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Here are some of the realities that face us that are asked in these points:

1. Flag Officers. Many don't know that the pay of military members is tied to the pay of congressmen. No member of the military can make as much as a congressman. Therefore, they have to make less graduated down through some 24 ranks to private. Because of this, you have top-rate executives controlling billions in assets and managing world events who could be making six figures in the private world making a little bit more than a Wal-Mart store manager makes. I had a deputy group commander depart for the civilian world (a LTC) and he immediately began making 150 grand....more than a congressman at the time.

How does the military compensate? They can't give raises so they give promotions. They rely on extremely patriot but extremely qualified leaders to balance the low pay of a general with the extreme need of a nation.

2. Our company grade officers typically are the proud graduates of some university and probably some graduate school. Many have math, science type degrees and have extremely high technical skills. My son will graduate soon with an extremely high GPA in a special technology field....the salaries for newbies ranges from 60-80 to start. The army offers a new 2d Lieutenant about 35. Hmmmm...

3. Tooth to tail. Many also don't realize that the Army is the both the nations logistical and engineering firm. (Until there's a hurricane, that is.) Ever hear of flood control by the "Army Corps of Engineers?"

In any case, the Marines are specifically designed to be logistics light because typically, they are to be used no more than 50 miles from the coast. When they go more, what logistics arm to they rely upon....you guessed it...the US Army. Whose bulldozers make Air Force runways? Whose schools train Marine tankers?

And what does it truly take to move 5000 warriors across 2000 miles of terrain. (Ask Hitler about Stalingrad...it ain't easy.)

If one tank has a 500 gallon fuel capcity and gets gallons per mile instead of miles per gallon, then how many miles away from your tanks do you want your refuelers?

Then add in medical, beans, bullets, personal, mail, police, aviation, etc.

The whole point of any Army is that it must move huge distances with massive support to both conquer and occupy.

I think the current tooth to tail is about as suggested: 1 to 14 depending on whom you classify as warriors and who you classify as support.

I would throw in, and you've mentioned this a bit, based on what I know from one of my children who is in the region (and flies into Iraq and Afghanistan quite often dealing with the supply chain), that we also have a serious issue where our supply columns are way out of whack because of the situation.

It's not like the wars of old when you had a front, and you had supplies running from the rear or ports all the way through protected areas up to the guy on the front line. Iraq is similar to Vietnam in that aspect - we have a lot of little fronts, and are having to move a lot of supplies into a lot of little areas that are very hazardous.

While I have no doubt that there are plenty of useless REMFs, from a logistics point of view, we get stretched very thing - convoy duties and the like do take up a lot of infantry/combat troops that could be performing more active/aggressive duties directly against the enemy, rather than have to act in a reactive manner, guarding convoys and bases.