Posted on 03/16/2008 6:58:16 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Five years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the US military is flagging under long and repeated deployments that have taken a toll on troops and hurt its readiness to deal with other crises.
"People are tired," is the way Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, summed it up at a congressional hearing last month.
The third longest war in US history -- after the Revolutionary War and Vietnam -- has forged a battle-hardened ground force with bitterly won experience in counter-insurgency warfare.
But military leaders and experts say it also has left the US Army in particular, but also the marines, with major equipment shortfalls, inadequate training in conventional warfare, and not enough troops.
Shot through it all is the human fallout from combat and the stress of repeated deployments: record suicide rates, rising divorces and mental health problems, according to army health reports.
Some troops are in their third and fourth combat deployments.
"What it means is that the army coming out of Iraq will be a shadow of its former self," said Lawrence Korb, a former Pentagon official and senior analyst at the Center for American Progress.
Korb said it will take at least a decade for the army to recover, assuming that the United States continues to draw down its "surge" force in Iraq, which currently number 162,000.
Estimates of the cost of resetting the army's forces and replacing or repairing war damaged equipment runs to 240 billion dollars, according to congressional leaders.
And Korb said the army could face personnel problems in coming years from having lowered quality standards to meet its recruiting goals.
"On the other hand we've got the most experienced military we've had in many a decade," said Bernard Rostker, a former undersecretary of defense for readiness in the Clinton administration.
"Soldiers who are back in Iraq three or four times, believe me they have learned. That stands us very well. So that on the readiness scale would have to be very high," he said.
Rostker said the all-volunteer force has been surprisingly resilient.
Many had thought it would break after the second or third rotation in Iraq, he said. "But that wasn't the case."
"All in all, Yes, the army is tired; yes, the army has comported itself extremely well," he said.
"Nobody expected a volunteer force to do what it has done. It has learned over time and I think you see that in the surge, and hopefully we'll be able to bring some troops home," he said.
Troop levels in Iraq are supposed to fall to 140,000 by July, offering hope of relief.
But the security situation in Iraq, while dramatically improved over last year, remains fragile and commanders are calling for a pause in the drawdown after July.
The question facing military leaders is how long the army can withstand the current pace of deployments.
"Our soldiers are deploying too frequently. We can't sustain that," General George Casey, the army's chief of staff told Congress recently. "It's impacting on their families, it's impacting on their mental health. We just can't keep going at the rate that we're going."
Casey's immediate goal is to reduce tour lengths from 15 months to 12 to ease the strain on the force, which he expects to be able to do in July when the "surge" troops are out of Iraq.
Eventually, as the army expands in size or if more troops come out of Iraq, the army hopes to increase the time soldiers have at home between deployments from 12 months to 15.
But, as Army Secretary Pete Geren warned recently, "We are consuming readiness as fast as we build it."
The almost exclusive focus on counter-insurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, coupled with the short turnaround between deployments, has meant that most military units have no time to train for conventional warfare.
Mullen told Congress last month there is "significant risk" in the US military's readiness to respond to a crisis elsewhere in the world.
Concerns about the situation appear to be widespread within the military as well, even though morale remains high.
A recent survey of 3,437 current and retired officers of the rank of major or above found that 60 percent believe the US military is weaker today than it was five years ago.
Eighty-eight percent thought the war has stretched it "dangerously thin", according to the survey by the Center for a New American Security and Foreign Policy magazine.
It's not really a new campaign I guess,, more so just a revival of the same old drumbeats of the anti-war crowd, amplified by the media to suit their agenda.
Thank goodness-some news from Iraq. I thought the Drive-By Media had forgotten all about it.
Not surprising given that the evil Republican candidate for president was there today. Expect election year intensification of this story.
The spirit of the fighting men and women of the US military has always risen to the occasion and will again when the time comes.
Our military has no equal.....but they need to be allowed to win and end this conflict. It the terrorists are still around, level the towns and force them into areas where they can either be caught or killed. End this thing.
The US involvement in Iraq cannot begin to compare in intensity with Vietnam, Korea or any earlier significant US conflict.
I’ve met some of the finest troops this tour of duty - you are right-on about their dedication!
http://www.jenerette.com/paratrooper/
The drive by media are a bunch of traitors and AFP is the worst.
I have to admire the chutzpah of these people. The drive by media refuses to report on Iraq, because there is good news, and then complains about the alleged morale problems due to non reporting and non appreciation.
I’m pretty sure that the MSM slant on the conflict hurts morale just a little bit.
I know what you are trying to say, but tell that to the US Marines who fought in Fallujah.
“Shot through it all is the human fallout from combat and the stress of repeated deployments: record suicide rates, rising divorces and mental health problems, according to army health reports.”
FWIW, this isn’t “leftwing propoganda” but very real. Those who fight for our country pay a very high price for their service. To deny that it takes place is inappropriate however politically convient it may be.
This is hugh, we seriesly domed!
Let’s quickly surrender, pull back and have or dipsicklomates negotiate ethernal peace with scumbags.
Thanks for sharing the link to your blog - the pictures are great, and your children are just darling. Many thanks for your service. We pray for the safety of our troops and for the success of their mission.
God bless ya, Mom! :-)
All 3 of my brothers were Army, one an MP, one in Motor Transport and the 3rd (now deceased) was a 101st Screaming Eagle and had well over a hundred jumps.
This is just counter insurgency war.......nothing compared to Wars of 20th century....this is causing for Miltary to fall apart? Equiment and manpower are all gone?
I don’t buy this BS.
It sounds true to me
Our military is too small and we haven’t the $$$$ for a larger one
The future ain’t rosy
Army First Sergeant Noah Edney's enthusiastic point of view on our efforts in Iraq reported by not so enthusiastic Scott Logan.
Boise, Idaho TV 2 News.
Naturally they have to go on with a prosaic "some say" in their next line.
"Some say the troop build up is already draining American military resources with moderate results."
Now they have set up the brave soldier who they will go on to interview as somehow having a questionable opinion or even a minority view. They have set the negative tone before the young man even gets to speak. So, finally after TV 2's negativity, the young man gets his shot.
"The surge from my standpoint is wildly successful," Edney told CBS 2 Eyewitness in an interview via satellite from Baghdad. "I can't speak to the grand strategy, I'm only talking about the view of a soldier on the ground. I'm just a grunt, so to speak."
And what does News 2 follow that with? More negativity, of course.
"But grunts like Edney, who has seen his share of combat, are the backbone of the American military effort in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 400,000 of them have seen multiple tours of duty..."Edney is on his second tour of Iraq and we asked if he wasn't just plain tired of it all."
One can just feel the skepticism and sourness with which News 2 approaches this fine young soldier
I'd say that is close to the truth. Most Americans have no idea of what our guys are doing over there other than being victimized by IEDs.
Thanks for that piece.
“...troops feel like no one but their comrades and families are aware of their efforts...”
I know, I care, I appreciate them, and I support them in their noble endeavors. I
I also know we will never be able to thank them enough for their many sacrifices but I think all they will want is acknowledgment, gratitude, and a little help if they need it.
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