GULF BUILDUP
Several states feeling the pinch of reserve duty call-ups
boston.com
By David Pace, Associated Press, 3/11/2003
WASHINGTON -- The buildup for possible war with Iraq has drained National Guard and reserve troops unevenly across the country, with such states as Connecticut, North Dakota, and Nevada being hit much harder than Vermont, Alaska, and Hawaii, an Associated Press analysis shows. The Persian Gulf mobilizations, coupled with the demands of the war on terrorism, have left communities with fewer prison guards, firefighters, police officers, even high school wrestling coaches.
''Everybody's affected,'' said Mayor Jesse Quillen of Bruce, Miss., a town of 2,097 that saw 75 men and women called up last month. ''Employers lose workers, children lose a dad or a mom for the length of the deployment, and the impact of it is felt from one end of Calhoun County to the other.''
Pentagon officials say the call-ups are based mostly on the needs of commanders in the field and on the training, specialties, and readiness of guard and reserve units back home. Impact on communities is considered but isn't a primary concern.
''We don't measure contributions by numbers alone,'' said Lieutenant Colonel Dan Stoneking, a Pentagon spokesman. ''All 54 states and territories are supporting the war on terrorism. . . . Each of those contributions is equally critical and equally appreciated.''
The AP analysis of Pentagon call-ups shows that North Dakota has shouldered the biggest burden, per capita, of any state. As of last week, 36 of every 10,000 North Dakotans age 18 or older were serving on active duty from a reserve or National Guard unit.
By comparison, fewer than five of every 10,000 eligible people in New York, Michigan, and Hawaii were on active duty from a reserve or guard unit. In 19 other states, fewer than 10 of every 10,000 eligible people were under orders.
The Police Executive Research Forum in Washington surveyed 976 law enforcement agencies nationwide last fall and found that 44 percent had lost personnel to military call-ups.
''It puts some stress on the folks back here, but they see it as part of answering the call of duty,'' said Governor John Hoeven of North Dakota, citing the example of a local business that had four of its eight employees called up.
''A lot of them are in law enforcement, or first responders, and it just creates some effort on our part to make sure we help back'' by filling in those positions, he said.
In Alabama, officials are trying to replace 152 prison guards who have been called to active duty. In West Virginia, state officials are revising emergency response plans to reflect the absence of dozens of guard and reserve troops serving overseas. In Lincoln, Neb., four high schools are searching for wrestling coaches to replace those called to active duty.
All three states ranked among the top 10 in guard and reserve rates calculated by AP.
Under an order signed by President Bush three days after the Sept. 11., 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, as many as 1 million guard and reserve personnel can be called to serve for as long as two years. Slightly more than 175,000 were on active duty last week, out of 225,000 that have been called up since Bush signed the order. It is the largest reserve call-up since the 1991 Gulf War, when about 240,000 were summoned.
The Pentagon doesn't specify where reserve units have been sent, but a substantial number are being deployed for the possible war to disarm President Saddam Hussein of Iraq.North Dakota has more than 4,500 guard and reserve personnel; nearly a third, 1,405, have been called to active duty. Similarly, 30 percent of the reserves in Nevada and Connecticut have been mobilized. At the other end of the spectrum, the Pentagon has called up 185 of Hawaii's 8,927 reserves, only 7 percent of Alaska's, and 9 percent of Vermont's. Despite the impact on North Dakota, Hoeven said he has no quarrel with the Pentagon's criteria for calling up reservists.
Some states with relatively small guard and reserve forces have experienced call-up rates much higher than normal. Massachusetts, for example, ranks 40th among the states in the number of reservists per eligible person, but 18th in the rate of call-ups.
This story ran on page A9 of the Boston Globe on 3/11/2003.
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