“These soldiers have received equipment and training that some regular Army units haven't received, and I think it just shows that the National Guard is no longer a strategic reserve -- it's an operational force”

This statement is a lie. Most of us are missing the basic equipment that we should have from the beginning, including but not limited to body armor, Rucksacks. We are not combat ready. We just received training on our "new" weapon systems (aka the Strykers) and are no were near capable of surviving. We can;t even keep our strykers from breaking down in training, whats going to happen in a real life combat environment? I', literally afraid for my life.