Thursday, January 06, 2005
Bizarro TIA
The game of hypothetical universes continues over at the Daily Demarche, with new versions profferred by the Glittering Eye and A Guy In Pajamas (love the name), as well as some reader commentary.
In furtherance of this effort, I suppose it is worth mentioning that this would probably not be happening in Bizarro TIA-ville.
In furtherance of this effort, I suppose it is worth mentioning that this would probably not be happening in Bizarro TIA-ville.
The head of the Army Reserve has sent a sharply worded memo to other military leaders expressing "deepening concern" about the continued readiness of his troops, who have been used heavily in Iraq and Afghanistan, and warning that his branch of 200,000 soldiers "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force."...Our men and women in the Reserves and National Guard deserve better. Let's support our troops both in name and deed.
The three-star general, who has a reputation for speaking bluntly, said the situation has reached a point at which the Army Reserve is "in grave danger of being unable to meet" its operational requirements if other national emergencies arise. Insistence on restrictive policies, he continued, "threatens to unhinge an already precariously balanced situation in which we are losing as many soldiers through no use as we are through the fear of overuse."...
His pointed remarks represent the latest in a chorus of warnings from military officers and civilian defense specialists that the strains of overseas missions are badly fraying the U.S. Army. The distress has appeared most evident in reservist ranks. Both the Army Reserve and the National Guard last month disclosed significant recruiting slumps...
"The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of the Army Reserve's inability . . . to meet mission requirements" associated with Iraq and Afghanistan "and to reset and regenerate its forces for follow-on and future missions," he wrote.
"I do not wish to sound alarmist," he added. "I do wish to send a clear, distinctive signal of deepening concern."
