Posted on 01/05/2005 8:21:57 PM PST by Former Military Chick
WASHINGTON - The Army Reserve, a force of 200,000 part-time soldiers that provides key support in Iraq and Afghanistan with medics, engineers and truck drivers, "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force," its top general told senior Army leaders.
In a blunt memo, Lt. Gen. James R. "Ron" Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, noted the demands of overseas commitments and the unwillingness of Army and Pentagon officials to change "dysfunctional" policies that hamper the Reserve on issues such as training, extension of service and the mobilization of his soldiers.
The Dec. 20 memo, which was obtained by The Sun, says "current demands" in Iraq and Afghanistan put his command in "grave danger" of being unable to meet other potential Pentagon missions or help with domestic emergencies, and that the Army Reserve "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force."
"The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of the Army Reserve's inability ... to meet mission requirements" associated with Iraq and Afghanistan "and to reset and regenerate its forces for follow-on and future missions," Helmly wrote in the eight-page memo sent through channels to the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker.
"I do not wish to sound alarmist," Helmly wrote. "I do wish to send a clear, distinctive signal of deepening concern."
Interviewed yesterday at the Pentagon, Helmly said: "I stand by the memorandum. Is there frustration? Absolutely. Is the frustration beyond control? No."
The memo was designed as a frank exchange with Army leaders in advance of congressional hearings, Helmly said, adding that he plans to press ahead with reforms for the long-term health of the Reserve.
"Loyalty means I share with the chain of command my best professional judgment," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
In the Marines, we have four divisions. Three active, and one reserve. Each is more or less self contained, so you don't need to yank up reservists to fully support active duty field divisions. The army seems to have farmed out much of the support stuff to reservists, which creates an imbalance when you need the support stuff to go to war.
One of my old roommates who was an army officer complained about that, and predicted that it would one day cause problems for the Army if it needed reserves for an extended period.
To meet the demands of our nation and the needs of our Army and joint force team, we must change the way we man the Army Reserve, we must change the way we organize, train, and prepare the force, and to accomplish this change, the culture must change. This is a period of change from the old to the new. Forging a new paradigm is akin to the depth of change the Department of Defense endured when transitioning from a conscript force to an all-volunteer force. But we must forge this change while simultaneously continuing the fight in the current war. We are not afforded the luxury of hanging a sign outside the US Army Reserve Command headquarters that says, “Closed for Remodeling.” The culture must change from one that expects “one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer” to one that understands “I am, first of all, a Soldier, though not on daily active duty, before and after a call to active duty I am expected to live Army values; I am expected to prepare for mobilization as if I knew the day and the hour that it would come. I use my civilian skills and all that I am to perform my military duties. I understand that I must prepare to be called to active duty for various periods of time during my military career while simultaneously advancing my civilian career.”
-snip-
While changing industrial-age mobilization, personnel, training, and development policies is necessary, restructuring our force so that we can implement predictable and sustainable rotations based upon depth in capability is also necessary. We are committed to achieving a capability ratio that will manage Army Reserve deployments to once every four or five years. Predictable and sustainable utilization is a key factor in maintaining Soldier, family, and civilian employer support. One of the goals of transforming our force is to change policies that are harmful to Soldiers and families. Predictable rotation schedules will allow the Army Reserve to continue to be a long term source of skill-rich capabilities for small scale contingency conflicts and follow-on operations. Properly executed, predictable rotations will provide our units with operational experience; provide a sense of fulfillment for our Soldiers; impart a sense of order for our Soldiers, and even out the work load across the force. The recent changes to the Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom rotational schedules are an important step in establishing those rotational capabilities.
http://appropriations.senate.gov/hearmarkups/record.cfm?id=220209
Which has been my point...the general is pissed off that no one has been listening to him.
That's part of the problem. It used to be that the greatest recruiting tool the Guard and the Reserves had were soldiers coming off of active duty. Not any more.
In 2000, we had none of our troops deployed to Iraq or Afganistan and the Army had an authorized troop strength of 480,000 active duty troops. The Guard had an authorized strength of 350,000 and the Reserves had an authorized troop strenght of 205,000. Four years later we are in the middle of the war on terrorism. We have over 130,000 troops tied up in Afganistan and Iraq for the forseable future. And at the end of 2004 the authorized troop strength of the Army was still 480,000. The Guard still had an authorized strength of 350,000. And the reserves still had an authorized strength of 205,000. So I'll ask again, what has this administration done to reduce the demand on the troops or increase the numbers available?
"the Army Reserve has also stumbled, falling 315 recruits short of its goal"
The sky is falling!
Put it in perspective...10% under quota....that adds up eventually.
"But as this Iraqi deployment drags out over time, these troops can no longer be described as "reserve"."
I see, the reserves are supposed to always be held in reserve and are never to be used, as you understand it.
"The culture must change from one that expects “one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer” to one that understands “I am, first of all, a Soldier, though not on daily active duty, before and after a call to active duty I am expected to live Army values; I am expected to prepare for mobilization as if I knew the day and the hour that it would come. I use my civilian skills and all that I am to perform my military duties. I understand that I must prepare to be called to active duty for various periods of time during my military career while simultaneously advancing my civilian career.”"
No problem with this.
Max,
You seem to be implying that these guys who were doctors, lawyers, private business owners, etc should have known they could be deployed for an extended period of time, lose their house, their car, their business, their medicine or law practice.
Tell me, given that assertion, why should anyone under those circumstances sign up to be a reservist if it potentially means throwing your career away.
I think you mean to imply that it would be foolish for almost anyone to sign up to be a reservist under the current force structure, legal framework, and compensation package. Is it your intention to advocate the elimination of the reserves all together? Given your statements, that would be the only logical conclusion that anyone wanting to support a family, have a career, own a house, or maintain a business could reach, no?
Regards,
A former reservist who got out because I reached this conclusion: If the reserves will, in fact, be used as a defacto active duty force and yet treated drastically worse with regards to compensation and benefits, then I am making a poor decision to remain in them, regardless of my patriotism. I can support my country in other ways than being a reservist without having to sacrafice a family, a career, and a house.
You know, you have sure gotten your mileage from someone else's words about 'cowboying up'.
I'm sure that the same pilot instructor will tell you that aircrews have mandatory work/rest regimines and that aricraft have required maintenance schedules.
At some point aircrews or their commanders have to tell uppers when they are reaching their limits and that to go beyond those limits exposes the crews and aircraft to unneccesary risk and preventable mishaps. If those issues are addressed in a timely fashion the mission continues on successfully. If not, the mission will falter.
When that commander does this, he is doing his duty and looking out for the long term success of the organization and mission.
This is exactly what that general is doing, he is doing his duty by warning that the systems are reaching their limits.
This isn't a movie or tv show where Capt. Kirk can just push all limits aside and go full bore into the black hole.
This also isn't something that I expect gung ho wannabe-but-hafta-talk-my-daughter-into-doing-it-for-me types to understand.
"This is exactly what that general is doing, he is doing his duty by warning that the systems are reaching their limits."
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. In my opinion, this general is an attention grabbing jerk who leaked an internal memo to the press in order to garner publicity for himself.
I know you do not value my opinion. In fact, you do not think I even have a right to express my opinion, since I have never served in the military, but why do you ignore the post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1314993/posts?page=10#10
by Old Sarge who is an NCO with the Kentucky Guard and has served for 20 yrs, who states:
"I read this article, and I smell a retiring flag officer angling for either a sweet contractor deal, or a seat in Congress from a certain military-loathing political party."
Old Sarge and I are in complete agreement on this issue or at least I agree with everything Old Sarge has posted on this thread. Why don't you go and jabber at him, instead of worrying me like a hound dog with a dried pig's ear?
"This is exactly what that general is doing, he is doing his duty by warning that the systems are reaching their limits."
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. In my opinion, this general is an attention grabbing jerk who leaked an internal memo to the press in order to garner publicity for himself.
I know you do not value my opinion. In fact, you do not think I even have a right to express my opinion, since I have never served in the military, but why do you ignore the post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1314993/posts?page=10#10
by Old Sarge who is an NCO with the Kentucky Guard and has served for 20 yrs, who states:
"I read this article, and I smell a retiring flag officer angling for either a sweet contractor deal, or a seat in Congress from a certain military-loathing political party."
Old Sarge and I are in complete agreement on this issue or at least I agree with everything Old Sarge has posted on this thread. Why don't you go and jabber at him, instead of worrying me like a hound dog with a dried pig's ear?
You pretty much stated it. I can respectfully disagree with OldSarge.
Funny how you cling to the two people with whom you agree and shed the many, many who don't.
And I never said you couldn't have opinions. These guys here are helping to protect your right to express those opinons. I've simply stated that your opinions are ignorant. It is your arrogance in the face of your ignorance that makes people want to tell you to STFU.
And as Forrest Gump said, 'And that's all I have to say about that'.
Sorry, one more.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1315716/posts
Seems the Pentagon is concerned enough about things to send in a high level fact finder.
There are plenty of administration worshippers who feel anything less than cheerleading is Bush Bashing and smear tactics against the administration. These same people will ignore facts and truths if they are not positive or reflect well on the President. They will ignore or deny the logistical and maintenance issues when it suits them.
And those people, like you, accuse me of having a personal agenda. Well I do and it is serving the troops. Continuing to praise the Emporers clothing does not serve the troops well at all.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.