Posted on 10/17/2005 7:53:36 AM PDT by posey2004
Washington -- "Armies are fragile institutions and, for all their might, easily broken." Remember those words? They were written here, in this column, at the end of September 2003. I laid out the recipe for how to break a magnificent Army that had taken nearly two decades to rebuild itself in the wake of the Vietnam debacle.
In that early fall two years ago, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was still running victory laps and the words of his boss, President George W. Bush, were still ringing: "Bring `em on!"
Sadly, those two were, and still are, in charge.
Now they've broken the Army, and after this administration is history, it will take 12 or 15 or 20 years to repair the damage it's inflicted on an institution that our country desperately needs in a century as dangerous as this one......................................
"...to repair the damage it's inflicted on an institution that our country desperately needs in a century as dangerous as this one..."
Admits we need the Army in a dangerous time, yet condemns Bush for using it to counter this danger.
You could have a very strong well financed, well equipped and well staffed military if we weren't at war. I wartime, the military must perform, and that puts pressure on its resources.
WTF? Opinion is right. It's not secret that Bubba Clintoon gutted the military, but...IMHO it would seem the military, through combat action, is back on track.
"Military is broken" typical baloney from a defeatist numbskull with no understanding of history or current facts.
This piece was written by Joe Galloway. Who is he? Sounds like a Dem.
The fact is, is that Rumsfeld has lowered the standards in order to meet the recruitment goals. We will now be taking in drop-outs, and other low-standards individuals that may or may not meet the same fate as Lindey England.
Consider the source. And welcome to FR. Don't near any metal objects for the next few hours.
Yeah, we should save up our forces for when we have a real war to fight, right joe?
One where our enemies attack our cities, and civilians?
Oh you mean the one JUST LIKE THIS ONE!
The guy who wrote this article is a complete jackass, and HE is the one that should be tarred and feathered. He has made no real claims, offers no solutions to his non-claims, and then blames haliburton, bush and rumsfeld. What an idiot!
Aside from the problem of low recruitment numbers/intelligence, signing bonuses, I'm not sure what is broken.
Is the Army effective in the field? If so, I don't see how it can be described as broken, but then I do not have an Army background .
Are you some kind of military strategest or what? How many years did you spend in the military and what in your estimation makes it broken?
Joe Galloway, once upon a time...was a decent correspondent but dementia has set in.
The opinion is because enlistments are down and training staff are being shifted to combat status that the Army is broken.
I disagree. The combat arm is at a razor sharp level with actual combat experience. The returning combat vets have skills that will beef up the training and support arms. Recruitment is down as the MSM media recently only shows the negative side of our combat engagements. When the embedded reporters had video of how good our troops were in the early days, young Americans were enlisting in numbers. The Army and our other services are doing a tough job very well and we salute them.
I didn't expect this from Galloway...
Funny, I thought it was broken after eight Clinton Defense budgets that resulted in not having body armor for 145,000 man invasion force.
Reenlistment rates are at record rates the active force, especially those that have done Iraq tours. What do they know that the Dems don't?
So, his political views are relative to the FACT that Rummy lowered the standards?
Look, I respect the military just as much as any of you, but lowering the standards = breaking the military, no matter how you look at it.
I can show you other op-eds, even reporting that proves such.
The Army never should have stopped taking drop-outs.
There are tons of jobs Drop-outs can do, and it has a good chance of putting them back on track for a successful life.
Most jobs in the Army don't require soldiers to be all that well educated.
Never forget, educated does NOT equal smart.
bttt...
You and the writer of this article are full of bullshi*!
Military broken? Tell that to our fine men and women in uniform then prepare yourself for the a**kicking you will get.
Puleeeezzzzzzzeeeee!
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