Illinois Army and Air Guard Unprepared for Natural Disaster?
With tornado season in full-force, the Illinois Army and Air Guard may be severly limited in its response capacity due to lack of personnel and critical equipment lost to deployment in Irag and Afghanistan. Official sources refuse comment.
Best estimates from informed personal sources within the Illinois Military Department indicate that personnel and equipment deployment to confilicts in Irag and Afghanistan has stripped the guard of critical resources to respond to seasonal natural disasters. Official sources refuse to return phone calls.
Personal sources indicate that some critical Army units have massive equipment shortages that would be required to respond to a major natural disaster as experienced in neighboring states last week. Some estimates indicate that several critical units are short 60 to 70 percent of serviceable and reliable equipment.
Will the General Assembly demand a full readiness report from the Adjutant General?
Not likely to be done timely allowing for the full-disclosure of inadequacies and critical response needs. Local first responders may be left holding the bag in the event of a natural disaster impacting populated areas in central and downstate Illinois.
