DMR: Iowa National Guard Equipment Levels 7th Lowest

Blizzard? Tornado? Flood? Outbreak? The Guard has half its gear in Iraq. Missions Overseas Sap Iowa Guard of Gear:

he Iowa Army National Guard has one of the worst equipment shortages of National Guard organizations in the country for responding to large-scale terror attacks or natural disasters, a federal report released Wednesday said.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said the Iowa National Guard had 42.5 percent of its authorized equipment inventory for nondeployed forces as of November 2006. That was seventh-lowest among the 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories.

However, there is no question the global war on terrorism has taken a toll on the Iowa National Guard's equipment inventory. In the fall of 2001, the Iowa Guard had 74 percent of its authorized equipment inventory, Hapgood said.

The federal report said the majority of state national guards have capabilities to handle typical domestic missions, but shortages exist and concerns remain about the ability to respond to large-scale, multistate events. The massive, state-led and federally funded response to Hurricane Katrina illustrates the Guard's important role in such events, the study added.

The Army has budgeted $21 billion between 2005 and 2011 to modernize the Army National Guard and expand its equipment inventory, the GAO report said. However, this equipment may be deployed to meet overseas demands, and the Army has not specified how much equipment will remain in the United States for domestic missions, the study said.