Army needs three to four years to recover from Iraq strains: chief

[Barrett808]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Army will need three or four years to recover from the strains of repeated deployments to Iraq even with a planned drawdown of US forces next year, the service's chief said Monday.

General George Casey said the army is "out of balance" after six years of warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq, and facing unpredictable demands in an era of "persistent conflict."

"Out of balance is not broken, it's not hollow," he said. "But we're forced by the current demands on the force to do more in the current time frame at the expense of sustaining the all-volunteer force and building bridges for the future."

"We know where we need to go and it's going to take three or four years and a substantial amount of resources to put ourselves back in balance," he told reporters at an annual army conference.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071008/pl_afp/usmilitaryarmy

[Thothmes]

1. Three or Four Years

Sad but true, possibley many years more. Remember it seemed like it took many years to restructure and reequip our army and navy after the Viet Nam war.

[Lasher]

2. Hidden costs.

Half a trillion dollars so far with no end in sight. 3,817 US soldiers killed and 28,000 wounded so far. But these costs do not include retooling the military.

[whistle]

3. Take 50 years and really get the army properly back up to par

[Thothmes]

12. Dont think it will take that long

Of course it depends on how much money Congress is willing to appropriate for the program. If I remember correctly it took 10-12 years for the Army and Navy to overcome their problems after the end of the Viet Nam war.

[damntexdem]

4. Or maybe thirty to forty years.

It will certainly take at least 3 to 4 decades for the U.S. and its budgets to recover.

[sakabatou]

5. Let me guess...

A draft would be next?

[DavidDvorkin]

6. America needs three to four decades to recover from Iraq stains

[BrotherBuzz]

7. Maybe half a dozen years to replace or repair equipment....

but a whole dozen years to replace the competent personnel who have left the service.

[AnneD]

8. I agree.....

3-4 years ia a drop in the bucket. The military broke a sacred trust. They:
1) declared war on and invaded a sovereign country that had not harmed us.
2) broke contracts by
a)instituting stop loss programs
b)extending tours
c)shortening the length between tours
3)lying about post service GI bill benefits
4)not assisting returning wounded soldiers
a)cheating wounded soldiers out of disability compensation
b)not providing the appropriate services to help GI's mainstream
5)placing unnecessary burden on families
a)financially
b)emotionally
6)not properly supplying troops with the most fundamental of protective gear
7)not providing a clear mission or exit strategy.

I am sure I left off more but this at least covers the basics.

[Karenina]

9. Thank you, AnneD.

[Thothmes]

13. Disagree to some extent

#1 and #7 are not the Responsibily the Department of Defense. The Congress and the President are the responsibile parties for the act of war and for the strategic goals and objectives of the war.

[Javaman]

10. I think that's pretty optimistic.

anyone that watched what happened to the army after viet nam will agree. I think it was a full 10 years before the army recovered.

[AnneD]

11. I volunteered .....

USAR post Viet Nam (1978-1989). It was a broken Army. The Reserve was able to hold it's own, but they won't this time after this much abuse.

Oh, I forgot to add on my list, using those enlisted in on branch for another...like sailors and air men being reassigned for infantry duty.

[gratuitous]

14. Not broken, not hollow, Mr. Casey?

Then riddle me this, you sycophantic fuck who should be slow roasted over a hot fire on the banks of the Potomac: What if the United States were really, actually attacked tomorrow? What would our military response be? How many battalions could be mustered and mobilized in the next 30 days to respond to such an attack?

We've spent nearly a trillion dollars in the last four plus years, budgeted and supplemental, flailing around in Afghanistan and Iraq, and how many units would have to report "not ready for duty, sir" if called by the commander in chief? But by golly, Dick Cheney got a heueuege tax break last year, so it must be all right.

We've unearthed the smallest tip of the smallest bump on an enormous subterranean boulder that is this corrupt administration's malfeasance and misrule. We need Congress to toss the tweezers and get out the shovels, because there's a lot of work to do.