Beware if you live in these states - your Guard is goin' to Iraq

[Neecy]

According to the Baltimore Sun, the new Guard deployment is coming primarily from three states:

California
Maryland
New Mexico

Every man for yourselves if there's a wildfire, hurricane, earthquake or whatnot.

Hmmmmm....kinda blue states, these.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/iraq/bal-guard0405,0,7465543.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

[silverlib]

1. I have a friend being deployed next month from Texas....

12 years in the National Guard Reserves, currently stationed on the border. Received his orders over a month ago. I assume he is part of the surge.

[uppityperson]

2. Thanks for the list.

[Jackeen]

3. Don't be daft.

Guardsmen are going from all over, not just the Blue states.

As for California Guard's current condition, there have been times since 2001 when a lot more soldiers have been mobilised. A quick glance at this month's Grizzly shows more CalGuardsmen on the Mexican border than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Even counting the next two battalions in CalGuard's chute for deployment, the ones currently abroad, and assuming that the 1,300 on the border stay there for the next couple of months, if there's a fire or earthquake that CalGuard's 12,000 or so remaining troops plus the State Military Reserve and another few thousand Air Guard can't handle, I'm not convinced the troops deployed would make much of a difference.

[Erika]

4. Can you mind your manners, please?

Thank you.