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Differences in Guard weapons raise concern

DAYTON, Ohio — National Guardsmen in Ohio and other states are not being trained with the same rifles, Humvees, night-vision goggles and other equipment they will use in Iraq and Afghanistan until just before they are deployed, raising concerns about the soldiers’ confidence to deal with the dangers.

Mark Wayda, spokesman for the Ohio Guard, said Thursday that while in Ohio the soldiers must train with M16 rifles instead of the lighter, shorter-barreled M4s they would use in Iraq. M4s are often used in urban settings because they make it easier for soldiers to get into and out of vehicles quickly.

“It’s about soldiers feeling as confident as they can when they go on these very dangerous missions,” Wayda said.

He said the soldiers are also forced to train with less powerful night-vision goggles and machine guns with different optics, which are crucial in learning how to pick out targets and shoot the guns.

In addition, the Ohio Guard does not have armored Humvees like the ones used in Iraq. So the soldiers must train in Humvees with different centers of gravity and different braking and handling characteristics, he said.

“The biggest problem is you learn a set of skills that are not exactly transferable,” he said.

The Ohio Guard also has a shortage of ceramic plates that fit into body armor, Wayda said. That requires soldiers to share them during training, which lengthens training time. The plates are important because it changes the way soldiers fire their weapons, he said.

The Oklahoma Guard has a shortage of body armor, M4s and night-vision goggles, and no up-armored Humvees, according to spokesman Lt. Col. John Altebaumer. He said regular Humvees have canvas doors or none at all, while the others have heavy metal doors.

“You have all this equipment on you, and you have to figure out how to get out of the door quickly,” he said.

The New Mexico Guard has M4s to train with but no up-armor Humvees.

“But I have not heard it voiced as a concern by any commanders,” said Maj. Kenneth Nava, Guard spokesman.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Carl Ey said all guardsmen have the proper, mission-appropriate equipment when they are deployed and they are trained on up-armor Humvees before going into combat areas. He said any Guard commanders who feel their units don’t have the right equipment or training are required to inform their superiors before deployment.

“The Army doesn’t take shortcuts on soldier protection and safety,” Ey said.

Before they are deployed, the Guardsmen train on the new equipment at pre-mobilizations stations in the United States. It is there, Wayda and Altebaumer say, that the soldiers must learn how to shoot the new weapons and master the new equipment.

“We call that just-in-time equipping and training,” Wayda said. “The situation doesn’t give them the best opportunity for success.”

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland twice has asked President Bush for his assurances that Guard troops are receiving adequate training and equipment before being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Differences in Guard weapons raise concern