Contra Costa Times (California) August 25, 2004
New chief seeks to add troops
By John Simerman; CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Maj. Gen. Thomas Eres needs a few thousand good men and women. At least that's what he wants.
Problem is, the new head of the California National Guard may have trouble keeping the ones he has now.
It's a key dilemma facing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's choice to lead a state National Guard force that has seen 7,200 citizen-soldiers activated for federal duty in less than three years, including seven who were killed in Iraq.
Eres, a 60-year-old career guardsman, took over in March to lead a force of more than 20,000. His mission is twofold: train citizen-soldiers for federal duty, and ready a force to handle natural disasters, civil unrest, terrorist strikes and the unexpected.
It's a tall order that calls for more and better-trained people, said Eres. He's now readying a pitch to defense officials, hoping to beef up the Army Guard from its current 15,700 soldiers to about 17,000 next month, 19,000 over the next year, and more later. The smaller Air Guard, now 4,600 strong, would also get bigger.
"California deserves an Army Guard structure in the 21,000 range, maybe as high as 22,000," he said. "The deal is, if I ask for it, I have to take on the responsibility of recruiting and retaining people. I'm signing up to go get it."
That, too, may be a tall order, even for Eres' 6-foot-5 frame. California has a spotty track record in recruiting for the National Guard. And Eres' plan may be hard to defend, said John Pike, a military analyst with Globalsecurity.org. Pike said it's easier to tap recruits leaving the active Army in states with a big Army presence.
"There's not a lot of it in California," said Pike. "That might be a problem."
Lt. Col. Mike Milford, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau, declined to comment on Eres' plan.
Nationally, the Guard is falling 13 percent short of its recruiting goals, said Milford. In California, Army Guard recruits have dropped 10 percent from last year.
One Guard advocate said California needs to improve benefits for soldiers. Several states offer medical, injury insurance and state tuition benefits that California doesn't.
"California does nothing to keep Guard members in and recruit other Guard members," said Jim Lubey, executive director of the National Guard Association of California.
Eres, who has held mostly administrative and legal posts in the Guard, comes from a law practice and is a former Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and YMCA president. He said he is "always looking for ways to expand the benefits for our troops," but declined specifics. He said Guard troops sign on for other reasons.
"It has to come from the gut," he said. "You look 'em in the eye and say, 'Are you prepared to serve your state and nation with this particular, unique kind of public service?'"'"
A promotion wouldn't hurt, said Sgt. Joe Martin of Dublin, home since April after being deployed for most of two years with Pittsburg's 870th Military Police Company. Martin, a Hayward police sergeant, doesn't plan to leave the Guard when his enlistment is up next November, as long as he gets into an officer warrant program.
"I don't plan to stay in as an enlisted man," he said.
Whether returning war veterans will leave the Guard in droves may soon be known. Those eligible to leave must stay in for 90 days after coming home. For many, that time is ending. Eres sees them in elevated roles.
"We see them as an incredibly valuable asset for us," said Eres. "We can't treat them as if they are people who have not been in combat."
Eres has never seen a combat zone himself. He joined the Guard as an infantryman in 1965, during the Vietnam War draft.
"I joined the Guard so I could control my own life, so I would not be subject to the draft, however the chips would fall," said Eres, who doesn't think a lack of combat experience will lower his standing with returning veterans.
"At the end of the day, it's treating them honestly and fairly and doing what is necessary to sustain them," he said.
Eres commanded the state Army National Guard from 1999 to 2002, and served as the Army Guard's homeland security director. Under Maj. Gen. Paul Monroe, his predecessor, the Guard has faced sharp criticism for training and equipment gaffes.
An internal Guard report in 2002, for example, found that 29 of 60 Guard soldiers on Bay Area bridges were not qualified with their M-16s.
Eres said training has improved and evolved. The first units headed to Iraq spent hours donning gas masks and body suits to prepare for a chemical or biological hit.
"Now it's, what do we do if you follow a vehicle hit by a (roadside bomb), how do you extract the wounded," he said. "It's all from lessons learned."
Lubey said it's too early to judge Eres' performance, though he expected more of a shake-up, given Schwarzenegger's clarion call for reform in Sacramento.
"He's taking a while to look around," said Lubey. "He's got an uphill fight."
© Copyright 2004, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA)
