As he named a new Veterans Affairs secretary Monday, Gov. Martin O?Malley said the war in Iraq was draining manpower and equipment that could be used to respond to natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
O?Malley echoed comments Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made Sunday ? that the loss of National Guard resources was hampering the response to devastating tornadoes that killed at least 10 people Friday and Saturday.
“I?m very concerned our National Guard has been greatly depleted,” O?Malley said.
More than 1,300 soldiers of the Maryland Guard are being sent to Iraq, part of what the governor said was “the largest call-up” since World War II.
“They don?t often bring the equipment back. It stays there,” he said. “It?s a huge problem.”
O?Malley said the Humvees left behind in the Middle East are no longer available to respond to events like snowstorms, hurricanes and even potential terrorist attacks.
“They?re simply not there to do the homeland security job,” he said.
In a report for the governor that was requested by U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the National Guard in Maryland said it “faces critical equipment shortfalls,” as do surrounding states.
After full mobilization, the Guard said it will have only about a third of the 781 vehicles it has used to transport the sick, medical personnel and others during past emergencies. It will be down to about a third of the 396 emergency generators it uses to provide power to hospitals and first responders, and it will have a little less than half its helicopters and communications equipment.
“We?re worse off than we were before Katrina,” O?Malley told The Examiner.
O?Malley?s new Veterans Affairs secretary, James Adkins, a 22-year veteran of the Army and National Guard, said, “These are trying times for our veterans as they return home.”
Veterans Affairs is one of the smallest state departments, with only 93 employees and a budget of $12 million. Its function is to help former members of the armed forces, their families and survivors obtain federal, state and local benefits.
Adkins replaces George Owings, a former Marine and 17-year member of the House of Delegates, where he served as Democratic whip. Adkins had served as Veterans Affairs deputy secretary, and “he was still deputy secretary in my mind,” said Owings, who frequently stayed in touch with Adkins.
“I was grateful that the governor allowed me to stay on,” Owings said.
O?Malley also named Wilbert Forbes Sr. as Adkins? deputy, a position that had been left vacant. Forbes had co-chaired O?Malley?s transition work group on the department, and the group?s report was critical of the department?s leadership for emphasizing public relations over services that actually helped veterans.
