Full Focus

U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Photos of the week

Our best photos from the past week.  See more 

Pictures

U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Fleet Week

The U.S. Navy takes Manhattan for a week.  Slideshow 

Photo

The SpaceX mission

A privately owned unmanned rocket blasts off on a mission to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station.  Slideshow 

Gates approves more National Guard to respond to oil slick

Related Topics

WASHINGTON | Tue May 4, 2010 11:29am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates has approved requests from the governors of three additional Gulf Coast states to fund the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops to respond to the oil slick, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

In addition to backing Louisiana's request for up to 6,000 Guard members, Colonel David Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said Gates has given "verbal approval" to requests from Mississippi for 6,000 guard members, Alabama for 3,000 and Florida for 2,500.

Of the 6,000 requested by Louisiana, about 1,200 members have been activated so far to provide command and control support to the cleanup effort. The other states have yet to go activate their forces.

The Pentagon must authorize the deployments but BP Plc, which has been struggling to stop oil gushing unchecked from a ruptured undersea well in the Gulf of Mexico, is responsible for reimbursing the federal government for cleanup-related costs.

(Reporting by Adam Entous; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
U.S.
Environment

Related Quotes and News

Company
Price
Related News
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (1)
wildthang wrote:
Seems like all they do is work on oil problems these days! I hope the fumes aren’t too bad and they get covered for it if they are. After all the CIA has done for BP over the years we would hope they cover the soldiers health problems unlike how we handled the 9/11 cleanup..

May 04, 2010 6:50pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »