It's Time to Bring the California National Guard Home

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Loni Hancock
Member of the California State Assembly

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and exposed the federal government’s inability to respond to natural catastrophes. Thousands of National Guardsmen were unable to respond to the Gulf Coast because they were deployed to the war in Iraq. The recent fires in Southern California engulfing parts of Los Angeles and San Diego only further highlight the need for the National Guard to be ready and available for disaster relief efforts. We need our first responders to natural disasters - the California National Guard - in California to protect us when natural disasters strike.

The concern over the depletion of the National Guard is a bipartisan issue. Many of the nation’s governors have expressed serious concerns about the foreign deployment of the National Guard - leaving states with reduced resources to respond to major disasters. Reported in the New York Times, former Republican Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee stated in reference to the oversees deployment of the National Guard, “If we had a major disaster we would be stretched thin.” Former Chairman of the National Governor’s Association and Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia expressed a similar sentiment, “Is it really the best use to take a first responder from home and put him in to guard an airport in Saudi Arabia?”

Two years ago, Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer was so concerned about a wildfire disasters he asked the Pentagon to return his state’s National Guard from Iraq. Hawaii passed a resolution that requested that all its troops remain in Hawaii to provide disaster relief instead of being deployed abroad.

When the California Legislature reconvenes, I will introduce legislation to request that the Governor take immediate steps to bring the National Guard home. Instead of the California National Guard being used to protect Californians, thousands have been deployed to Iraq putting Californians at risk. We need the California National Guard here at home to protect us in the event of a natural disaster.