I remember then 1LT Mark Kimmitt being my jumpmaster for dozens of jumps in the 2nd Ranger Bn. I also remember at West Point talking with then Maj Abizaid about his actions in Granada as a Company Commander. I still know dozens of classmates who are O-5s in the army. They really are great people. They are also smart enough to know that the US military is stretched way too thin and that if another war breaks out, we do not have the forces to win. My brother .... another West Pointer .... is still in the Guard .... and it is clear they are stretched way too thin. The Army knows how to handle a draft, 12 divisions isn't even close .... 16 divisions maybe.
I appreciate your articulate comments. And it sounds like you've got lots more military experience (including more military parachute jumps) than I do. I guess I'll just have to respecfully disagree that a military draft would be a good idea.
As a retired AF officer, I agree with your comments. We cut what little fat there was in the military more than a decade ago; unfortunately, we kept hacking away, and removed a lot of military muscle and bone as well. As I recall, we had 18 Army divisions when Bush 41 was in office. He began the drawdown when communism collapsed (remember the peace dividend?), and the cutbacks continued under Clinton.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Clinton eliminated 4 Army divisions during his time in office--units that would be extremely valuable in Iraq right now. Retired General Barry McCaffrey--whom I don't always agree with--postulates that we're about 80,000 troops short in Iraq right now. Total strength of the divisions cut under Clinton--about 80,000.
Thanks to decisions made by his predecessors, President Bush entered the War on Terrorism with an undersized Army. We need to add at least two more divisions to the active Army and, truth be told, we could really use the four that Clinton got rid of. Unfortunately, I don't see any groundswell in Washington to expand the Army; that would mean bigger budget deficits, and less money for some of the big-ticket weapons systems now in the development pipeline.