THE SCANDAL OF PLUMMETING READINESS

by David Brin, Ph.D.

One item in that list really chaps my hide. Plummeting readiness.

Even in neoconservative terms, it is outright insanity, in dangerous times, to dissipate American military might to the degree that these people have. Scattered hither and yon, our best units are getting worn down, using up equipment and enlistments¹ , sacrificing families while forgoing upgrades and training. Reserves² have been called up to a degree that was never seen during Vietnam. As if they were toy soldiers, being played with by small boys.

This was not true of troops committed to the Balkans, by the way, where morale and job satisfaction levels soared.³

And this is the tip of the iceberg. Without even touching on the fiscal disaster -- or distracting us from more pressing dangers Like North Korea and the Iranian Mullahs -- we are seeing a waste of military strength that could not be worse had it been deliberate.⁴

¹ ENLISTMENT: Even before the Iraq Invasion, a Rand Corp. independent study showed that brief overseas mission deployments (three months or less) actually helped retention. But this benefit eroded with lengthy stretches of hostile duty. "These broad demands have caused some Pentagon officials to worry that personnel are used too intensively, which is leading to high stress, decreased morale, reduced family stability, and, ultimately, lower retention." Though at the time, forces serving in Bosnia/Kosovo expressed high degrees of satisfaction with the success and importance of their mission -- the opposite of troop reactions in Iraq. (For a link to this study, see the "works cited" section at the end of the main essay.) return to text

² RESERVES: The situation with the Reserves has gone critical. "All the Army leadership agrees that 12 months (deployment of called-up reservists) is too long," said Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief or the National Guard Bureau in a late September 2004 interview with the NY Times News Service. During the Clinton Administration, overseas tours (except for Korea) were limited to a max of six months. Already recruitment figures have dropped 10% below goals. And yet, despite moving brigades from Germany and Korea (a much more dangerous potential flash point than Iraq in '03), Army staff despair over meeting Iraq commitments with anything less than 12 month tours. return to text

³ MORALE: "Some of the highest reenlistment rates in our all-volunteer force continue to be among those deployed in the Balkans. I believe that our soldiers stationed there not only share with our soldiers here in the audience the satisfaction of protecting the interests of this nation, they also see a direct and daily linkage between their efforts and the lives of those around them. They see that they are helping suffering people find their hope for a better future." Remarks delivered by Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon, Fort Benning, GA January 2001. return to text

⁴ DELIBERATE?: Even a science fiction writer quails from the most logical reason that smart men would scatter and dissipate our forces, undermining readiness while crowing about being "strong on defense." There are more frightening explanations than mere stupidity. return to text