The Delaware Army National Guard is following in the footsteps of its Ohio counterpart and canceling training exercises due to a budget shortfall.
September training has been called off for the state’s soldiers to “make up for the sins of others,” Delaware’s top officer, Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, told the Delaware News Journal on Wednesday.
The paper reported that the National Guard Bureau, and as many as a dozen states, overspent accounts totaling $101 million. The Delaware Army National Guard will save the bureau $450,000 by forgoing the training exercise, though Delaware wasn’t one of the states that overspent.
“I’m very disturbed by it, because it affects the lives of my soldiers,” Maj. Vavala told the News Journal. “I’m extremely upset that this has taken place.”
On Aug. 29 the Ohio Army National Guard announced that it would delay training exercises due to budget cuts. Ohio Guard leader Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst said on social media that she hoped congressional action would create the circumstances necessary for September training to resume, the Associated Press reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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