Governors Concerned About National Guard Troops

The nation’s governors voiced worries Saturday for the National Guard troops they shared with the federal government, saying changes caused by the huge demands of the war in Iraq needed more examination.

More than 30 governors gathered here for their summer meeting, where they were scheduled to meet privately Monday with top officials of the Guard, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Homeland Security Department.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Republican incoming chairman of the National Governors Assn., said more attention must be paid to the needs of Guard members returning from overseas deployments, especially those who needed to find work.

Mike Rounds, South Dakota’s Republican governor, said the Guard’s recruiting system still worked, but the stresses of the war were showing.

He is concerned that troops returning from the war zones may resign if their spouses and parents raise objections to continued service. “The second time around, will they be allowed to reenlist? That’s the question,” he said.

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, said leaders needed to consider ways to accommodate older members of the Guard and Reserves who wanted to do their part but could not be expected to undertake long-term, overseas deployment when they had careers and families.

States often rely on their Air and Army Guard units to help in emergencies such as hurricanes, earthquakes or riots. It is not often that the part-time soldiers are brought under federal control for missions such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But Warner said Guard officials had offered assurances they would limit call-ups.

But bigger questions remain, he said. “I don’t feel we’ve had the full deliberations about what the role of the Guard will be,” said Warner, who has been exploring a possible presidential bid.

“Most governors would say we’re putting more strain on our Guard and Reserves than many people are fully comfortable with,” said the Republican governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty.

More than 250,000 National Guard troops have been mobilized for active duty since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Army Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of National Guard forces.

“You haven’t seen these kinds of participation from the states since the Civil War,” said Gov. Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho.

Guard troops represent about 40% of U.S. ground forces in Iraq. That is scheduled to drop significantly next year when the Army deploys two newly expanded active-duty divisions.