Odierno has just two combat brigades
Our buddy, Jeff Schogol, sends a link to Defense News which reports that Army Chief of Staff, Ray Odierno told the press that he has only two combat ready brigades;
Odierno said [he] hopes to get the number of trained and equipped brigades to seven by June 2014.
“There is going to come a time when we simply don’t have enough money to provide what I believe to be the right amount of ground forces to conduct contingency operations,” he said. “We’re not there yet, but it is something we are going to continue to review.”
Army Secretary John McHugh said he and the chief are committed that “whatever the Army’s end strength and its budgets may look like, we will never send a soldier into war unprepared, untrained or improperly equipped.” But he acknowledged that there are unprecedented uncertainties with which the service must contend.
Of course, noodle-spine McHugh’s unprecedented uncertainties are the Congress and their inability to pass a budget. The House has passed budgets, but Harry Reid has other things on his mind besides what he’s paid to do. What those things are aren’t exactly clear.
So the Army is doing some cost-cutting in order to squeeze some readiness into the Secretary’s priorities;
One step in this endeavor is an effort to cut 25 percent of overhead in headquarters. The Pentagon only required a 20-percent cut, but Odierno said the larger slice “can achieve some significant savings” — thousands of soldiers that could instead help fill a Brigade Combat Team, for example.
Yeah, that’s one brigade I wouldn’t want to be any part of – I’ve taken in troops that came from Battalion headquarters who needed to learn how to tie their boots, I’d hate to see a whole brigade of former wienies.
But, yeah, let’s cut out 10 more brigades while there are only two that are combat ready. And, oh, yeah, let’s have a press conference to tell the world how unprepared we are. Maybe our enemies aren’t reading the news today.
Category: Military issues
I’m sure that placing chicks in the combat arms will help with the budget woes.
Now Jonn, you know that its a good NCO’s job to take dirt and turn it into a soldier.. Be about time some of the headquarters folks earned their cash.
With regards to the reduction in headquarters staffs, that plan is supposed to take a couple years, which means soldiers will be reclassed or that position will disappear and we’ll train another infantryman from scratch in his place.
20% cut? Meanwhile more money used for…?
Harry Reid has other things on his mind
Pederast Harry, according to the long-time Vegas residents, did enough blow back in the 70’s/80’s to make Tony Montana blush.
Or so I heard from an anonymous source. Hey, if an anonymous source is good enough for Harry Reid to accuse Mitt Romney of not paying taxes, ought to be good enough for me, right?
An anonymous source is reliable when claiming that Mitt Romney paid NO INCOME TAXES, but an anonymous source is suspect when it deals with his good friend Senator Mendoza cruising down to the Dominican Republic to hook up with 14 year old prostitutes.
Pat, you knuckle-dragger, haven’t you heard that humping a ruck in the mountains is only peripheral to an infantryperson’s job? Why, anybody can squeeze a trigger. After all, that’s the only thing that matters. That and looking spiffy in the latest camo pattern for the local NBC affiliate’s hard-hitting interview on the braaaaaaaavery of girls bustin’ through the glass ceiling.
Or something.
I can tell you where the two “combat ready” brigades aren’t!
So that’s what, 8,000 max troops?
I think there are more MS13 gang members in California than that….
We will never send a soldier into war unprepared, untrained or improperly equipped.”
When your enemy declares war against you, you go with what you have. If you have untrained people in peacetime, you will have untrained people at war when the enemy comes at you.
You must have trained personnel in peacetime. The alternative invites war.
And I know sexual assault is a problem we have to face head-on, but how could it be ranked #1 on the SECARMY’s priorities when we only have two brigades that are combat ready?
loose lips sink ships there General…..
“whatever the Army’s end strength and its budgets may look like, we will never send a soldier into war unprepared, untrained or improperly equipped.”
As in without adequate body armor or without properly armored vehicles? Like that?
Every liberal knows that we Vets are little more than expendable throwaways. After all, we don’t agree with their bleeding-heart agenda, thus we are Society’s misfits and refuse. Just look at how little we mean to B. Hussein 0bama & Co., THEIR needs, especially those of perks and luxury, MUST come at our expense!
@13–and if I had a dollar for every military leader or politician who has said that in our country’s history…