Army stretched too thin, may reach breaking point

Two reports were were issued in the past few days. The first was commissioned by the Pentagon and the second was prepared by former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The Army is breaking down. It's fairly obvious. We're stretched WAY too thin. Incompetent leadership from the generals on up have dragged this war out for years. We're gonna be forced to either start a draft, or abandon Iraq. Either way it's gonna be bad. We destroyed that country, all because Emperor Bush had to make up lies so he could get Saddam.

Drew brown of The Mercury News writes:

A pair of reports by outside experts in the past two days warn that the Army has been stretched thin by repeated combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and could soon reach the breaking point.

The first, a report on the Iraq war that was commissioned by the Pentagon and made public Tuesday, said defense officials risk ``breaking the force'' if current troop levels are maintained in both countries without increasing the size of the Army or slowing the pace of deployments.

The second, issued Wednesday by Democrats on Capitol Hill, warned that unless the strain on the Army and Marine Corps is relieved soon, ``it will have highly corrosive and potentially long-term effects on the force.'' Over time, it argued, the services would be weakened and the country would be more vulnerable to potential enemies.

And, of course, Rummy counters...

`it's clear that those comments do not reflect the current situation. They are either out of date or just misdirected.''

Rumsfeld said he hadn't read either report. Recounting the quick initial victories in Afghanistan and Iraq, he said the Army wasn't broken, ``but enormously capable.''

``It is a force that has been deployed, functioned effectively and, as I say, battle-hardened,'' Rumsfeld said. He dismissed the Democrats' suggestion that Iraq and Afghanistan had left the United States with inadequate ground forces to counter potential enemies elsewhere.

It's not in the article, but he also tried to blame Clinton for the state of the Armed Forces. It's strange but I don't remember him killing thousands and crippling tens of thousands of our troops.

Battle-hardened? Yeah. How about War Torn? Tired, Ravaged, Used, Thrown Away?

There are 138,000 U.S. military personnel in Iraq and 19,000 in Afghanistan. Those numbers could drop in the coming year if security conditions improve. Almost all of the combat forces from the Army, National Guard and Marine Corps have served at least one tour in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and some units are on their second or third deployments.

Both reports warned that current troop levels and the pace of operations can't be sustained without risking significant recruiting and retention problems. They blamed the situation in part on the Bush administration for not sending enough troops to secure Iraq after the defeat of Saddam Hussein, allowing the country to descend into chaos. They also suggested that the future of the all-volunteer Army could be threatened unless the problems are addressed.

``Solving these problems will be costly, but unless they are fully addressed soon, our nation is at risk of not having a military sufficiently capable of responding to future threats,'' said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.

The Democrats' report, prepared by former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, called for increasing the size of the Army by 30,000 soldiers, reorganizing the National Guard and Army Reserve, filling equipment shortages caused by the wars and reorganizing the active-duty Army to fight terrorists and insurgencies and rebuild war-ravaged countries.

When they come home what will there be for them? The Veteran Crisis Report Put out by Vietnam veterans Against the War states:

In early January, President George W. Bush released his disappointing FY 2006 budget detailing that:

• Funding for veteran'’s medical programs would receive only less than half of one percent budget increase, far below the necessary 13 to 14 percent increase that Veteran'’s Administration noted that it would need just to keep up with the current level of services and accommodate growing enrollment numbers;

• Monthly co-pay for veterans'’ prescription drugs would increase from $7 to $15;

• Many veterans would be forced to pay a $250 enrollment fee, ensuring that some would be unable to access the VA healthcare system at all.

On March 17, House Republicans voted that the House Veterans'’ Affairs (VA) Committee must cut benefits or increase the fees veterans must pay. For fiscal year 2006, the VA Committee must identify $155 million in benefits cuts or increased fees; and $798 million over the next five years.

Now note that that the budget increase doesn't even support the existing Veterans. When the tens of thousands of wounded need care, who is going to pay for them? They'll be left without care. Something strange coming from the Bush Administration that claims to be "pro-military"

The entire article can be found here:
Army stretched too thin, may reach breaking point

Technorati tags: Army, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bush, Rumsfeld