• The Kansas National Guard is left without the equipment it needs to respond to this weekend’s tornadoes.

Al Roker, The Today Show: And in trying to get things cleaned up, you said that because the National Guard equipment-wise is strapped because their equipment is in Iraq?

Governor Kathleen Sebelius (KS): Well, we have a fabulous National Guard. Fifty percent of our trucks are gone. Our front loaders are gone. We are missing humvees that move people. We can’t borrow them from other states because their equipment is gone. It’s a huge issue for states across the country to respond to disasters like this. (NBC The Today Show, 5/7/07)

• Governor Sebelius had warned the Kansas National Guard was missing too much equipment before this disaster. “Currently, about 16 percent of the Kansas National Guard’s equipment, valued at over $117 million, will not return to Kansas. With the potential for the amount of equipment left overseas to double, [Governor Kathleen] Sebelius is concerned about the impact this will have on the Guard’s primary mission back home.” (Kansas City InfoZine, 2/13/07)

• The Kansas National Guard Commander is worried about equipment shortages in Iraq. “Equipment for the Kansas National Guard is getting worn out according to the Guard Commander. Major General Tod Bunting says the equipment is not the only thing getting worn out – so are the troops. Bunting says the Guard’s equipment is not being replaced quickly enough and that about 800 soldiers will stay in Iraq for now…some of them in their fourth tour.” (AP, 4/10/07)