WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Susan Collins, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today questioned top Department of Defense Officials about the strains being placed on Maine's Army National Guard and other guard and reserve units throughout the U.S. that are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senator's questioning came during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss the Pentagon's 2007 Defense Authorization request. Testifying before the committee were Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, and Army Chief of Staff General Peter Shoomaker.
In remarks directed to General Shoomaker, Senator Collins expressed concern that Maine's Army National Guard is being over utilized in Iraq and Afghanistan and that this strain may jeopardize the availability of a sufficient number of active duty troops in the near future. She asked General Shoomaker what the Pentagon was doing to address this serious matter.
Senator Collins said, "Of the 2000 Members of Maine's Army National Guard, more than 1600 have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Of the approximately 400 troops remaining, over 100 were identified just this past weekend for mobilization. That leaves less than 300 Maine Army National Guard soldiers remaining available for active duty service without violating the Pentagon's policy that restricts the total aggregate time a Guard or Reserve member may be placed on active duty involuntarily to 24 months."
Senator Collins added, "Given the current dilemma facing the Maine Army National Guard, it appears that we are quickly approaching a wall where we will have run out of Guard members with time left on their mobilization clocks. If conditions on the ground in Iraq do not allow for a significant reduction in U.S. troop levels, as many of us are hopeful for, this heavy reliance upon the Guard and Reserve is cause for concern."
"How do you intend to handle this imminent problem and ensure that there are a sufficient number of troops available for active duty service," Senator Collins asked.
General Shoomaker responded the heavy reliance on the guard and reserve members was to provide the Pentagon time to restructure the active force. He told Senator Collins that he did not believe that the situation faced by Maine's Army National Guard was typical to that of other states in the nation, but that he would follow up with her about her concerns. In addition, General Shoomaker assured Senator Collins that the Pentagon is reviewing the level of National Guard and reserve members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.