Our National Guard: Too High a Price
Veterans for America (VFA) releases the first of its findings on the impact of the Iraq war on our National Guard troops and their families.
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR FINDINGS
Veterans for America has worked with Guard members and their families across the country as they bravely cope with long and often repeated mobilizations. VFA is deeply concerned that:
- Between now and the end of President George W. Bush’s term in office, almost half of the Soldiers who are scheduled to deploy to Iraq will come from the National Guard.
- More than half of the Army National Guard combat units deploying to Iraq in this timeframe will be on their second tour.
- At least 35 states have deployed more National Guard to Iraq and Afghanistan than to any war since World War II.
- States mobilizing their Guard over the next few months are: Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
- Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania (again), Tennessee, Texas (again), Vermont, and Wisconsin are also scheduled to deploy National Guard combat units beginning in spring 2009.
- The Department of Defense has found that members of the National Guard who had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are 25% more likely to have suffered a combat-related psychological wound than members of the active-duty Army who have been deployed.
“As far as we are concerned, this is a showstopper,” explains Bobby Muller, President of Veterans for America. “The incredible sacrifices we are demanding from our Guard members, their families, their employers, and their communities are unconscionable. If we must rely so heavily on our National Guard to maintain troop levels in Iraq, then the cost of success is too great.”
[...] Click here to read more. [...]
Pingback by Veterans For America » Our National Guard: Too High a Price — August 7, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
[...] >>More on VFA’s work with the National Guard >>Read the full interview with Sen. Obama Return to the Home Archive Join us on Facebook Join us on MySpace Tell A Friend about VFA [...]
Pingback by Veterans For America » Barack Obama addresses the National Guard crisis — August 18, 2008 @ 2:02 pm
[...] Iraq will end up, but we do know with a certainty that current deployment policy is tearing up our military and our military families. One thing for sure: Iraq is having no problem spending some of its vast [...]
Pingback by Veterans For America » VFA News Analysis: August 19, 2008 — August 19, 2008 @ 7:12 am
[...] recently released a report on the disproportionate burden of the Iraq war that our National Guard is bearing. The New Jersey [...]
Pingback by Veterans For America » VFA Launches Resource Page for the New Jersey National Guard — September 5, 2008 @ 10:56 am
[...] recently released a report on the disproportionate burden of the Iraq war that our National Guard is bearing. The New Jersey [...]
Pingback by Veterans For America » Bill Moyers Journal: The New Jersey National Guard Goes to Iraq — September 6, 2008 @ 3:07 pm