Wearing Out America's Warriors

NY Post ^ | October 16, 2009 | Ralph Peters

[Scanian]

THANKS to a mix of patriotism and high unemployment, every one of our military services exceeded its recruiting goals for fiscal year 2009.

That's the good news. The bad news is that, after eight years of indecisive war and ravaged personal lives, the Army's losing the experienced officers and NCOs it needs to train and lead those new recruits.

The Army's tough. But after years of voices crying wolf for political purposes, there's real trouble looming on the personnel front. I joined a broken Army after Vietnam. I don't want to see an Army resembling that one again.

Yes, we have volunteers today and Vietnam was fought with a draft. But Nam was one year in-country and a Freedom-Bird flight home (in WWII, most soldiers served less than a year in a combat zone). Only a hard core of career officers and NCOs served repeated tours — and they had more time between deployments than today's leaders

[Venturer]

I have a Marine friend who has served two tours in Iraq and is now in Afghanistan under the new ROE, He says if he survives this he is done.

[pepsionice]

If this continues on for another three years...which is what I expect...then I’d say that the bulk of the Army will have mental and emotional issues for the next decade or two. I’ve seen the effects of a 12-month deployment on a guy at the end...and the guy knew that in fifteen months that he’d be returning. After two or three tours...it will wear out the emotions of a guy.

[Travis McGee]

Peters is sure right about this situation.

[RoadTest]

It seems more like the U.S. has the only large, battle-seasoned and hardened and educated army in the world.

Too bad our politicians in charge are a bunch of slimy eels.

[VeniVidiVici]

Wasn’t there an Osama campaign pledge to increase the size of the active duty force?

[Condor51]

the Army's losing the experienced officers and NCOs it needs to train and lead those new recruits.

It's a known fact that NCOs 'really' run the Army. Without them we are screwed (Ditto for the Marines).

Experienced 'Aviators' (Pilots & Warrant Officers) are also. That was our advantage in WWII over the Luftwaffe and the Japs. We brought ours home to train new pilots. The Germans and Japs had to stay in Battle. Pretty soon it was no contest.

[Grimmy]

We also have a lot of solid young men and women reupping on a regular basis.

Those that leave will be replaced, and soon, we’ll have a military nearly completely free of soldiers and leaders trained up under peace time theories and SNCOs and NCOs raised up under the silliness of long term garrison games.

We’re, in all reality, heading toward a military that is healthier than it ever has been.

It’s going to have its rough spots, and there’ll be ups and downs, that’s just part of any process that has humans in it. But, over all, this military of ours is getting stronger, not weaker.