NATIONAL GUARD IS COST-EFFECTIVE

With the end of the Soviet challenge to our security and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, we have the opportunity to builddown our forces and an obligation to prepare to meet new threats.

I support cutting back the defense budget by 30 percent including bringing home more troops from Europe, requiring allies like Japan to pay more for their defense and eliminating expensive new weapons systems.

Recently, the Pentagon laid out a plan to cut back its budget by eliminating a third of all Army National Guard units over the next five years. The plan included 28 units in 18 Missouri communities over the next three years.

If enacted the cuts would drastically alter the historic role of the National Guard in our nation's defenses and would damage our ability to respond to crises such as the one handled so effectively in the Gulf.

The National Guard assists states in times of emergency, natural disaster and civil strife. While I was governor, I used the Guard to respond to floods, tornadoes and civil disturbances. They also play a key role in the fight against illegal drugs.

Last month, I testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee to oppose the Pentagon's proposed Guard cuts. Last year, as co-chairman of the Senate's National Guard caucus, I was able to lead the fight against the cuts and block the elimination of any units in Missouri. This year we'll be working just as hard to block the new proposal.

The Pentagon has ignored the role that the Guard plays in the States. It has ignored the need to cut out paper-pushers in the Pentagon as a way to trim the budget.

Their base force plan, which now serves as the basis for the cuts, ignores several key points. First, defense spending is likely to drop further than the administration is now planning. That means that if we want to retain a large force capable of defending our interests around the world, we must make every dollar count. We simply aren't going to be able to afford the kind of force that the Pentagon wants to retain.

The Guard is the most cost-effective component of our military force. We can maintain an Army Guard combat division for approximately one quarter of the annual recurring costs of an active division. However, it is not just that the Guard~ is a good value it is also a well-trained and highly capable force. Today's Guard is the most professional and capable we have seen in years and as we saw in Desert Storm, there is no question that the Guard can serve alongside our active forces.

We have a historic opportunity to cut our security commitments and redirect some of our spending toward getting our economic house in order. Cutting the Guard, however, would be penny-wise and pound foolish. Maintaining our reserve forces is ensuring the survival of the backbone of our nation's military.