zimv20
Dec 6, 2003, 02:43 PM
link (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-na-troops6dec06,1,103850.story?coll=la-home-headlines)
Its equipment and troops battered from fighting in Iraq, the Army will allow four of its divisions returning from overseas to fall to readiness levels that would make them not fully combat-ready for as long as six months, a senior Army official said Friday.
[...]
By permitting the divisions to, in effect, drop their guard and recharge, the Pentagon is taking a calculated risk that it won't be forced to fight a war with a major adversary like North Korea on short notice. Not since the all-volunteer military was established in 1973 has the Army allowed so many of its units to fall to such low readiness levels.
Bush could take political heat for the decline in readiness. During his run for president in 2000, he struck hard at the Clinton administration for permitting two small divisions just back from missions in the Balkans to lower their readiness levels for four months.
Its equipment and troops battered from fighting in Iraq, the Army will allow four of its divisions returning from overseas to fall to readiness levels that would make them not fully combat-ready for as long as six months, a senior Army official said Friday.
[...]
By permitting the divisions to, in effect, drop their guard and recharge, the Pentagon is taking a calculated risk that it won't be forced to fight a war with a major adversary like North Korea on short notice. Not since the all-volunteer military was established in 1973 has the Army allowed so many of its units to fall to such low readiness levels.
Bush could take political heat for the decline in readiness. During his run for president in 2000, he struck hard at the Clinton administration for permitting two small divisions just back from missions in the Balkans to lower their readiness levels for four months.
