- Jul 25, 2002
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On the Cheap - Enough is Enough (USA TODAY)
The continuing diminishing abilities of our Military by being over-extended in endangering our National Security.
Rumsfeld wants to turn way too much over to Contract work, and their Sub-Contractors, and take the destiny
of our fighting forces out of their hands. Some of this 'On-the-Cheap' and contract work may work CONUS,
but an Army travels on it's stomach, and you are not going to get Contract Cooks in the battlefield to prepare
meals under the Rummy-Dummy plan, he wants them to be riflemen first. For example - of the approximatwe
138,000 troops in Iraq now, about 56,000 are in combat roles, while the rest are in Logistical positions.
When these troops rotate out in the next 60 - 90 days, they will be replaced by about 118,000 troops from our
stateside force - and 40% of those will be Guard/Reserves that are in a 6 month training now - and they will have
a year to go in Iraq when they arrive. Todays force in the Theatre only comprise about 20% G & R troops.
The undue stress and family hardship on those personell will likely lead to lower retention rates for both
active personel and Reservists as the 'Stop-Gap' prevents soldiers from beeing released at the end of their
enlistment - and retained beyond the time that they were supposed to be released from active duty.
If you take a 4 year enlistment and add the 6 years of reserve time to it you end up with a 10 year potential
commitment, during which at any time the reservists can be activated, which means that they must forfit
their present job and immediate future plans. Sadly a disproprotiate amount of KIA in this conflict has been
from the Guard & Reserves, and some of this may be due to inadequate training and preparations prior to
their being rushed in at the start of this conflict.
The units that return wil need to have at least a year to re-group, re-train, and most important - repair their
equipment that has been overstressed through over use. Bradleys need engine and tred replacements now
Helicoptors engines have eaten more sand than they were designed for, and given a year to fix them and repair
the equipment, look for them to be sent back there for a second deployment in February of 2005 to replace those
who are getting ready to go now - the cycle will never end, and a lot of soldiers will not be staying in under
those conditions, but will get caught up in the 'Reservist Activations' after they get out in the next year.
Yeah, we better boost our commitment to getting more personel into the service or there may be a need
to re-instate the draft, like it or not. You are not going to be able to pay Halliburton to hire mercenaries
to go in and do the ground fighting if there was to be a second or third Theatre of Operation in action.
You think that they could subcontract France to fight Korea if there was a need for it ?
The continuing diminishing abilities of our Military by being over-extended in endangering our National Security.
Rumsfeld wants to turn way too much over to Contract work, and their Sub-Contractors, and take the destiny
of our fighting forces out of their hands. Some of this 'On-the-Cheap' and contract work may work CONUS,
but an Army travels on it's stomach, and you are not going to get Contract Cooks in the battlefield to prepare
meals under the Rummy-Dummy plan, he wants them to be riflemen first. For example - of the approximatwe
138,000 troops in Iraq now, about 56,000 are in combat roles, while the rest are in Logistical positions.
When these troops rotate out in the next 60 - 90 days, they will be replaced by about 118,000 troops from our
stateside force - and 40% of those will be Guard/Reserves that are in a 6 month training now - and they will have
a year to go in Iraq when they arrive. Todays force in the Theatre only comprise about 20% G & R troops.
The undue stress and family hardship on those personell will likely lead to lower retention rates for both
active personel and Reservists as the 'Stop-Gap' prevents soldiers from beeing released at the end of their
enlistment - and retained beyond the time that they were supposed to be released from active duty.
If you take a 4 year enlistment and add the 6 years of reserve time to it you end up with a 10 year potential
commitment, during which at any time the reservists can be activated, which means that they must forfit
their present job and immediate future plans. Sadly a disproprotiate amount of KIA in this conflict has been
from the Guard & Reserves, and some of this may be due to inadequate training and preparations prior to
their being rushed in at the start of this conflict.
The units that return wil need to have at least a year to re-group, re-train, and most important - repair their
equipment that has been overstressed through over use. Bradleys need engine and tred replacements now
Helicoptors engines have eaten more sand than they were designed for, and given a year to fix them and repair
the equipment, look for them to be sent back there for a second deployment in February of 2005 to replace those
who are getting ready to go now - the cycle will never end, and a lot of soldiers will not be staying in under
those conditions, but will get caught up in the 'Reservist Activations' after they get out in the next year.
Yeah, we better boost our commitment to getting more personel into the service or there may be a need
to re-instate the draft, like it or not. You are not going to be able to pay Halliburton to hire mercenaries
to go in and do the ground fighting if there was to be a second or third Theatre of Operation in action.
You think that they could subcontract France to fight Korea if there was a need for it ?
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