Krumrei to oversee National Guard
Updated: March 4, 2013
SPRINGFIELD -- It was a day of celebration, but the new leader has a lot of work ahead of him. He's taking over command, the same day as our country faces $85 billion in automatic spending cuts.
Our National Guard is going to feel a lot of that pain. More than 3,000 full-time soldiers will be forced to take furlough days. Those are set to start next month.
That means figuring out how to make the guard more efficient on a shoestring budget. But Gen. Daniel Krumrei says he's up for the job.
"My task in these fiscally-constrained times is, we'll still be able to have a responsible force that can address all of our domestic issues, our domestic disasters as well as the national needs, take care of our soldiers that are coming home, all in a constrained fiscal environment."
The reason there's a new head of the National Guard is because the last one, Bill Enyart is now a U.S. Congressman. The congressman says passing on the torch was bittersweet. He held the post for the last 10 years.
Even though Enyart is retired from the National Guard now, he still has a big say in those cuts. Congress couldn't agree on a budget by Friday. That's why there will now be across-the-board cuts known as the sequester.
Not only will it hurt military spending, but also things like education and public aid. The congressman says he's not sure when they'll be able to reach a budget deal, but he hopes it's as soon as possible.
Our National Guard is going to feel a lot of that pain. More than 3,000 full-time soldiers will be forced to take furlough days. Those are set to start next month.
That means figuring out how to make the guard more efficient on a shoestring budget. But Gen. Daniel Krumrei says he's up for the job.
"My task in these fiscally-constrained times is, we'll still be able to have a responsible force that can address all of our domestic issues, our domestic disasters as well as the national needs, take care of our soldiers that are coming home, all in a constrained fiscal environment."
The reason there's a new head of the National Guard is because the last one, Bill Enyart is now a U.S. Congressman. The congressman says passing on the torch was bittersweet. He held the post for the last 10 years.
Even though Enyart is retired from the National Guard now, he still has a big say in those cuts. Congress couldn't agree on a budget by Friday. That's why there will now be across-the-board cuts known as the sequester.
Not only will it hurt military spending, but also things like education and public aid. The congressman says he's not sure when they'll be able to reach a budget deal, but he hopes it's as soon as possible.
