40% of US Army will not be Combat Ready in Coming Year

[tnitsuj]

from Washingtonpost.com


I think it is time to at least seriously study whether or not the active duty Army and perhaps the Marines need to be expanded if we are still going to maintain the two major conflict doctrine...or is it 1 war and 1 major incident doctirne now? I am not certain.


and of course it has political implications as well.

"This dip in readiness could have political consequences for President Bush, who sharply criticized the Clinton administration during the 2000 campaign for allowing two Army divisions to fall to the lowest readiness category in 1999 because of peacekeeping obligations in the Balkans. "

 

[Moonbeam]

Good, that means 40% of the Army won't be taking casualties in the Moron War in Iraq.

 

[EagleKeeper]

This is not a permanent situtation.

... the four returning divisions will be rated either C-3 or C-4, the Army's two lowest readiness categories, for 120 to 180 days after they return as vehicles and helicopters are overhauled and troops are rested and retrained.

While the Army had been using 120 days as its standard for "resetting" divisions returning from overseas deployments, overhauling the divisions returning from Iraq could take as long as 180 days because of the extreme weather in Iraq and the unprecedented magnitude of the planned troop rotation.

... the forces would be available if they were needed. "The fact that you have personnel, for example, on leave, or in school, does not mean that they could not be reconstituted in units on rather short order,"

 

[EXman]

I think it is pretty easy to say Clinton was not a fan of a strong defense. Just look at the cuts during those years. Not to mention insiders said he loathed the uniformed guards within the Whitehouse and treated them poorly. 60 minutes about a month ago.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

The military is in rough shape b/c it's been abused during the Bush regime.

 

[burnedout]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
This is not a permanent situtation.

Far from it. But every Tom, Dick and Harry with some kind of agenda will make us all think it is.

If memory serves me correct, in 1979, all active duty divisions, with the exception of the 82nd ABN, were rated C4. The 82nd ABN had a C3 rating at that time. Also during that year, General Meyer made the then-chilling proclamation of "hollow army".

The four maneuver divisions + 3 combat brigades that constituted USAREUR were either C3 or C4 from 1965 until 1983. The fifth division in Germany, 24 ID, was disbanded in the late 60's partially because it was rated C4 for three consecutive years. Additionally, with the exception of the Pershing units, USAREUR itself typically reported C4 throughout the 60s and 70s.

It was absolutely amazing how much combat readiness improved when we finally got a president who actually gave a damn about the Army.

 

[preslove]

The military is in rough shape b/c it's been abused during the Bush regime.

From what I hear, Rumsfeld is the most hated sec. of defense since Mcnamara. Go figure, involving our armed forces in poorly legitimated prolonged conflicts with no exit strategy hurts the preparedness and morale of our military...

 

[BDawg]

So, how many companys would have to report, "Not ready sir" now?

 

[charrison]

This is similar to what happened after the first gulf war. Lots of maintnance was deferred until they got back home.