Contra Costa Times (California) March 4, 2004
Governor names new Guard chief
By Thomas Peele
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday named a veteran military lawyer to command the California National Guard, replacing the often-criticized Maj. Gen. Paul Monroe of Berkeley.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Eres of Sacramento will succeed Monroe in the $167,740-a-year job pending state Senate confirmation and Department of Defense approval. It was unclear when the change in command will formally occur.
Eres, 59, is a former Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and YMCA president who has spent his 35-year Guard career mostly in administrative and legal posts. He commanded the state Army National Guard from 1999 to 2002 under Monroe.
"If this is the governor's man, then it's important to give him a chance,'' said former state Adjutant General Frank Schober. "I can't think the governor is ignorant of the Guard's problems. I hope the governor gives him a broom and lets him use it," said Schober, a frequent Monroe critic.
Eres, a partner in a Sacramento law firm that specializes in business and real estate, could not be reached Wednesday.
According to a statement the governor's office issued, Eres' most recent assignment was as director of the Guard's Office of Homeland Security and Defense. From 1996 to 1999, he was special assistant to the Army judge advocate general.
It may not prove important that Eres lacks experience as a troop commander, said John Pike, an analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based group Global Security.org, who has studied the National Guard.
"It is unusual for someone in the Army to (achieve general) and not have experience in one of the combat fields," Pike said. "If you look at the bits and pieces he's responsible for, they are commanded by people with command experience."
It is unclear how troops will view a commander without combat experience, Pike said.
"Unit morale is, in many ways, a perception of shared risks," he said. Troops in or headed to Iraq share a risk that Eres has not taken, according to biographical information the governor's office released.
With his businesses connections, Eres could provide a valuable service to Guard troops on active duty, Pike said. "He may be the best one to go to the local Chamber of Commerce and inspire (its members) to make sure soldiers have a job when they come back."
Monroe, an appointee of former Gov. Gray Davis, did not return telephone calls Wednesday.
The general often was criticized for personnel moves, including placing his son, a Guard captain, in a headquarters job after he was investigated for having an affair with an officer under his command. Both were married. Adultery is considered a felony under military law.
In April 2002, the Times reported that Guard troops protecting Bay Area bridges in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks had trucks that didn't run, weapons that often malfunctioned and that some on duty in crowded public areas had not met basic military qualifications with their rifles.
Monroe ordered immediate improvements, such as working vehicles, but repeatedly made public assurances that the troops were competent with their weapons.
An internal Guard report the Times later obtained reported that 29 of 60 soldiers on guard duty were not qualified with the M-16s.
© Copyright 2004, Contra Costa Times (California)
