Army Reserve in trouble

Washington Post:

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.' In the memo, dated Dec. 20, Lt. Gen. James R. 'Ron' Helmly lashed out at what he said were outdated and 'dysfunctional' policies on mobilizing and managing the force. He complained that his repeated requests to adjust the policies to current realities have been rebuffed by Pentagon authorities. 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."

I do think that one mistake the Bush administration has made as been in not increasing the size of the regular armed forces, starting a couple of years ago. I still think though that rather than increasing any of our existing service branches, what really needs to be done is the creation of a new branch with a focus on 'nation building'. Admittedly though, this would be a long term plan and the issues we are facing at the moment would be the same regardless of whether something like this had been done or not. In some ways, they might be more severe as it would entail a rather signifigant shake-up in the existing military.