Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Guard unit meets
training goalsBrigades need to be ready for anything
By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-BulletinWASHINGTON -- The Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Infantry Brigade is one of only three reserve combat units nationwide able to meet training objectives, according to a congressional report.
The General Accounting Office said three of the Army National Guard's 15 specially equipped "enhanced brigades" reported that their platoons met specific training goals in tasks such as attacking an enemy position or defending against an enemy attack.
Overall, the brigades "continue to have difficulty meeting training and personnel readiness goals, despite improvement in some areas," the GAO said in the follow-up report to its initial 1995 findings.
Despite the critical report, a key Hawaii Army National Guard official maintains that the 29th Brigade is "committed to being able to meet the required deployment timetable for enhanced brigades if activated."
The brigade was activated for the Vietnam War in 1968.
Jack Hooper, National Guard Bureau spokesman, said "actions that will be taken on the findings of this report are going to be done at higher levels," indicating that reaction to the report probably will be made by the active Army and Department of Defense.
Under the Army's "enhanced brigade" program, 15 Army National Guard units -- seven of them providing light infantry foot soldiers and eight mechanized with tanks and armored vehicles like the Bradley fighting machine -- began getting specialized training and equipment in 1993.This was to enable the 15 units to ready to be deployed to a war zone in 90 days. The designation was made to meet the nation's changing defense needs and budgetary pressures which led to an increased reliance on the National Guard and other reserve forces.
The 4,000-member Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Infantry Brigade was sent last summer to the Army's premier training facility -- the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, La. -- as part of this program.
Col. Vern Miyagi, Hawaii Army National Guard chief of staff at Fort Ruger, said the brigade passed crucial tests conducted by active Army advisers before it went to the training facility in June 1999 "in the areas of attack, defense and movement to contact" -- key Army tasks.
"Our soldiers went up against the best opposing force from the active component while at JRTC and performed exceptionally well," Miyagi said.
The GAO, which conducts research for Congress, said only one brigade was able to meet personnel staffing goals in 1999. Seven brigades, including the 29th Brigade, did not meet this goal.
"The key reasons for the brigades' continuing difficulties in meeting readiness goals are personnel shortages and too much to do in the time available, though many other problems also influence readiness," the report said.
National Guard officials report cuts in full-time support personnel who help prepare training between monthly drills, less desire among young people to join the military, and the nation's strong economy undercut recruiting and retention drives.
Capt. Chuck Anthony, Hawaii National Guard spokesman, said that only 100 of the 140 full-time positions in the 29th Brigade are filled. "Funding precludes attaining full manning," Anthony said. The 29th Brigade is spread over three states -- Hawaii, Oregon and California -- and one of its units traces its lineage to the highly decorated 100th Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team.
The GAO report also said the Army still does not have "an effective system" to assess brigade readiness. This means that based on the current subjective view of Army Guard commanders, brigade estimates that they would need 42 days or less of training to be ready for war once called to active duty are "unrealistically low."
In the area of readiness, only one of the 15 brigades reported it met the National Guard's goal of having at least 90 percent of its required personnel and 85 percent of the required number of trained personnel and leaders to be available to deploy to a war zone.
Anthony said that during the time covered by the GAO report, the 29th Brigade was only able to meet 88 percent of its required personnel, compared to the goal of 90 percent. But it excelled in having 87 percent of its personnel trained, compared to the required 85 percent.
Brigades need to be
By Gregg K. Kakesako
ready for anything
Star-BulletinWASHINGTON -- Fifteen Army National Guard brigade commanders, including Maj. Gen. Dennis Kamimura, now head of Army National Guard forces in the Pacific, in February 1999 were asked to assess their unit's performance in key areas.
Kamimura, 52, headed the 29th Infantry Brigade from from November 1997 to February 2000.
A brigade generally has 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers and is composed of at least three battalions. Each battalion is supported by three to four companies, which in turn are composed of three to four platoons of 16-44 soldiers each.
The 15 enhanced brigades are supposed to provide the Army with a fighting force at about 30 percent less than what it costs the active force. They generally train 39 days a year, including one drill per weekend per month and one annual two-week training exercise.
The first General Accounting Office report, released in 1995, said the enhanced brigades failed to meet their readiness goals.
The Army, in its response last week, said it is studying the ways missions are assigned to the 15 brigades and other training requirements.
This is because brigade officials said it was difficult to focus training due to potential problem areas in different parts of the world.
"The brigades must be prepared to fight in the deserts of Southwest Asia as well as the mountains and cold climate of Korea, the two primary theaters used for planning purposes," the report said.
But war plans do not specify what active-duty Army units the brigades will be assigned to should they go to war.
Besides Hawaii, the specialized brigades are located in New York, North Carolina, Arkansas, Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Washington, Idaho, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana and Tennessee.
