[StBernard] EDITORIAL: Don't take our brigade

[Westley Annis]

EDITORIAL: Don't take our brigade 

Published: Wednesday, March 01, 2006
By: Times-Picayune

The Louisiana Army National Guard's 256th Infantry Brigade withstood a
yearlong tour in Iraq that took the lives of 22 of its members, but it might
not survive a battle with Pentagon budget-cutters who are trimming 17,000
National Guard positions in the 2007 budget. 

That's a blow for Louisiana at a time when the state can ill afford to lose
anything else. 

The Army wants to reduce the number of planned National Guard combat
brigades nationally from 34 to 28, a plan that it describes as a "rebalance"
of the mix between combat brigades -- like the 256th -- and support
brigades, which include engineers and military police. 

But those plans will mean that Louisiana will lose 1,400 soldier positions.
Four of the 256th's six battalions would be eliminated as combat units. Only
the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment in New Orleans and the 3rd
Battalion, 156th Infantry Regiment in Shreveport would retain combat roles. 

Gov. Kathleen Blanco and U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter -- along
with 77 other senators -- are opposing the cuts, as are officials with the
Louisiana National Guard. 

In a letter to the state's congressional delegation, Gov. Blanco says the
cuts desecrate the memory of those who've served and died. She points out
that the brigade had an 83 percent re-enlistment rate leading up to and
during the Iraq deployment. 

The robust re-enlistment rate shows how committed Louisiana soldiers are.
Right now, though, the state needs the federal government to show its
continued commitment as we recover from two hurricanes. That should mean
keeping investment here. 

Brig. Gen. John Basilica, who led the brigade in Iraq, said that the 256th
has been targeted because it is a heavy armor outfit and that's where the
Army wants to make changes. The Army also stands to save money if it doesn't
have to re-equip the Louisiana brigade, which left 90 percent of its
equipment in Southwest Asia. 

That might make sense strictly from a budgetary point of view. But the
timing of these cuts would interfere with plans to convert the 256th to a
"brigade combat team," something that Gen. Basilica said would bring new
combat technology to Louisiana. 

The loss of any federal program or agency now feels like an abandonment.
Louisiana's soldiers have fought bravely in Iraq, but its citizens are also
fighting a battle to recover from one of the nation's worst natural
disasters. Keeping the 256th intact might not save the Army money, but it
will prevent a terrible blow to Louisiana's morale. 

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The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation Louisiana's Fund for Louisiana's
People www.louisianahelp.org