One quarter of Wisconsin National Guard units don't meet Army standards, reports show

Keegan Kyle | Appleton Post-Crescent

MADISON - About one in every four units of the Wisconsin National Guard is failing to meet Army standards for mission readiness, a sharp drop from historical levels, according to an analysis of state records.

Since 2000, Wisconsin National Guard units have rarely fallen short of Army goals for training, equipment and staffing — signaling they were capable of answering calls to combat or domestic crises.

But in recent years, under a new numbers-driven system of evaluating readiness, the state's 7,100 soldiers have appeared less prepared. Last year, one in every five units failed to meet the Army's standards. Then the track record worsened this year.

It's unclear what caused the decline. A spokesman for the Wisconsin Army National Guard said a military-wide shift in strategy, fewer personnel and the Army's new system of evaluating readiness might be factors.

Others, including Republican U.S. Reps. Paul Ryan and Mike Gallagher, called the decline a sign of trouble that underscored a need to boost military spending.

"For too long, readiness has suffered under the weight of inadequate defense budgets," said Gallagher, an Iraq War veteran from Green Bay and member of the House's armed services committee. "While we have taken important steps in recent years to begin digging ourselves out from a readiness crisis that has tragically claimed the lives of far too many service members, much work is left to be done."

Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong linked the decline to defense budgets under President Obama and said Congress must "continue to invest in our national security in the years ahead as we work to reverse this damage."

Aides to U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democratic member of the Senate's powerful budget committee, echoed the National Guard spokesman's comments while an aide for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the Republican has "full confidence in the Wisconsin National Guard."

"Our staff remains in contact with Wisconsin’s National Guard leadership, and will do what is necessary to ensure they have the resources necessary to carry out its state and federal mission," Johnson spokesman Ben Voelkel said.

Despite the decline in readiness grades, Wisconsin Army National Guard spokesman Capt. Joe Trovato said the state's soldiers have maintained a "very rigorous operations tempo" and can get their jobs done.

"We're at a point where we certainly can meet all of the missions that are required of us," Trovato said. "Certainly we're striving to always achieve 100 percent readiness, but we are currently not having any issues meeting the demands placed on us."

The Wisconsin Army National Guard includes a headquarters staff in Madison and four major commands located throughout 67 communities, according to military websites. Trovato didn't respond to requests to identify which units have fallen short of Army standards and why.

Recent missions

The Wisconsin Army National Guard mobilized more than 2,000 troops last year to assist with hurricane recovery in Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This past summer, hundreds of Guard members responded to flooding across southern Wisconsin, and at least two dozen assisted with border security in Arizona.

This month, Gov. Scott Walker authorized the National Guard to help with election cybersecurity amid concerns with election interference. Elections Commission spokesman Reid Magney said the National Guard helped monitor online activity but no units were deployed in response to an actual incident.

Wisconsin lawmakers have long tracked the National Guard's readiness grades as part of two-year state budget reviews. But most funding for readiness training comes from federal pots of money, not the state, Trovato said.

"Certainly we think we could always use additional funding for Wisconsin National Guard training resources, but again, it's hard to speculate and say that we need that or don't," he said. "Those are issues that are decided at higher levels than here in Wisconsin."

Army and National Guard officials in Washington, D.C. didn't respond to written questions last week about Wisconsin's readiness grades. USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin sought more clarity on federal funding for training in Wisconsin, the cause of worsening grades and the readiness of units in other states.

Aides to governor-elect Tony Evers also didn't respond to requests for comment last week. When Evers is sworn into office in January, he will become the National Guard's commander in chief under Wisconsin's constitution and control authorizing the Guard for state emergencies.

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Competing with Russia

Wisconsin's Air National Guard, a force about one-third the size of the state's Army National Guard, hasn't logged a dip in its readiness grades, according to state records. All of its units met minimum standards last year and this year.

Trovato said the Army National Guard expected to see a decline in readiness grades as the military pivoted in recent years to a defense strategy that required new training. The military moved from focusing on counter insurgency to "competing with near peer threats like Russia and China," he said.

"It does take some time when you take an organization as big as the military, or in our case the Wisconsin National Guard, and impose new standards," Trovato said.

Trovato wasn't sure what criteria was preventing a quarter of Wisconsin's units from meeting the Army's new numbers-driven readiness standards. But he said personnel is a key measure and the state is currently at 98 percent of its authorized strength, down from 102 percent two years ago.

About 400 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers are deploying to Afghanistan this winter. Trovato said units scheduled for a deployment receive special funding from the Army for readiness training and they receive more training in country before traveling overseas.

Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be reached at kkyle@gannett.com or 619-206-5293.

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