By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. National Guard has been strained by multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and faces equipment shortfalls totaling tens of billions of dollars, the Guard's top general said on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said the Army National Guard needs $13.1 billion through 2013 to boost equipment levels and the Air National Guard needs $8.8 billion for equipment in that time.

That funding would give Guard units in each U.S. state 90 percent of the equipment they are authorized to have, he said, up from the current average of 50 percent. Historically, states have had about 70 percent of their authorized equipment and the current shortfall is due in part to war-zone deployments.

Blum dismissed arguments that the Guard should operate with less equipment because of agreements among states to share resources in times of crisis. Each U.S. state and territory has a Guard force with both federal and state responsibilities.

"There's no time to start moving from neighboring states and start drawing from consolidated sites, as some people have suggested," Blum told reporters in Washington.

"My problem is not with predictable events. My problem is how do we get the Guard ready for no-notice events that will happen, like an earthquake or a tornado or a terrorist event or a combination of all three."

"That's where I think we, by having an under-equipped National Guard, ... are assuming at least some significant risk in that area, more than I think is prudent," Blum said.

The U.S. president can call the Guard into action for federal missions, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while state governors can activate the Guard in response to emergencies, such as hurricanes or civil disturbances.

GUARD'S SHORTFALLS

Blum has repeatedly warned of the Guard's shortfalls.

His view that states need 90 percent of their Guards' authorized equipment runs counter to opinions of other military leaders who argue the United States cannot afford to fully equip each state and that governors must share resources.

Blum also said war deployments had strained the National Guard, but that the force had not reached breaking point.

"Are you asking me are we in a comfort zone? No, we're not. Are we stretched? Absolutely. Are we broken? No," he said.

Almost 1.6 million U.S. troops have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, including more than 240,000 from the National Guard.

Blum said the Guard accounted for 18 percent of the 167,500 troops now in Iraq, but the Defense Department put the figure at just 9 percent. The Guard accounts for 13 percent of the 26,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said.

Blum also said all U.S. troops involved in military activities in the Balkans, Sinai and Horn of Africa were from the Guard, but the Pentagon could not immediately confirm those statistics.

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