Army, Marine brass say readiness a concern

[unhappycamper]

Army, Marine brass say readiness a concern
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 9, 2008 19:48:12 EDT

Senior leaders from the Army and Marine Corps said Wednesday that they are not comfortable with their services’ ability to respond to unexpected contingencies.

The testimony on Capitol Hill in front of the House Armed Services Committee came almost immediately after Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, faced the same body to talk about progress in that country and the need to halt the drawdown of U.S. forces.

The Army’s mission set has expanded, and today’s 10-division Army is trying to accomplish a 14-division mission, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody said.

“We must be self critical if we are to ensure our soldiers are always ready to face a dangerous … and very adaptive enemy,” Cody said, adding that the Army is “unprepared for the full-spectrum fight” and lacks strategic depth.

However, Cody insisted that the Army is not broken and dismissed questions about whether a draft might be necessary.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/army_readiness_040908/