"During the Cold War the Army stockpiled thousands of weapons and vehicles in warehouses or aboard huge cargo ships in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These trucks, humvees, tanks, artillery and armored personnel carriers constituted our national reserve of weaponry. Soldiers depend on this equipment should we go to war against an enemy outside Iraq and Afghanistan. Except for one brigade set in Korea, it's all gone. We emptied the last set in March. In total, nearly half of the Army's fighting equipment is wearing away in Iraq and Afghanistan or waiting forlornly for repair or disposal. Unclassified sources put the total number of broken or destroyed wheels, tracks and rotors at about 6,000.
Most Army brigades are "not combat ready" in part because of equipment shortages. Brigades consist of people and equipment, so the significance of "not combat ready" loses a great deal in translation. If an unready brigade were a ship it would be in dry dock. If it were an aircraft it would be undergoing a complete stripdown and overhaul. Virtually all of our reserve brigades and most of the Army's regular brigades outside of Iraq and Afghanistan fit into this category. The bottom line is that virtually any brigade not in Iraq cannot be equipped for war for a very, very long time." Scales
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Having “bashed” MG Scales for his tardy conversion to membership in the “reality based” community I think it right that I should pass on to you all this profound warning from him concerning the US Army’s deteriorating condition. As he writes, armies are made up of people and equipment. The Army is beginning to have personnel problems brought on by the excessive stress of repeated combat tours of duty in a force deliberately recruited to represent “family values.” Family men understandably find it difficult to be gone from family three years out of six. Their spouses and children suffer much from this. The other half of the “mix” is the equipment. Scales sketches out the catastrophic losses in equipment that characterize the current situation. In short, the capital goods of the field army are used up. At present the United States Army has no strategic reserve of ground forces. What you see in Iraq and Afghanistan is what we got. Perhaps the Marines are in better shape. I know not. They are not talking about it so far as I know. They have a lot less equipment. Scales suggests that the re-building process should concentrate on new kinds of equipment. Fair enough but I would be careful that we do not build a force incapably of fighting anything but “4th Generation” irregular enemies. We had better re-build all those Abrams tanks and hang on to them. There may not be money available in the future for more such weapons. The future is the “undiscovered country.” Who knows what awaits us there. pl
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20070408-101852-2680r.htm
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