Received by email from American Progress.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld isn't working hard enough to ensure that our troops are properly equipped; now he's trying to rush them to war without sufficient training either. In a Jan. 31 memo, Rumsfeld "asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide options for cutting back military officer education during 'stress periods.'" Rumsfeld is exploring this option in order "to allow greater numbers to be available for deployment," yet another sign that the Army is understaffed for waging the dual wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while also training for unforeseen conflicts. The proposal has some uniformed military outraged, with one senior Army official commenting, "We're so good because of our professional education, and you can't eliminate it, postpone it or reduce it if you want a professional military." Unfortunately, Rumsfeld's plan is already being tested out; "the Army's 4th Infantry division has decided to pull 29 officers out of early to send them to Iraq."
Background -
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=269200FAILURE TO PLAN = PLANNING TO FAIL: Eighteen months after President Bush declared major combat operations were over, soldiers, National Guardsmen and reservists lack essential equipment and armor to fight the war in Iraq. The U.S. Army announced Friday it would be increasing the production of armored Humvees for American troops in Iraq by 100 a month. The steps to boost production came "despite recent assertions from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that soldiers could not be supplied with safer vehicles because Pentagon officials could not procure them faster." Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) offered blistering criticism of the Secretary yesterday, saying, "I don't like the way he has done some things. I think they have been irresponsible. I don't like the way we went into Iraq. We didn't go into Iraq with enough troops. He's dismissed his general officers. He's dismissed all outside influence. He's dismissed outside counsel and advice. And he's dismissed a lot of inside counsel and advice from men and women who have been in military uniforms for 25 and 30 years." Rumsfeld's "irresponsible" policies have led to the lethal equipment shortage. As a result, the country's citizen soldiers are paying the price.
FAILURE TO PLAN MEANS LACK OF EQUIPMENT: Before the war, the White House was anxious to garner support from the American people for the invasion. As a result, the administration concentrated solely on a best-case scenario in which U.S. troops would be greeted by a grateful population and the conflict would end quickly with little expense or effort. As a result, the Army today doesn't have the equipment it needs. The Pentagon, for example, originally said it would need 235 armored Humvees in Iraq. In reality, it needs 8,105, or thirty-five times the amount it predicted before the war.
more....
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050222-111908-6911r.htmMilitary education sought to be cut in 'stress periods' By Pamela Hess
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Published February 23, 2005
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Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide options for cutting back military officer education during "stress periods" -- such as during the war in Iraq -- to allow greater numbers to be available for deployment. At the same time, the Army's 4th Infantry Division has decided to pull 29 officers out of its 10-month professional education curriculum early to send them to Iraq, said a Feb. 9 memo obtained by United Press International.
The 29 officers are being withdrawn a few weeks early from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., at the request of the commander of the division, who has a critical need for 32 more officers before he deploys to Iraq. The officers will receive full credit for having finished the course, a Pentagon official said. The college also will give up one instructor to the division for deployment, and two other officers have been identified in the field for the assignment.
The move is one more indication that the Army does not have sufficient numbers to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as prepare its officers for future conflict, said Pentagon and congressional sources close to the matter. "We're so good because of our professional education, and you can't eliminate it, postpone it or reduce it if you want a professional military," one senior Army officer said.
In a Jan. 31 memo, Mr. Rumsfeld directed Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to produce by mid-March options for reducing professional military education. "Let's come up with some options how we might shorten professional military education or abbreviate it during stress periods," Mr. Rumsfeld wrote in a short memo marked "for official use only." It went only to Gen. Myers and David Chu, defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness.
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