Troop Readiness

An article in today's Washington Post about troop readiness prompted me to write a blog entry about where the United States military is today, 6 1/2 years after the start of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan and 5 years after the start of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM in Iraq.

The sad truth is that the Army and USMC are stretched dangerously thin, and the stress of repeated deployments to Iraq are straining servicemembers and their families to the brink. Ann Scott Tyson's article "Heavy Troop Deployments are Called Major Risk" highlights what active duty Officers and Enlisted personnel have been saying for years. GEN Richard Cody, the Army Vice Chief of Staff, testified yesterday before the Senate Armed Service's Committee Readiness panel and said,

"..the heavy deployments are inflicting "incredible stress" on soldiers and families and that they pose "a significant risk" to the nation's all-volunteer military. "

"When the five-brigade surge went in . . . that took all the stroke out of the shock absorbers for the United States Army," Cody testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee's readiness panel.

He said that even if five brigades are pulled out of Iraq by July, as planned, it would take some time before the Army could return to 12-month tours for soldiers. Petraeus is expected to call for a pause in further troop reductions to assess their impact on security in Iraq.

"I've never seen our lack of strategic depth be where it is today," said Cody, who has been the senior Army official in charge of operations and readiness for the past six years and plans to retire this summer.

The article continues,

"The testimony reflects the tension between the wartime priorities of U.S. commanders in Iraq such as Petraeus and the heads of military services responsible for the health and preparedness of the forces. Cody said that the Army no longer has fully ready combat brigades on standby should a threat or conflict occur.

The nation needs an airborne brigade, a heavy brigade and a Stryker brigade ready for "full-spectrum operations," Cody said, "and we don't have that today."

Soldiers and Marines also lack training for major combat operations using their entire range of weapons, the generals said. For example, artillerymen are not practicing firing heavy guns but are instead doing counterinsurgency work as military police.

Let's put that in perspective: if the United States is attacked again, or is needed in a conflict other than Iraq or Afghanistan, the United States Army no longer has standby combat forces forces to deal with that threat.

Read that again.

I've heard many times the traditional standby "We're a nation at War", usually from those not in uniform, to justify our the status of the uniformed military, and I always make this argument: the military is at war, the rest of the nation is living life as normal. There has been no request for sacrifice for 99% of the population, no national call for enlisting, nothing save for spending a few bucks at the mall to help the economy out.

I believe the time has come for this country to re-institute the draft. The military is not able to defend this country from enemies foreign and domestic, as is their duty. The military is stretched to a breaking point, and it's about time for this country to step up and lend a hand. Bland plattitudes like "God Bless the Troops" and "We support our military" no longer cut it. Everyone between the ages of 18-42 should be prepared to serve their country - and yes, that includes me. Deferments would be issued for the following people: single parents and those with significant physical and/or mental disabilities. Everyone else is eligible and should be prepared to serve.

The time has come to ask ourselves: will we be a nation at war, making sacrifices to defeat our enemies? Or will we continue to be a military at war, relying again and again on the same group of people to win this war while 99% of America pays no price?

Update: Phil Carter of Intel Dump has an article on fixing the military at Slate.com that is well worth reading.

Update II: GEN Cody's prepared text.