"Nice Work, Rummy!"

What happened to 500 billion dollars spent on Iraq and Afghanistan?



You are confronted with that question after you hear about the state of readiness of American forces who are returning to Iraq. Take the Third Infantry Division. In case, you’ve forgotten, they were among the first troops to advance into Iraq during the early days of the War.



Today, many of their brigades are woefully short of the things they need in order to achieve their performance levels. They are low on trucks; low on manpower; low on tanks; many of their vehicles do not have the mandatory armor. In other cases, units are operating at half strength...and in some cases, less. Some units have no tanks! That means a lack of training which would normally be a precondition in a unit facing redeployment. . Many of the people who are fleshing out the ranks are “raw” according to the supervisory personnel.



Among those who have already served, many are not renewing their obligations. Those that are staying are finding that they will have to deploy in a year or less which is half the time that they were supposed to have under the old regs. This has created problems for families who must undergo the uncertainties and challenges of a new deployment in a year’s time.



According to the Pentagon, the military will need another sixty billion dollars for repairs to equipment and materials to bring active units up to their readiness levels. Right now, units when they leave Iraq leave their transportation too…. And the wear and tear on equipment and materials in the Iraqi and Afghanistan Theatres of Operation has left them without adequate distribution or transportation capabilities..



As a result of the increasing stress on combat units, National Guard units are being required to pick up the slack; that, too, is more sacrifice than most Guard members had anticipated. Many are occupied in important service jobs domestically that will leave gaps in areas like policing, fire protection, service and support functions at the local level.



All in all, the Pentagon has been slow to flesh out units that are going back and slow to consider the needs of those who make up the ranks of those who are skilled in their respective MOS. In an army dependent on technology, not having the right people in the right slots is bound to exact a price. And not to have full units to deploy indicates that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. And with the threat level growing through-out the Middle East, there doesn’t seem to be an easy solution that will satisfy all parties.



Les Aaron

COMMITTEE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE