-Caveat Lector-
Guard Units to Combat Y2K Problems
By Eun-Kyung Kim
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, February 17, 1999; 2:13 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- National Guard units around the
country are
being trained to deal with phone-system outages and
other chaos that
could result from computer crashes when the year 2000
begins.
In Washington state, half of the guard's ground troops
will be on duty
Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Other states plan to have units on
standby in case of
blackouts, looting or other problems that might occur
if computers shut
down because they can't comprehend the date 2000.
``The business we're in is to help communities when
they're overwhelmed
by an event, a blizzard, riot or other natural or
manmade disasters,'' said
Lt. Col. Tim Donovan, spokesman for the National Guard
in Wisconsin.
``We have the resources. And many of the consequences
being
speculated about Y2K are not unlike the things we've
been doing for
years.''
The potential problem stems from how computers deal
with the date.
Since most computers only recognize the last two
digits of a date, such as
the 99 in 1999, some of them are likely to interpret
00 as 1900.
Most government officials expect only minor problems
from the so-called
Y2K bug and say training the National Guard is merely
a precaution. But
some people are hoarding canned goods and planning to
withdraw their
money from banks in case deliveries can't be made and
bank machines
can't operate.
Others are predicting shutdowns of airports, train
stations and power
generators.
Just in case, the adjutant general in Washington state
rescheduled a drill so
that 3,000 guardsmen would be on duty on New Year's
Eve and Jan. 1.
The decision to call out the Guard in each states
rests with the governor. If
troops are mobilized, they likely would be called to
aid civilian
law-enforcement, transportation agencies and emergency
medical crews.
In New Mexico, officials plan to keep all 28 state
armories open on New
Year's Eve, said Guard spokesman Tom Koch. In Rhode
Island, the
Guard's adjutant general chairs regular meetings with
state agency
representatives to discuss contingency plans.
``The general has asked all department heads, all
heads of local
emergency management agencies to go back and examine
their plans
based on a worst-case scenario estimate and come back
with any kind of
situation that they might not be able to handle,''
said 1st Lt. Gloria
Haggarty, a Guard spokeswoman. ``Based on that
information, we're
going to develop additional plans.''
Maintaining communication will be vital if problems do
occur, said Lt. Col.
Tom Schultz, a National Guard Bureau spokesman. In
May, the National
Guard will conduct the first national communications
drill to simulate the
loss of telephone service and to test its
high-frequency radio system.
Capt. Neal O'Brien, a spokesman for the Ohio Guard,
said states are
used to handling dire emergencies. In the last five
years alone, guardsmen
were called on to deal with floods, blizzards and a
prison riot.
``The difference between Y2K and all those were that
we have a year's
notice on this one,'' O'Brien said. ``It gives us the
opportunity to plan in
advance, and that is an opportunity that we typically
don't have for an
emergency.''
Wisconsin's Legislature has come under fire recently
for a proposal to
have the National Guard respond if there is a computer
crisis. State Rep.
Marlin Schneider said the measures make a simple word
change that
would authorize the governor to mobilize troops for a
Y2K-caused
problem.
``We're not expecting civil disorder or anything,'' he
said. ``It is just so he
can activate them in advance so they'll be prepared.
They're getting ready
now anyway.''
The Guard's Donovan agreed.
``When a tornado rips into a Wisconsin community, we
never see it
coming three years out,'' he said. ``But we're taking
advantage of this
storm warming, if you will, and making sure that we're
going to be able to
respond effectively.
``If we're even asked to.''
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
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