You might have noticed that in my post I rarely link to articles or quote directly. That's because I don't consider myself to be a very complicated person and I simply want to share my thoughts on world events as seen through the eyes of an old soldier. Having said that I must also say I do occasionally link to an article and I will insert a few here because they are indicative of and germane to the point of today's post.
Readiness Link 1Readiness Link 2Readiness Link 3
I joined the military in 1968. Specifically I joined the United States Army as a volunteer and as an Airborne Infantryman. I was a wet behind the ears 18 years old boy from the Deep South and I was poor and a high school drop out. (And apparently not too smart hence Airborne Infantryman) That probably sounds rather gloomy to many of you but, it wasn't the worst that was happening about that time in our history nor was it the worst situation to be in in the south in America at that time. Now the Army that I joined wasn't in much better shape than I was in. We were buried in a war that was based on lies and we were loosing many too many American soldiers as well as American and Vietnamese civilians every day. Also because of the protracted war and the cultural/social agonies that our country was going through the United States Army was becoming an ever more dysfunctional reflection of a dysfunctional society.
Those were the not so good ole days. As the United States mercifully began to extricate itself from Vietnam a group of young officers, that included such bright young men as Colin Powell, Edward Meyer, John Wickham, Carl Vuono, Gordon Sullivan, Dennis Reimer, Eric Shinseki and too many others to mention began to move up through the ranks and these men saw an Army that was broken in every way it could be broken but they instinctively and with understanding and vision began to rebuild it. They began the change by providing a vision and by cleaning out and building up the ranks. They began to rebuild the Officer and Noncommissioned Officer Corps and they made what I believe was an unspoken pact with each other and the nation. That pact was to never allow another Vietnam to happen. These brave men were successful. They built a new Army. They rebuilt the Officer and Noncommissioned Officer Corps that had been decimated by years of war and neglect and they recruited the brightest and the best. I was a privileged and proud member of that organization. I stuck it out studied and worked hard and I met and exceeded the standards and I was able to get a good education and make an incredibly rewarding career in the Army. That was then and now is now and I am sad to say that the amazing results of all those brave men and women’s efforts are being dismantled soldier by soldier, bolt by bolt.
I believe it is intuitively obvious that the administration of George W. Bush has not the least bit of understanding of the purpose of the military other than that of a tool to garner power and bully the world. Neither a Statesman nor a Diplomat would call names (Axis of Evil) or make threats on the world stage without having a clear understanding of the potential diplomatic and military consequences of those statements and threats nor would they do so without the strategic and military knowledge to understand their own and others capabilities. One of the first inklings the public should have had of this administrations reckless attitude with regards to the military came when Donald Rumsfeld decimated the General Officer ranks by firing those who understood and hiring those who would be his lap dogs. Well now even the lap dogs are nipping at their ankles. Unfortunately the rest of the world saw and sees something else that this administration refuses to see and that something is that this administration is wearing out and destroying the American military. Put simply they are over extended, under funded, and wearing out. With 140,000 +/- troops in Iraq, another 12,000 in Afghanistan and thousands more spread out across the globe the active force is stretch to the breaking point. The reserve and National Guard Forces don't have the equipment and manpower to fully staff their ranks or train and respond to war or a national emergency.
As this nation faces the nuclear threat of Iran and North Korea it is with few options and many risks. As a result of the recklessness of the incompetent leadership that is the Bush administration we find ourselves with few options this side of the one option that is most un-thinkable.
Those Are The Sergeant Majors Thoughts On That.
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