New panel to begin in-depth review of military reserves

A new 13-member independent commission begins work Wednesday on a year-long review of National Guard and Reserve forces and missions, with initial findings expected in time to influence congressional deliberations on the Defense Department's fiscal 2007 budget.

Commission leaders said Monday they would issue a 90-day report June 1 to help the Armed Services and Appropriations committees tackle some of the most pressing issues affecting the U.S. military's reserve component, including troop strength and recurring equipment shortages.

But the early report will provide only "preliminary instincts and preliminary thoughts," cautioned retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, the commission's chairman. Force size and other issues will require a long-term look by both Congress and the commission, he said.

"We're not going to sort this out, in my judgment, in the next couple of months," Punaro said. But, he added, when the commission files its final report, it expects to offer Congress "camera-ready" legislation intended to carry out the panel's recommendations.

Congress created the commission in the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, mandating that it conduct an extensive review of the reserves, which have been activated in record numbers since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Clearly a time for such an assessment has arrived," Punaro said. Constant deployments abroad and within the United States, he added, have had a "profound change" on the reserves that is not recognized in current rules and regulations.

At the commission's first hearing Wednesday, leaders of House and Senate defense committees are expected to provide details on what the commission should review, including input on what needs to be included in its June report, said Punaro, a former Senate Armed Services Committee staff director.

The commission already has sent out hundreds of letters to military organizations and local and state governments, asking for their questions and concerns. And they recently had a "very revealing conversation" with Idaho Republican Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, chairman of the National Governors Association National Guard caucus, said Rhett Dawson, a commissioner and another former Senate Armed Services staff director.

In a recent telephone interview, Kempthorne said he estimates the Guard would need $35 billion to $45 billion more for new equipment over the next several years, on top of the $21 billion the Army has pledged through fiscal 2011.

Kempthorne and other governors have grown increasingly concerned that Guard units are returning from Iraq with much of their gear damaged or left behind for other units to use.

"We need the resources back in the states," Kempthorne said. "Equipment is a critical issue. Critical."

The commission also plans to review dated, Cold War-era mobilization procedures that now seem unable to deal with "strategic surprise," said Gen. John Keane, a former Army vice chief of staff. In addition, commissioners said they will study training programs and career paths, as well as the conflicts between governors and presidents over control of National Guard units, once regarded primarily as state militias.

Most recently, the Army's decision to cut fiscal 2007 personnel funds for the Guard triggered a harsh reaction from state officials and allies in Congress, who expressed concern about shrinking a force that already is overstressed by domestic emergencies and extended deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

That forced Army leaders to revise earlier plans to budget for only 333,000 Guard soldiers, roughly the current size of the force. Instead, Army leaders have said they will pay for as many soldiers as the Guard can recruit, up to its 350,000 authorized end-strength.