California legislature—2005–06 regular session
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 36
Introduced by Assembly Member Hancock
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Dymally, Goldberg, Laird, and Leno)
September 2, 2005
Assembly Joint Resolution No. 36—Relative to the California National Guard.

WHEREAS, In recent years California has endured its share of disasters, including earthquakes, floods, fires, storms, mudslides, tsunami warnings and terrorist threats;

WHEREAS, Thousands of California’s National Guard soldiers and much of their equipment have been deployed overseas;

WHEREAS, the costs of deployment to our state been high, as firefighters, police officers, nurses, mechanics, teachers, doctors, dentists, pilots and working people from all segments of our society have had to leave their jobs and their lives behind;

WHEREAS, A May 2004 study by Annabel R. Chang and Professor Michael Wadle of California State University ("California National Guard: Addressing Recruitment and Retention"), showed that long deployments overseas have had a detrimental impact on the ability of the California National Guard to sustain necessary recruitment and retention numbers.

WHEREAS, In the case of Hurricane Katrina, National Guard Bureau Chief Lt. Gen. Steven Blum said that the assignment of thousands of Guard troops from Mississippi and Louisiana to Iraq delayed those states' initial hurricane response;

WHEREAS, There is reason to believe that the deployment of National Guard members overseas may render the remaining National Guard force ill-equipped to carry out its primary state mission in the event of a catastrophic natural or manmade disaster;

Resolved, That the California State Legislature calls upon the Governor of California to ensure that the President and Congress take immediate steps to initiate the return of California National Guard troops to California and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.