End is hurtling fast: US Reservists a broken force

[jmatthan]

while your leaders sit with their heads buried in the sand:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4150749.stm

"US army reserve a 'broken' force

The commander of the US army reserve says it is rapidly degenerating into a "broken" force.

Lt Gen James Helmly, in a leaked memo to the Pentagon, says the reserve has reached a point where it cannot fulfil its missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Reservists provide a large share of US troops in Iraq. The army says Gen Helmly's concerns are being addressed. "

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[Goldeneye]

1. What does "broken" mean?

[jmatthan]

3. "Broken" has many meanings

but in this instance it obviously means that there is NO HEART left in the Reserves to fight under the conditions they are being asked to.

Remember what Rumsfeld said in reply to the questions from the troops (several questions) - so it became obvious to them that none of the complaints were goiing to be addressed by the Army as far as the Reserves are concerned.

Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

[itzamirakul]

2. I think we all knew

that this was going to happen eventually.

Nothing in MSM about it though. To let them tell it, everything is going just hunky-dory.

Why don't they send some of those back-woods militia groups that were so prolific in Mid-America a few years ago? After all, they have been up in the hills practicing their military skills for some time now.

[Buns_of_Fire]

4. I suspect Gen. Helmly will be "retired" shortly

"...to spend more time with his family," and all that.

[enough]

5. Story on front page of Philadelphia Inquirer today

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/10577774.htm

Posted on Thu, Jan. 06, 2005

Fearing a 'broken' Reserve

The outfit's chief said Army policies left it unable to fulfill its Iraq and Afghan missions.
By Robert Burns
Associated Press


WASHINGTON - The Army Reserve, whose part-time soldiers serve in combat and support roles in Iraq and Afghanistan, is so hampered by misguided Army policies and practices that it is "rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force," the Reserve's most senior general says.

Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, wrote in an internal memorandum to the Army's top uniformed officer that the Reserve had reached the point of being unable to fulfill its missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and to regenerate its forces for future missions.

The Army Reserve has about 200,000 soldiers, nearly 52,000 of them on active duty, including 17,000 in Iraq and Kuwait, and 2,000 in Afghanistan. They provide combat support, medical care, transportation, legal services and other support. About 50 have died in the Iraq war.

snip>

he memo is the latest sign of strains on the military from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Also last month, the head of the Army National Guard, Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, said he needed $20 billion to replace arms and equipment destroyed in Iraq or Afghanistan, or left there for other Army and Air Guard units to use. The Guard also said it had failed for two consecutive months to meet its recruiting quotas and was offering new incentives, including reenlistment bonuses of up to $15,000.

more>

[IrateCitizen]

6. I was recently an officer in the Army Reserve...

And I can tell you that before I was discharged this September, the entire system was largely in a shambles.

Units try to deploy at full strength, or pretty damned close to it. Problem is, pretty much all of the reserve units out there operate at about 60-70% manpower at any given time. When a unit would be mobilized, in order to fill those remaining 30-40% of manpower slots, they would receive "augmentees" who were involuntarily transferred in from other units.

Now, these "other units" would be operating at 60-70% as well before they were gutted for augmentees. Afterwards, they would be down to only about 40-50%.

Imagine a couple of iterations of this, and then one of these "skeleton crew" units being alerted for mobilization. It's next to impossible to find experienced soldiers. Furthermore, the units being sent into theatre -- some of them into combat situations -- are made up of a bunch of soldiers who don't know each other, haven't trained together, and have no idea of each other's capabilities. It's a recipe for disaster, if there ever was one.

My old engineering battalion was gutted in this way, then tasked to send 4 57-person detatchments over a year ago, and will probably be mobilized within the next year. By that time, there won't be anyone left outside of some of the battalion staff and about a squad of soldiers at each company headquarters.