Caught With Their Guard Down

Caught With Their Guard Down

President Bush last week praised the 100,000 "citizen-soldiers" serving in the gulf, but apparently the Pentagon doesn't fully share his enthusiasm for reservists. Even though the government has spent 10 years and $100 billion training the National Guard for war, Army brass has so far refused to deploy the Guard's fighting units. Reservists represent almost 50% of U.S. combat capability, but Army reservists say they are being shut out by turf-conscious commanders. Air Force reservists are handling vital support missions in the gulf; so are Guard backup units, including medical teams, truck drivers and supply companies. But the three armored brigades...

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