Top Army General Calls Army 'Out of Balance'

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told reporters today his branch of the military is "out of balance" and said that the six years of constant conflict since 9/11 has "stretched and stressed our all volunteer force."

Speaking at the National Press Club, Casey said he still thinks success in Iraq is "eminently attainable," though he admitted there are limits beyond which the current Army could not go. Before he became Army Chief of Staff, Casey was replaced as the commander of US forces in Iraq after the November 2006 election to make way for Gen. David Petraeus and the surge strategy.

Casey's deputy, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody, said at Ft. Hood that troops should be prepared to continue with the current, extended 15 month troop deployments associated with the surge of US troops in Iraq through next June. Casey said he "would not be able to recommend" extending the longer tours beyond next Spring.

Casey pointed to plans to grow the Army by nearly 50,000 troops in the coming years and said he is generally satisfied with the commitment on Capitol Hill to give appropriate funding to the Army.

When asked if the military has considered a move to reinstate the draft, Casey said "the demand for forces exceeds the supply and if the demand doesn't go down" the Army will need a mechanism to provide more forces. Case said the draft is "absolutely not under consideration" at the moment.


Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/08/top-army-genera.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. If they feel they can get away wiht it, you will see a draft

depends on the political calculus

[pansypoo53219]

3. no

the republikkan will destroy the army before a draft. because it's easy to use VOLUNTEERS for a oedipal war. a mistake. a boondoggle. a quagmire.
a draft means accountability to actual people.

[tridim]

2. "The Army will need a mechanism to provide more forces"

Draft, mechanism, meat grinder, whatever.

Sounds like a line from Dr. Strangelove.

[IndianaGreen]

4. There aren't enough troops to fight the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, much less

the phony GWOT. We currently have military advisors in combat missions in the Philippines, another hot spot that has been out of the news.

You can either pull out entirely of Iraq and redeploy to Afghanistan, but you still will lack the forces to meet all of the little conflicts we have gotten involved under the guise of GWOT.

They can dangle more money in front of young men and women to get them to take a chance on the only thing that will get them out of their personal and financial situations, or you can have a draft.

The only solution from this Leftist's perspective is to shutoff the GWOT, and get out of Iraq totally. Afghanistan should be rethought. Our presence there seems to do nothing but to recruit more people to the Taliban.

Going after bin Laden should be left to special operations. The rest of the army should return home.

[Mind_your_head]

5. afghanistan is a protection racket....not that it doesn't need it soldiers

Don Corleone.....

:eyes:

[Sherman A1]

6. Perhaps we need to redeploy

our troops home and then our resources ($$$$"s) into more diplomacy, Intel and law enforcement by pulling the troops out, cutting off the useless weapon programs (F22 & F35), mothballing a couple of carriers. We need to fight smarter and with fewer military forces that just become recruiting tools for the guys we are trying to put out of our misery.

[Scooter24]

7. "at the moment"

Yeah right... :eyes: