by

“A ‘Broken’ Force”

Another leaked memo:

The U.S. Army Reserve, tapped heavily to provide soldiers for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is “degenerating into a ‘broken’ force” due to dysfunctional military policies, the Army Reserve’s chief said in a memo made public Wednesday.
“I do not wish to sound alarmist. I do wish to send a clear, distinctive signal of deepening concern,” Lt. Gen. James Helmly said in a Dec. 20 memo to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker.
. . .
“While ability to meet the current demands associated with OIF (Operational Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan) is of great importance, the Army Reserve is additionally in grave danger of being unable to meet other operational requirements including those in named OPLANS (operational plans) and CONUS (continental United States) emergencies, and is rapidly degenerating into a ‘broken’ force,” Helmly wrote.

Hmmm. Sounds awful similar to the “our military is being stretched too thin” argument that a certain presidential candidate was making three months ago.
Thought exercise: if America’s social security issues are a “crisis,” and malpractice lawsuits are a “crisis,” does this not constitute a “crisis” in our military?

  1. Breaking Our Backs

    Tom Bowman of The Baltimore Sun on In a memo to Army brass, its leader says overseas demands, dysfunctional policies pose a ‘grave danger’:
    Lt. Gen. James R. “Ron” Helmly, the chief of the Army Reserve, in a blunt and detailed memo, cited the de…

Comments are closed.