More Draft drama

[Baytor]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5035603.html

Kerry is raising the draft issue again. Is this a legitimate concern, beating a dead horse, or fearmongering?

Discuss.:asian:

 

[michaeledward]

While I tend to disagree with his politics, I find Retired Colonel Hackworth a passionate defender of the needs of the US Military. Last week, he had an insightful column on the topic, discussing many things you won't hear from Donald Rumsfeld.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Hacks%20Target.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=92&rnd=683.1963342255334

Right now – with both our regular and Reserve soldiers stretched beyond the breaking point – our all-volunteer force is tapping out. If our overseas troop commitments continue at the present rate or climb higher, there won’t be enough Army and Marine grunts to do the job. And thin, overworked units, from Special Forces teams to infantry battalions, lose fights.



Clearly, this war against worldwide, hardcore Islamic believers will be a massive military marathon, the longest and most far-flung in our country’s history. By Christmas, more troops could be needed not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but wherever the radical Islamic movement is growing stronger, from the Horn of Africa to Morocco, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen and across Europe – remember Spain?! – to Asia.



Accordingly, we need to bring our ground-fighting and support units to about the strength they were before the Soviet Union imploded, especially since the proper ratio of counterinsurgent-to-insurgent in places like the Middle East should be around 15 to 1. You don’t have to be a Ph.D. in military personnel to conclude we need more boots on the ground.

I understand the President needed to forcefully make the claim that there will be no draft during the debates. It will be interesting to see how the issue is handled by either candidate in the new term.

Robert "Help me, I've fallen and can't get up" Novak has been circulating the idea that the U.S. Military is going to withdraw the vast majority of the 140,000 soldiers after the January elections. Of course, this is counter Hizzoner's claim that the United States is not going to 'cut and run'.

Also, the President has repeatedly said that if the commanders on the ground ask for more troops, they will get more troops. What if the commanders on the ground ask for more troops, and there are not any more to give? How will that be handled?

I think the solution is take all the money we are sinking into the 'So-Called-Missile-Defense" program, and give it to the grunts; a big pay raise, a big enlistment bonus. And we might be able to get more people to enlist.

I also think it is brave that Kerry is raising the issue, because quite probably, if the draft is going to be needed, it is going to be needed under his watch too. Of course, he has already indicated the need to add a significant number of additional boots.

 

[GAB]

This to me is like the Election in the 60's between Johnson and Goldwater, one said one thing, the other said something else.

The one telling the truth lost the election, for more then one reason.

We will need the Draft. This is not something that can be avoided if we want to contain or eliminate the problem we are having at the present.

It is critical for our views, to be able to fight against a rushing tide of suicidal volunteers on the other.

Regards, Gary

 

[Mark Weiser]

Being a 20 year Veteran of US Armed Forces. I have an opinion in this area and that is there is no way the current manpower can be sustained by extending the rotations and keeping those troops in country. This leads to combat weariness therefore causing more deaths.

You have to rotate Combat Troops every 6 months. The only to sustain that level of committment is too enfuse a large number of Troops into the combat zone. We do not have them unless you start the Draft.

This will be neccessary since there is rumbling of going aganist IRAN. Israel is planning a pre-emptive strike aganist IRAN's nuclear program. Once this happens the whole middle east region will turn into a s***storm of fire and death. Israel has done it before and will do it again.

 

[Flatlander]

Also, the President has repeatedly said that if the commanders on the ground ask for more troops, they will get more troops. What if the commanders on the ground ask for more troops, and there are not any more to give? How will that be handled?

I think that at this point, more help from the international community is not only warranted, but necessary. Irrespective of whose "responsiblity" this mess is, getting it cleaned up is in everybody's best interest. It's time for the countries who perhaps did not support the war, but have an interest in global stability to get some troops on the ground to lend a hand.

 

[rmcrobertson]

Perhaps if our President and his cronies had gone to the American public, told the truth, offered facts rather than trumped-up charges, taken their time rather than rushing, skipped the race-baiting that makes it hard for people to think, and left out the trillion-dollar giveaways to corporations, there'd be volunteers aplenty at every recruiting station.

Perhaps, too, if these silly sods had spoken honestly to the world community and worked slowly through the UN, as many people in power including Colin Powell wanted us to do, we'd have a respectable amount of international support.

I guess bluster and mindlessness are easier. Just less productive.

 

[PeachMonkey]

While I agree with the assesments of exhaustion of US forces and the need to rotate them (and therefore supplement them with new recruits), I have to agree with those that point out that this level of regular force commitment wouldn't even be necessary if our government hadn't lied our way into an illegal occupation.

The "war on terror" as it's being waged now is a fool's errand that will lead to increasing commitments around the world chasing ghosts and fighting insurgencies exactly the wrong way; we could militarize our entire society and not have enough raw power to fight in this way.

One would suggest that our Ultimate Leaders actually study some principles of conflict and martial arts. I'd suggest starting with The Art of War by Sun Tzu and working their way up... of course, when you don't do "nuance", that might be hard to get done.

 

[TonyM.]

Apparently no-one has studied the history of Americans in combat. Rotating troops is a very bad idea.

 

[michaeledward]

I am trying to understand how our 'Quadrennial Review' of armed forces can be so wrong. Every four years, the United States military works through the requirements of fighting two simultaneous regional military conflicts . How on earth can we be over extended with Iraq with such pre-planning? Somebody is lying to somebody over our troops strength and / or requirements.

 

[Phoenix44]

How on earth can we be over extended with Iraq with such pre-planning?

I'm no military scholar, but we have to factor in the DURATION of the conflict. We've already been there a year and a half, things are getting WORSE, not better, and this has the makings of a VERY long war if the plan stays the same, as it will if Bush is re-elected. It's one of the few honest statements Bush made during the debates.

I don't see how we can sustain this war without a draft.

 

[PeachMonkey]

Apparently no-one has studied the history of Americans in combat. Rotating troops is a very bad idea.

Actually, I'm guessing someone knows virtually nothing about combat logistics, fatigue, casualties, or reorganization and resupply.

We're not talking about Vietnam-era removal of troops after a one-year hitch, never to be returned to combat; however, ALL units must be withdrawn from combat on a periodic basis for training, rest, leave, and to draw replacements, updated supplies, etc etc.

Unlike American forces in the ETO in WWII, we have no way to do this with units deployed in the Middle East without rotating them to other locations.

 

[Mark Weiser]

In the American Military you must rotate your troops especially front line combat units in order for R&R and updated training and to get fresh troops.

The purpose also serves as a Morale booster giving hope to your troops that I am going home for awhile to rest and relax outside of the combat area. The standard is this

30 days leave for every year of combat exposure.