Ohio Governor Not Satisfied With Presidential...

In April of 2007, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland sent a letter to President Bush. He asked the President for guarantees that the Ohio National Guard personnel who were expected to be deployed to Iraq in upcoming troop rotations would be properly trained and equipped. Apparently Governor Strickland sent a second letter seeking these same assurances around the end of May.

The governor's office reports receiving two written replies; one from Donna Warren, chief for congressional inquiries at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, VA; and a second letter from Maggie Grant, a deputy assistant to President Bush.

Warren's letter assured Governor Strickland that ".., Guard units deploying to combat theaters are outfitted with every item of equipment provided by the Active component and they are trained to the same standards as active duty units..."

Grant's letter expressed confidence in the Guard's training and equipment.

According to the article I read, Strickland also received a call from Acting Secretary of the Army, Pete Gerant, who called on behalf of the president to discuss the governor's concerns.

Keith Daily, a spokesman for the governor's office, stated that Strickland feels these responses do not directly answer his questions, and lack the personal presidential touch that Ohio's Governor was seeking.

As a voting, Ohio veteran, I applaud the governor's doggedness in looking out for our troops. I hope other state governors are doing the same.

Resource - Cincinnati Post - 'Administration, Strickland spar'

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AE/20070710/NEWS01/707100352/

12 July 2007 - Bill's Spirit

Bill's Spirit is an Artist, Writer, Poet, Philosopher currently wordsmithing from a humble forge in small town Ohio.

The works of the man behind Bill's Spirit have been published in small alternative and amateur presses since 1986. Before that, they just filled notebooks, took up space on walls and gathered dust in piles and boxes.