Washington – The deployment of National Guard troops to the border with Mexico won’t affect the military’s ability to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan or to respond to emergencies at home, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday.
Rumsfeld said the 6,000 Guard troops to be deployed represent fewer than 2 percent of the National Guard’s 445,000 part-time soldiers and airmen. Deployments will take place during their annual two weeks of active-duty training.
“As such, this will not only not adversely affect America’s ability to conduct the war on terror or respond to other domestic emergencies,” Rumsfeld said, testifying to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee. “It will actually provide useful, real-life training.”
Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, the National Guard’s top officer, said troops were “superbly ready” to take on the mission and had handled a number of similar missions in the past five years, including airport security and border cargo inspection.
