CQ TODAY -- DEFENSE\
March 6, 2006 -- 6:28 p.m.

Commission to Start Reassessment of National Guard, Reserves This Week

By Anne Plummer, CQ Staff

An independent commission established by Congress will begin work this
week on a yearlong assessment of the National Guard and reserves,
including whether the Guard's response to Hurricane Katrina was hindered
because of deployments in Iraq.

The 13-member panel, chaired by retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold L.
Punaro, is expected to review roles and missions of reserve forces,
whether they are adequately sized, trained and equipped, and how the
troops are compensated.

The goal will be to produce "camera-ready" legislation and other
recommendations that Congress can use to improve Guard and Reserve
operations, Punaro told reporters Monday. Recommendations will be
compiled after hearing testimony from the military's top brass, meeting
with state governors and making "field visits" to reserve units, he
said.

"We are not going to dodge any tough issues," said Punaro, a longtime
staffer to former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga. (1972-1997). Among the issues
likely to be explored are whether the Pentagon has given reserve units
short shrift when it comes to funding and equipment, and if the Guard's
role in combat missions overseas should be re-examined, according to
panel members.

The commission will meet congressional leaders Wednesday in a hearing on
Capitol Hill to get its official "marching orders," Punaro said. House
Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Senate
Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner, R-Va., are expected to
attend, as well as the chairmen of the House and Senate caucuses that
focus on Guard and reserve issues.

The panel will conduct other open hearings throughout the week in which
top military officials will testify, including a March 9 hearing
featuring the vice chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force and the
assistant commandant of the Marine Corps.

Under the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill
([[PL 108-375]{.underline}](javascript:simplePopup('displaylawcard.do?lawNumber=375&congress=108','billCard',680,430);)),
which created the commission, Warner and Hunter appointed three members
each, while the top Democrats on their committees --- Rep. Ike Skelton
of Missouri and Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan --- were allotted two
appointments each. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld appointed three
members.

The resulting panel is a mix of defense experts and retired military
officers, including former Army Vice Chief of Staff John M. Keane and
Les Brownlee, a former staff director of the Senate Armed Services
Committee who served as acting Army secretary under President Bush until
retiring in December 2004.

Punaro, now an executive vice president of Science Applications
International Corp., served as director of Marine Corps Reserve Affairs
immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when thousands
of reservists were being mobilized for the war in Afghanistan. He also
served 14 years as staff director on the Armed Services Committee when
Nunn was chairman.

The commission's initial assessment will be released in June 2006 with a
full report due the following spring. Members said the June report may
include some insight into issues, such as the size of reserve forces,
that could help inform the upcoming spending and authorization bills,
although the goal was to take a step back and provide a long-term
assessment.

Punaro said the delay in starting up the commission --- the fiscal 2005
Defense authorization bill became law in October 2004 --- was due in
part to a clarification needed in the panel's focus as a congressional
commission and not one working on behalf of the Defense Department. That
role was clarified in the fiscal 2006 Defense authorization bill
([[PL 109-163]{.underline}](javascript:simplePopup('displaylawcard.do?lawNumber=163&congress=109','billCard',680,430);)).

Punaro said the delay may prove beneficial. Of particular interest of
lawmakers in recent months has been whether the Army National Guard is
properly equipped and big enough to manage both homeland security and
combat missions abroad.

"I think \[the review is\] more timely than it would have been" a year
ago, Punaro said.

Among the stickier issues to be addressed by the panel likely will be
the Guard's dual role as a state militia and reserve combat force for
the federal government.

"It's a fascinating issue and I can tell you right now we have no
answers in the can," said panel member Rhett B. Dawson, a former staff
director for the Senate Armed Services Committee and White House
assistant in the Reagan administration.

Punaro estimated the assessment will cost under \$10 million, which he
described as standard.

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