To put this into perspective...
The Army's mechanized divisions are built on mechanized infantry and armored brigades. An armored brigade has three armored battalions. The mech infantry brigade has three mech infantry battalions.
A typical armored division will have two armored brigades and one mech infantry brigade. That means that the divison will consist of 6 armored battalions and 3 mech infantry battalions. The proportions are reversed in a mech infantry division.
Taking this claim at face value, Libertarian Billy Graham is claiming that there are enough National Guard tank battalions to equip either 50 armored divisions, 100 mech infantry divisions, or a "balanced force" of 67 armored divisons and 33 mech infantry divisions.
The active army consists of 10 divisions. One division is an airborne division (the 82nd), one division is an air assault division (the 101st), two divisions are light infantry (the 10th and 25th), one is a "heavy" leg infantry division (the 2nd), three are mech infantry (1st, 3rd, and 4th Mech Infantry Divisions) and 2 are armored divisions (the 1st Armored and the 1st Cavalry).
Somehow, I don't think Libertarian Billy Graham has his facts straight.
First of all, I quoted Doug Casey, who, in turn, cited a July 20th Reuters news report. The news report is cited here on another website.
Almost as amazing as the blind obedience to illegitimate authority that many are expressing in response to this story, is how you guys will spend hours dealing with irrelevant minutia connected to this story instead of the main issues.
You'll spend hours debating how many tanks Bush wants to use on you, but not a minute on what he's going to do to you with them.
You'll spend hours debating the incompetence of the Fred and Ethel Mertz security guards but not a minute even acknowledging the crimes of several layers of cops documented in this story.
Oh, by the way, in the July 20th Reuters story, the author actually wondered what Bush was going to do with tank battalions in America:
July 20, 2002WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A few days after President Bush's release of a homeland defense strategy calling for the domestic use of U.S. military forces, the U.S. activated 300-Army National Guard tank battalions as part of a homeland defense force
In a statement released Saturday, president Bush said, the Battalions are equipped with modern battle tanks, the M1A1 Abrams" and "will serve in the homeland defense role within the United States."
Bush, commander-in-chief of the Armed forces, did not say what role the tank battalions would serve in homeland defense.
In addition to the tank battalions, the supreme commander activated 500 Air force fighter-bomber squadrons to patrol the U.S. packing full ordnance looking for terrorists, also 1000 Special Forces units were activated and will be deployed around the country to start door to door searches for suspicious people "in support of the war on terrorism," Bush said.
Asked about the massive deployments of tanks and choppers, what role they would play in a domestic deployment, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Horton said: "That can't be discussed. It all will depend on the mission."
Though he said he could not provide specifics, Horton said the activation was linked to Bush's quest for use of U.S. military forces on the home front.
The deployment will only last a few years, Horton said.