Published: July 18, 2008 09:50 pm         

Rockefeller applauds Pentagon over Guard leader’s promotion

Elevating the chief of the National Guard Bureau to first-ever four-star general status and appointing the first guardsman to oversee security in North America drew praise this week from Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

Rockefeller advised Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the two moves, consistent with legislation he helped craft a year ago, are “landmark steps” in defending America’s interests.

Within the past year, the senator noted, all but 1,800 of the nearly 6,800 troops assigned to the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard have been in Iraq, Afghani-stan and other foreign duties.

West Virginia’s reputation within the Guard family nationally is one of envy.

Ranked first in readiness for several years running, the state Guard has sent troops to as many as 26 foreign countries while helping protect the border with Mexico, according to an update provided late last fall by the adjutant, Gen. Allen Tackett.

Even in a nation divided by the Iraqi conflict, Tackett advised a legislative panel in an interims session that morale remains high, evidenced by the Army Guard’s strength of 122 percent — a gain of 14 percent points since the 9/11 attack.

“We’re extremely prepared and ready,” the general had assured state lawmakers.

As of Friday, the Army Guard’s readiness stood at 119.65 percent. Overall, there are 6,756 members of the Guard, with 4,458 of them in the Army.

Rockefeller, a Democrat, said the National Guard not only serves overseas in times of warfare, but must contend with natural disasters, such as frequent episodes of flooding in his home state of West Virginia.

“The Guard is a critical — and unique — component of the U.S. military, and it obviously should have the leadership status and the influence at the Pentagon to reflect that fact,” he said.

Before the year is out, Rockefeller noted, another 1,000 troops will be sent from West Virginia to the hot spots of Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We just returned two large contingents of engineers from Iraq,” retired Lt. Col. Mike Pitzer of the Guard’s public affairs office in Charleston said Friday.

“The majority of who we had overseas just returned. Those numbers will be different, come January.”

Just how many West Virginia troops were still in combat zones in the Middle East was not known.

Rockefeller is also helping to sponsor a third proposal — this one designed to make the National Guard Bureau chief a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The legislation is yet to be put to a vote in the Senate.

— E-mail: mannix@

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