I have said since shortly after the "Mission Accomplished" sign went up that we need a national draft to get us to focus on the War. This idea has a lot of pluses, not the least of which would be a sense of involvement, sacrifice and participation by the vast majority of the American public. It would also, I think, put some scrutiny on the government's handling of the war.
That said, a friend of mine sent me this today: McCaffrey
Read it, especially past the "Facts" section, it's surprisingly hopeful.
Some Interesting bits:
Waivers in US Army recruiting standards for: moral turpitude, drug use, medical issues, criminal justice records, and non-high school graduation have gone up significantly. We now are enlisting 42 year old first term soldiers*. Our promotion rates for officers and NCOs have skyrocketed to replace departing leaders. There is no longer a national or a theater US Army strategic reserve. (Fortunately, powerful US Naval, Air Force, and nuclear capabilities command huge deterrence credibility.)We are at the “knee of the curve.” Two million+ troops of the smallest active Army force since WWII have served in the war zone. Some active units have served three, four, or even five combat deployments. We are now routinely extending nearly all combat units in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These combat units are being returned to action in some cases with only 7-12 months of stateside time to re-train and re-equip. The current deployment requirement of 20+ brigades to Iraq and 2+ brigades in Afghanistan is not sustainable.We will be forced to call up as many as nine National Guard combat brigades for an involuntary second combat tour this coming year. (Dr Chu at DOD has termed this as “no big deal.”) Many believe that this second round of involuntary call-ups will topple the weakened National Guard structure— which is so central to US domestic security. The National Guard Bureau has argued for a call up of only 12 months instead of 18 months. This misses the point—DOD will without fail be forced to also extend these National Guard brigades in combat at the last minute given the continuation of the current emergency situation.
We are rapidly getting to the point where a Draft is going to be the only option to get this cleaned up, especially if it will take another 36-48 months to do so. When that day comes, the whole game will change. The administration has been selling this as a WW-II-like war, but without the sacrifice (except when it comes to personal liberty). Once we start drafting kids, you're going to see the American public get behind this and get it done, and you're going to see full engagement around what to do with the architects of this fiasco. If you wondered what the "Surge" is really about, it's about stalling the draft until the culprits are out of office.
IMHO
also, I don't want this to get buried, it's critical:
The US Tier One special operations capability is simply magic. They are deadly in getting their target—with normally zero collateral damage—and with minimal friendly losses or injuries. Some of these assault elements have done 200-300 takedown operations at platoon level. The comprehensive intelligence system is phenomenal. We need to re-think how we view these forces. They are a national strategic system akin to a B1 bomber. We need to understand that the required investment level in the creation of these forces demands substantial dedicated UAV systems, intelligence, and communications resources. These special operations formations cannot by themselves win the nation’s wars. However, with them we have a tool of enormous and decisive strategic significance which has crucial importance in the global war on terrorists.
*It's not too late for all you hawks out there to get your pizza-fattened asses over to Iraq and show us what you're made of.
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3 comments:
Just a few of the things that would have to change if we were to try to implement a draft:
Scrap all current Transformation efforts: You may be able to proceed with the Modular Force concept, but you'll have to halt all changes and reformulate the Tables of Organization and Equipment (TO&E). This is because:
Increase Team and Squad sizes: Conscript troops have a wide variation in levels of motivation, education and initiative. To compensate, more oversight is required. This means more NCOs per troop. One SGT who currently supervises 5 or 7 troops would have to narrow his focus to 3 or 4. When you increase the Team and the Squad, you also increase the Platoon, the Company, the Battalion and all the way up. This means:
A larger and longer logistical train is needed: More troops means a need for more "beans and bullets" and that means more trucks, more truck drivers, more and bigger convoys; This by itself is a problem given current challenges in Iraq.
Bigger platoons also means different equipment has to be obtained: The Bradley, the workhorse of our Mechanized Infantry formations, is designed so that 4 of them can carry one entire platoon. Three each carry a Squad and the fourth carries the platoon HQ. You don't want to split squads up (hinders teamwork), so a new vehicle that will carry more troops has to be purchased. That's just one example of that sort.
In order to save money to pay for the larger Army, pay will be cut: And why wouldn't they? When troops no longer have the choice to serve or not, any pay can be considered "fair." At the very least, the raises that have become so regular over the last decade, will stop. I also predict, if a draft were initiated, all current troop welfare programs would be frozen if not halted and cut back. The volunteer service has been the biggest single motivator for improving living conditions, facilities, equipment. No one will volunteer to be mistreated.
Speaking of being mistreated: Kinder, gentler Basic Trainng would have to end. Back to wall-to-wall counselling to get the less motivated back into line. How many Senators gonna support that idea?
I was going to say, pretty much what 'rto traner' did.
The military we've got won't work with a draftee force. AVF was designed, yes, to allow draftees into the system, but also to fight a general war - not the war we have in Iraq. We can send them there, but they'll take many many more casualties and we risk really truly breaking the Army.
I don't have any answers - hey if I did I'd be General Dunbar instead of former Marine Dunbar - but I'm pretty sure the draft is one of those 'makes it worse' deals.
kqFirst let me say to RTO Trainer, thank you for one of the most intelligent, well reasoned and civil responses I've gotten here in a while. Thanks!
Second, wow. I admit it had occurred to me briefly, especially after reading General McCaffry's note, that draftees might be too raw to be effective for awhile, but the level of transformation you've described has been lost on me (and I would venture to guess it’s been lost on the vast majority of those of us without direct experience). That said, I see your point, depressing as it may be. I had hoped that a draft would work some political magic and get force us to take the war more seriously as a nation.
Given the way it has been sold and lead, it presents to most people like political theatre rather than an armed struggle. Not a media thing, the media (despite a lot of jockeying) is fairly straightforward about the violence and the complexity. The sale has been at a political level with lots of flags and calls to support the troops, but with funding cuts and tax rebates. The country does not have a sense that it is at war. I was a kid during Vietnam, but I remember very clearly my Uncle and father knowing everyday that they could be drafted, my family knowing everyday that there was a war (although I don’t think the adults had a much better idea of why than the kids did), and this being a debate that continued for a long time. As September 11 fades and the administration gets called to account for it’s misdeeds (as every 8 year presidency does in year 6), people are starting to think about the war in the same terms they thought about Somalia or the Balkans. I had hoped a draft would slap us around a bit and make us pay attention. It’s discouraging to hear that it would case more harm than good.
To BD, yeah, I’m in the same boat now, except without the Marine part.
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