A State Perspective on the Iraq War

Only about 1% of the U.S. population is bearing the true cost of the Iraq war and that is our nation's military men and women.  Most Americans don't know anyone serving our country in Iraq and haven't been asked to sacrifice anything.  So, I decided to look at things from a perspective that is a little closer to home. I gathered some numbers on what it is costing my home state of Florida.

Based on a March 28, 2007 report by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq entitled Iraq Escalation Leaves Floridians Vulnerable (.doc), the war has cost Florida taxpayers $20.7 Billion dollars. The escalation will cost us an additional $5.6 Billion.

That's not the true price of this war. 16,592 Florida National Guard and Reservist have served in the Iraq war. They are the ones making the real sacrifice.

According to data collected by the Iraq Coalition Causuality Count, who gets their numbers from the Department of Defense,  133 of the 3278 soldiers who died in Iraq called Florida home. They represent every corner of the state from Pensacola to Jacksonville to Miami to Tampa and everywhere in between.

When reporting the numbers of wounded, the DOD doesn't break down the figures by state, but if we assume the number of wounded is proportional to the number of deaths, then roughly 986 of the 24,314 reported wounded are from Florida.

Let's hope that none of our wounded soldiers are among the ones being dispatched back to Iraq as reported by Salon.com's Mark Benjamin. Wounded soldiers are reportedly being sent to Iraq in order to boost the numbers so that the military can appear to be at full strength. The House Armed Services Committee requested the Government Accountability Office to investigate the report.

In addition to concerns about military readiness to address situations abroad, there's also the issue of being able to respond to a crisis here at home.  That's the job of the Florida National Guard. However, according a report in the Sun-Sentinel:

A recent analysis by the Government Accountability Office found the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have depleted tools from the Florida National Guard, leaving it with 53 percent of the dual-use equipment it once had for responding to a storm or domestic disturbance.

Despite the shortages, Florida National Guard officials expressed confidence in their ability to respond to a state emergency. Although there's some question as to how they would address an equipment shortage since borrowing from Guard units in other states would be difficult due to similar shortages. Also, some National Guard officials expressed concerns about the ability to respond to an event on the scale of a Hurricane Katrina or National Homeland Security emergency.

Senator Bill Nelson had this to say:

"Problems from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the Florida National Guard further than ever before, leaving it without all the resources it should have for responding to a domestic crisis," Nelson said. "Hurricane season is coming fast and, we need to make sure the Guard has what it needs."

The Senator is currently looking into ways to cut through the red tape should the Governor of Florida need to use equipment from the Army Reserves to respond to a State of Emergency to offset equipment shortages among the Guard.

If our disaster preparedness suffers, will the citizens of Florida be dealt an additional price to pay?

What is it costing you in your state?