Hollowing Out The Military

Are you more secure now than you were five years ago? Well, over the weekend the New York Times provided us with the answer that your 16 intelligence agencies came up with. The answer is, "no" in cas you have to ask. But that's just the terrorism threat. Here is an interesting statistic: One has as much chance of being shot by an American police officer or being struck by lightning, as one does of being killed in a terrorist attack. See cute graphic below.


But surely the GOP, the only party trusworthy of maintaining our military, is taking care of our business with the U.S. Armed forces right? Wrong. The Army is worn out, tapped out, runnin' on fumes. The 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) is "part of the XVIII Airborne Corps, one of the nation's premier units for dealing with contingencies." It is currently facing it's third rotation through Iraq. But it is just barely at strength and most of those troops are green, just out of basic. The Division has left most of its equipment in Iraq and only has two of its four brigades equipped for deployment anywhere but Iraq, say Korea. Which is a bit of a drag since the 3rd ID is the go-to mechanized unit for reinforcing Korea or anywhere else where an attack ocurrs.

Col. Tom James, who commands the division’s Second Brigade, acknowledged that his unit’s equipment levels had fallen so low that it now had no tanks or other armored vehicles to use in training and that his soldiers were rated as largely untrained in attack and defense.

The rest of the division, which helped lead the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and conducted the first probes into Baghdad, is moving back to full strength after many months of being a shell of its former self.

...

Other than the 17 brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan, only two or three combat brigades in the entire Army — perhaps 7,000 to 10,000 troops — are fully trained and sufficiently equipped to respond quickly to crises, said a senior Army general.

Most other units of the active-duty Army, which is growing to 42 brigades, are resting or being refitted at their home bases. But even that cycle, which is supposed to take two years, is being compressed to a year or less because of the need to prepare units quickly to return to Iraq.

After coming from Iraq in 2003, the Third Infantry Division was sent back in 2005. Then, within weeks of returning home last January, it was told by the Army that one of its four brigades had to be ready to go back again, this time in only 11 months. The three other brigades would have to be ready by mid-2007, Army planners said.

Yet almost all of the division’s equipment had been left in Iraq for their replacements, and thousands of its soldiers left the Army or were reassigned shortly after coming home, leaving the division largely hollow. Most senior officers were replaced in June.

Congressment Dave Obey and John Murtha have put together their own readiness report since the Pentagon won't put one out. (PDF download)

Army military readiness rates have declined to levels not seen since the end of the Vietnam War. Roughly one-half of all Army units (deployed and non-deployed, active and reserves) received the lowest readiness rating any fully formed unit can receive. Prior to 9/11, only about 20 percent of the Army received this lowest rating – a fact driven almost exclusively by shortfalls in the reserves...

Of the 16 active-duty, non-deployed combat brigades in the United States managed by the Army’s Forces Command, the vast majority of them are rated at the lowest readiness ratings. These ratings are caused by severe equipment shortages.

Of particular concern is the readiness rates of the units scheduled to deploy later this year, particularly the 1st Cavalry Division. This division and its 4 brigades will deploy to Iraq in October at the lowest level of readiness because of equipment shortfalls. To meet its needs, this unit – like virtually all other units that have recently deployed or will soon deploy to Iraq – must fall-in on equipment in theater. Operating unfamiliar, battle weary equipment increases the potential for casualties and accidents...

Funding shortfalls have created backlogs at all of the Army’s key depot maintenance facilities. At Anniston Army Depot in Alabama, some 600 M1 tanks sit in disuse. At Red River Army Depot in Texas, 700 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and over 450 trucks have not been serviced. Roughly 2,600 Humvees are sitting idle at various Army depots. Tens of thousands of small arms, communications sets, and other key items have been similarly backlogged.

That's not just partisan rhetoric. Army memos have been making the rounds for months saying the same thing and using the word Vietnam with alarming frequency.

All that is going to add up. Thousands of vehicles to be repaired or replaced. Thousands of soldiers to be trained up. Billions of dollars in consumable inventory to be built back up. So, it is hardly any wonder that the DoD is asking for a 41% increase in its budget in FY 2008.

Again, its not that I have a problem with the policies per se. I never expected to agree with this administration. It's the incompetence I can't stand. I really need to stop this now. I'm going to go find some interesting local issues to write about later in the week.