An attempt to disable state defense

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arizonaopa

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I was glancing through the local newspaper here in Arizona when an article about the military caught my eye. The Army is trying to remove all 192 Apache Attack helicopters from the AZ National Guard. The reason given by the Army is that the National Guard is not capable of operating these aircraft and performing the missions that would be assigned.
It is interesting that the Army would say this since the AZNG flew these birds in combat situations in Afghanistan without any mission failures. While the AZNG was in Afghanistan they received a number of kudos from top Army brass for their outstanding abilities with the aircraft.
I think that we are seeing a grab by the perfumed princes of the military in order to eliminate a threat to their power if the SHTF. The governor of AZ is conservative who has clashed with Obama on a number of issues. We have constitutional carry in this state. We have a sheriff who is not afraid to step forward and call out the current government for their anti-constitutional stands. We are people not afraid to step forward and defend our rights.
If the SHTF, there is no doubt that the AZNG would be called out by the governor to protect the people of AZ against illegal federal actions. This attempt by the Army to grab the helicopters would prevent the AZNG from providing needed air support to the NG in a move to resist illegal federal actions.
Watch and see if this is attempted with other NGs in the U.S. If it does, contact your congressional representatives and raise hell until they force the military to back down.
 
Just as there's equally no doubt that the AZNG can be federalized, and shipped off to Alaska long before SHTF. The right hand not knowing what the left is doing is far more likely and reasonable than an overarching conspiracy.

Edit to Add: Assuming the military will unilaterally support either "the people" or "the illegal feds" in these SHTF civil war conflicts is also not well thought out. If this sort of civil conflict came to pass, the military is just as likely to fracture with the rest of the country leaving some in support and some in opposition to both sides.
 
Let me offer you a different take. Maybe the brass is really saying that "the AZNG isn't capable of maintaining and using these assets GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING WE ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE".

Yes, the AZNG did a great job during the sandbox but keeping these planes operational is a high-dollar expense. With all brances of the service and most state national guard units being downsized these days, they cannot keep up with the expense of some of these weapons systems. Therefore, they have to pick and choose which units will keep them.

That's my take.
 
When politicians say they are reducing military spending this is what happens. If you oppose this all you can do is support like minded candidates and hope that others do the same.
 
Look at how much money those helicopters bring to the state. I think it is a combination of politics and budget realizations.
 
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