary Cheney's plan would reduce the guard force in Missouri by 20 percent and directly affect 21 communities, some of them in Southeast Missouri. By another initiative, Missouri guard forces would be reduced to below 300,000 in personnel over the next three years, from a current staffing of 457,000.

Kiefner told the newspaper organization that he is not opposed to cuts in military spending; still, his reasoning for saving guard units from deep cuts is sound. The reasons include:

Performance when called to international duty. Missouri National Guard units not only played an important role in Operation Desert Storm, being deployed to the Persian Gulf as well as filling in for regular military units involved in Saudi Arabia, but also in Central America. Kiefner spoke with pride Saturday of Missouri units helping "build democracy" through road construction work in Honduras and Panama.

The guard as an economic factor in local communities. In towns the size of Perryville, Kiefner said, a guard unit might provide as much as $500,000 for the local economy. That amount would be reduced or eliminated under Cheney's plan.

National Guard units are critical to emergency response in rural areas. The governor can mobilize guard units, with nearby resources and manpower, to help in times of natural disaster; such was the case in 1979 when a blizzard hit the Cape Girardeau area. Living on the New Madrid Fault, citizens of this region should feel more secure having guard units close at hand.

Like Kiefner, we feel some defense cuts are in order to whittle the national budget deficit. We agree with him, too, that National Guard and reserve units should not bear an unwielding share of these cuts. These forces, brought together in our hometowns, have proven their worth at times of war and times of peace.