Note to aWol: We don't need you to bring a dog-and-pony show to Kansas...We need our Guard equipment home...

First, Louisiana could not mount an adequate response because all of the Louisiana National Guard’s deep-water vehicles were in Iraq when Katrina hit.

Now the Kansas National Guard has plenty of manpower – only a little over 10% of the Kansas Guard is deployed. But over 50% of their equipment is in Iraq. The front loaders and dump trucks and the like.

All Things Considered, May 7, 2007 · Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius says that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have drained equipment from her state's National Guard. She expects that to hamper recovery from the devastating tornado that struck the town of Greensburg Friday. At least 10 people died.

Residents are returning to the town, where many buildings have been reduced to rubble. The tornado's winds reached speeds of more than 200 miles.

She tells Robert Siegel that 50 percent of the Guard's heavy equipment, such as dump trucks and backhoes, is not in Kansas. She also says there is little equipment to borrow from surrounding states since their equipment also has been deployed elsewhere.

Despite the equipment shortage and the extent of the destruction in the town of Greensburg, Sebelius says she expects residents to rebuild.

Rescue crews continue to look for survivors.

The National Guard is supposed to be there for us, to protect the homeland when disaster strikes. But they need their damned equipment. They can’t respond to a disaster with their bare hands!

Enough already – bring the troops – and their equipment – home. Now.