A lot more weekend warriors are facing the possibility of living careers and family behind for extended tours of duty in Iraq. Before mobilizing so many National Guard and Reserve personnel, the Pentagon would do well to reconsider the damage and upheaval that could be created.
The modern American military is built with the Guard and Reserve in mind. Many military operational specialties rely heavily on a Reserve or Guard component. As currently constituted, the US Armed Forces is not designed for the ongoing occupation (and accompanying nation-building) of a sovereign nation. In the short term, this presents a significant manpower and logistics problem. Over the long haul, the implications for readiness could be profound.
The Pentagon will order about 128,000 U.S. troops to Iraq in early 2004 to replace forces rotating back to their home bases after a yearlong tour of duty, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday.
"The combat units serving in Iraq and most of the supporting units serving in the theater will be replaced," Rumsfeld said.
About 85,000 combat troops, including three National Guard combat brigades, have been notified they will be sent to the Iraq region, and 43,000 other Reserve and National Guard troops have been told they will be activated, Pentagon sources said.
Pentagon officials said it may be days before the public learns which Army National Guard and Reserve units face call-ups.
In the final analysis, what the Bush Administration is doing is using Guard and Reserve troops to cover the holes in it's failed Iraq policy. Having had no after-action plan, the Pentagon is now furiously trying to tread water until it comes up with a solution. In so doing, it is ready, willing, and able to uproot the lives and careers of thousands of weekend warriors.
I believe that it will set a bad precedent if the Pentagon's planned mobilization comes to fruition. The purpose of the Guard and Reserve should be to protect America in the case of a domestic military crisis (not as a Band Aid for poor policymaking). Iraq clearly does not fit this criteria. In the long run, using the Guard and Reserve to provide political cover will backfire. Remember, these people vote, and I'd be willing to bet that a few months in Iraq will convince them of their status as targets and political pawns.
