Schwarzenegger wants Pentagon to return equipment

As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, Governor Schwarzenegger told Bush administration officials that he is tired of the Pentagon treating the California National Guard like a stepchild by using its equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan without returning or replacing it.

The Republican governor, in a visit to Washington for the annual meeting of the National Governors’ Association, said the California National Guard is missing about half of its equipment – from humvees to radios. That could leave California at risk in an earthquake, fire or other emergency, Schwarzenegger said. “It’s not fair to the states for the federal government to go into a war and then to take from us the equipment,” he said after meetings Monday with President Bush and Cabinet officials. “Every time our National Guard leaves, they take with them equipment but they don’t bring it back.”

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Schwarzenegger and other governors that the Pentagon plans to pay to replace some of the equipment that is damaged or destroyed, but the compensation could take several years because of budget constraints. Schwarzenegger said states also face budget shortfalls and can’t shoulder the burden indefinitely.

During the Southern California fires in October, some local officials complained about a lack of air support to contain the blazes, while state and federal officials criticized the U.S. military for failing to deploy some of its C-130 planes immediately after the fires broke out….

The state estimates that $1 billion worth of equipment is being used, from diesel generators to trucks to GPS devices. The California National Guard is also stretched thin because about 1,400 guardsmen are helping the federal government to secure the border with Mexico. “There’s only so long you can do that,” the governor said. “We now are missing 50 percent of the equipment – the equipment also (used) to train the National Guard.”