You'd think the Guard would be sent over to augment active duty troops, but at least in the first Gulf War, it seemed to me they bore a disproportionate burden.

In 1998, there were some representives from the Pentagon who came to my base and had a meeting with a bunch of folks to ask what problems they saw. This was peacetime, mind you, and the only things going on were humanitarian missions. Still, everyone there agreed that people were being sent on missions too often and for too long, and that we were simply stretched way too thin. Many of the ones who spoke about their personal experiences said they wanted to be there while their kids grew up and would get out rather than put up with the long separations as 'business as usual'. I don't know if anything was planned to remedy the situation, and it sure doesn't look like anything was done. It was peacetime, and the military always shrinks during peacetime.