GOP Governors Jan Brewer, Rick Perry Unhappy With Obama's National Guard Levels at Mexican Border

(June 29) -- Two Republican governors are criticizing the number of National Guard troops President Barack Obama is sending to their states to help protect the border with Mexico.

Obama has pledged to dispatch 1,200 troops to the border. The plan calls for Arizona to get 524 troops, Texas 250, California 224 and New Mexico 72, according to reports. The remaining 130 would be at a national office.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said the number for her state and other information she received during a briefing Monday was "somewhat disappointing, to say the least," the Arizona Daily Star reported. The governor said she had been told a majority of the troops would be sent to Arizona.

Tennessee National Guardsmen stand guard near the Mexico border in Sasabe, Ariz., in March 2007.

John Partipilo, AP

Tennessee National Guardsmen monitor the Mexican border near Sasabe, Ariz., in March 2007. The governors of Texas and Arizona say they need more troops to help protect the border.

"What we heard wasn't anything what we hoped to hear," Brewer said.

In a statement, Republican Sen. John McCain agreed with his state's governor that the number of troops was too low.

"If the president had visited the Arizona-Mexico border, he would know that at least 6,000 National Guard troops are necessary to assist in securing the entire Southwest border," he said, according to the Daily Star.

Lt. Col. Robert Ditchey II confirmed that the full deployment of troops will be in Arizona for about only four months. There'll be a "steep ramp-up" next month, reaching the peak number of 524 by October, then "a gradual ramp-down to mission completion" by June 2011, he told the newspaper.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was said to have wanted 1,000 troops, was also unhappy, saying the deployment was "insufficient to meet the needs of securing the Texas-Mexico border," The Associated Press reported.