NATIONAL GUARD OFFERS VERY VALUABLE PRESENCE

The National Guard remains an important part of America's military design. Finding their roots in the militias of our nation's early history, the citizen-soldiers of today comprise a force that is cost-effective, well-trained, flexible and ready. In addition, the local presence of the National Guard is meaningful to Cape Girardeau and its region. We are pleased that with the consolidation of guard units in the post-Cold War restructuring of the military, that local presence will continue and flourish.

Announced recently were decisions to deactivate a combat engineer battalion in St. Louis County and reassign much of that outfit's personnel and equipment to the 1140th Engineer Battalion, which is headquartered at the Cape Girardeau Armory. In October, the local guard unit will increase in strength by about 149 people. The 1140th is below its authorized strength of 715 guardsmen at this time, but the shifting of personnel will put it at full strength.

Why is the National Guard important to the nation's defense strategy? It stands as a capable military force (witness the extraordinary service of guard units in the Persian Gulf conflict) at a fraction of the cost of the full-time military.

What does it mean to this area? Obviously, there is an economic impact associated with having guardsmen serve in Cape Girardeau, not to mention a degree of prestige in being home to the battalion headquarters. But the National Guard is also close at hand when disasters necessitate their domestic activation. In February 1979, with the area buried under 24 inches of snow, people here would have been in greater peril had guardsmen not been nearby and deployed to reopen roads. In fact, one possible reason cited for the engineer battalion's enhanced role here is proximity to the New Madrid Fault. The area certainly stands to be better protected in the case of a major earthquake with the National Guard close.

Scaling back the military is a natural consequence of the lessening in superpower tensions. National Guard cutbacks will inevitably be a part of military restructuring, though we believe they should be a minimal part. In the meantime, we believe Cape Girardeau and the region benefits by having such a strong guard commitment.