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thedrifter
08-19-04, 06:03 AM
08-17-2004

The Need Is Real



By Paul Connors



The serious shortcomings that have burdened our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially the need for the continued use of Army Reserve and National Guard units, remains an issue that could have grave consequences for the U.S. military as a whole. .



In the past few months, I have written on the personnel shortages that prompted the recall of up to 5,600 members of the Army’s Individual Ready Reserve and the poor handling of those recalls and the disruptions of lives that they caused (see “And Now Comes the Resistance,” DefenseWatch, July 7, 2004; “One Prediction I’m Sorry Came True,” June 30, 2004; “What We Owe Our Soldiers,” June 23, 2004, and “Abuse of Army IRR Causes Furor Nationwide,” June 2, 2004). And just as suddenly, the news of these recalls, which did cause a blip on the radar screens of the mainstream media, faded from view. That, I suppose, is the real indicator of the attention span of the media and its viewing and reading public today.



The sad fact remains, however, that the use of Reserve Component units and individuals will continue to a point in the future no one dares predict. This continued use of Reserve forces will also contribute to long-term recruiting and retention problems for the active army, the reserve and the Army National Guard for all of the reasons DefenseWatch writers have previously written about.



What I find particularly perplexing is the complete unwillingness of the current administration to admit (even to itself) that our Army is just too small. While the Army, Navy and Air Force have worked together to create a program called “From Blue to Green,” where the over-strength Navy and Air Force allow their personnel to separate to join the Army, the civilians at the Department of Defense continue to deny reality and insist that the war against terror and in Iraq are just temporary and the nation should not be forced to invest in 40,000 additional troops on a permanent basis.



Instead, DoD finally accepted a decree from Congress and agreed to an alleged “temporary” increase of 30,000 troops for the Army. While that number is a good start, what the plan does not answer is this question: “Where will those troops come from?”



Will this supposedly temporary increase come from the transfer of mission responsibilities and resources from the reserve and Guard back to the active Army? If so, Army recruiters nationwide will receive increased accession quotas.



Then another question arises: Will those same recruiters be able to persuade enough young men and women into the green machine to increase overall numbers and hopefully, provide some relief for all of the currently strained units and personnel that have deployed and redeployed?



Although the “Blue to Green” program is still in its infancy, the numbers of Airmen who have applied for separation with the intent of re-enlisting in the Army has been infinitesimally small. As of today, the Air Force announced that only 13 enlisted Airmen had applied under the new guidelines and of that number, only six have been approved. If these numbers are to be used as an indicator of prospects for the future success of the plan, then it would appear that the program is doomed from the outset.



Let’s face it: Most of the folks who join the Air Force are just as patriotic as their brethren in the other services. Despite this, many of them joined the Air Force because they wanted a “different” type of military experience, one where training and education are a very real first priority, followed closely by the Air Force’s highly touted quality of life.



The Army and Marines are more closely associated with rugged lifestyles. Yes, there are support positions throughout both services, but direct combat roles have been reserved exclusively for men. Infantry, armor, artillery and cavalry assignments are grueling and demanding for the troops assigned to these units. These soldiers forego many of the comforts and conveniences of garrison life, realities that are well known to members of the Air Force.



Over the years that I have been associated with the military, I have often heard derogatory comments about infantrymen and how most of them are as dumb as dirt. These comments are usually offered by people who never got within 100 miles of a line Army or Marine Corps rifle company, and therefore, are completely ignorant of the qualities that make a good soldier or Marine.



Here are some of the qualities our Army will need to find within its soldiers if it hopes to be able to field more combat troops on the ground in the near and long term. The same already holds true for “the few, the proud” who are Marine riflemen: moral courage, commitment, integrity, loyalty, honor, belief in one’s own abilities, physical and emotional stamina, and strength of character.



Here at DefenseWatch we receive feedback from enlisted members and junior officers who have proven their ability to determine when things are not quite right. Daily, we receive information on dismal failures of leadership in the active Army, the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. We are engaged in a war in two Asian locations and it is appalling that individual soldiers are forced to write to us with stories of abuse of authority and position by officers who could care less about the welfare of the troops, while padding their own contributions to enhance future career and promotion prospects.



Despite the negatives, there are positives associated with our involvement in Iraq. We receive reports of the good being done by our military, stories not reported in the mainstream media. Other reports we do not hear about are the positive results achieved by our coalition partners: the British, Dutch, Italians, Polish, Romanians, Danes, Norwegians, Latvians, Lithuanians and so on. These partners have remained steadfast, enduring many of the same hardships as our troops.



What is especially disheartening for me is the thought that while we write about the many failures in leadership, materiel support, political and societal ambivalence, that there appears to be little or no action being taken to resolve the shortfalls.



The perfumed princes at the senior field grade and general officer levels continue to live in conditions that sicken the average GI in the line companies, troops and batteries. Does the Army’s Human Resources Command really think that the infantrymen, cavalry scouts, MPs and cannon-cockers don’t see these abuses for what they are? Do they really believe they can retain quality soldiers after these same dedicated Americans witness how their leaders in the field take advantage of every creature comfort, while failing to provide adequate material support to troops in need?



While the U.S. armed forces are not democratic in nature, they are the armed forces of a representative republic and not those more closely linked with imperial Britain or France. Yet, the princes of our “imperial” officer corps have garnered unto themselves comforts and powers students of history read about in the annals of Britain’s Army in India during the years of the “Raj.”



The need for reform, if not outright overhaul, is very real and continues to be demonstrated on a daily basis. Unfortunately for the men and women in desert camouflage uniforms, many of their own leaders seem to have nothing more on their minds than their own personal aggrandizement.



Sooner or later, the American public will become aware of this situation. When that day comes, and if we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan – with Osama Bin Laden still at large – Army recruiters will find their work that much more difficult.



Then again, we could always restore the draft. On that subject, scuttlebutt has it, we could see the Selective Service open for business again by the end of calendar year 2005. Regardless of who wins the White House this November, stay tuned: our armed forces could take on a whole new look as the government reaches out and touches people who would have never thought to don Army green, Air Force or Navy blue or Marine Corps camouflage.



Paul Connors is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at paulconnors@hotmail.com. © 2004 Paul Connors. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=598&rnd=638.3158183251842


Ellie