The Times Picayune reports that “the Louisiana National Guard has all the troops it needs
for hurricane season, but many of its high-water trucks remain
in Iraq”
Twenty months after its depleted ranks of soldiers and
airmen were pressed into service for Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, the Louisiana National Guard still lacks hundreds of
military troop trucks that can handle high water as it faces
a new storm season that begins Friday.“We’re below 50 percent for authorized
equipment, and that includes everything,” said Lt. Col.
Pete Schneider, Louisiana Guard spokesman. “And we
continue to receive new equipment that comes off the
line.”The array of equipment includes everything from trucks to
wrenches.“Do I have enough for a major event?” Schneider
said of the vehicles. “No. For a smaller event, yes,
we’re good.”SNIP
As for equipment, states are getting items as fast as
they are produced and the Army distributes them, Schneider
said. He estimated Louisiana is lacking 200 to 300 vehicles.