Not the US military, that’s for certain:
The U.S. military isn’t ready for a catastrophic attack on the country, and National Guard forces don’t have the equipment or training they need for the job, according to a report.
Even fewer Army National Guard units are combat-ready today than were nearly a year ago when the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves determined that 88 percent of the units were not prepared for the fight, the panel says in a new report released Thursday.
The US military, and especially the citizen reserves (ie, organized militia) of the National Guard, are tasked with defense of the nation, not being deployed to the pet war of a mad President. I have to think that federalizing the Guard 100 years ago was probably a mistake.
However, all is not lost. Ohio has (as do several other states) a state military force that is not under the control of the federal government. In fact, Ohio has two – the Ohio Naval Militia (ONM) and the Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR), both under the ultimate control of the Governor. Both receive almost zero funding from the State, and are entirely volunteer citizen military organizations – true militias. Members volunteer their time, train without pay, and even supply their own uniforms. The only time they would be paid is if they are deployed by the Governor to respond to a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or for whatever lawful deployment.
It should be noted, these are not combat units (tho, like all members of the military they may qualify on military weapons and may be outfitted out of the state Armory if deemed necessary), they are support units. They receive disaster management training, as well as military police training. Additionally, they are set up as cadre units, meaning that they are prepared to grow dramatically and absorb many new recruits in the event of a mobilization.
Unfortunately, Ohio is in a tough budgetary crisis right now. But once that’s settled, I think that Ohio needs to start looking out for the best interests of her citizens, and realize that if a natural disaster strikes, we may not be able to count on our National Guard units and equipment being available. Currently the OHMR gets a piddly $15,000 annually, and the ONM gets nothing. If the State government is serious about making up the shortfall in federal protection of Ohio citizens, they need to get serious about supporting the volunteers who make up the OHMR and ONM. A modest increase in budget should help them attract and retain qualified volunteers, and result in a more capable resource at the Governor’s disposal.
Budget Watch
