Rumsfeld defends Army readiness

Says troops are fit, despite strain

December 08, 2003|Associated Press

SHANNON, Ireland -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a toll on the US Army, but the soldiers who are due home next spring are fit to return to a war zone if called upon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday.

Military officials have said that only two of the Army's 10 active-duty divisions will be at full strength for any new conflict next year.

The four Army divisions serving in Iraq are expected to need about six months to rest, retrain, and repair equipment when they return from Iraq early next year. With three divisions set to rotate into Iraq and one division into Afghanistan as replacements, about 80 percent of the Army's fighting strength either will be on the mend or on duty fighting terrorists and stabilizing the two countries.

One of the two remaining divisions, the Third Infantry, is just back from Iraq and not yet up to full capacity.

But Rumsfeld said the Army's rating system for combat readiness may be outdated and inappropriate during a period in which the nation is at war.

In an interview aboard his plane while flying from Iraq to a refueling stop in Ireland yesterday, Rumsfeld said he intended to discuss the matter soon with General Peter Schoomaker, Army chief of staff.

"Our force today is as trained, equipped, experienced, combat-hardened" as in any recent time, Rumsfeld said. Even though Army vehicles and aircraft need refurbishing or replacement and troops need rest and fresh training, that does not mean they are not ready for further combat, he added.

After recent military exercises, senior commanders have concluded that the United States has "the capabilities today to fulfill" the Pentagon's contingency plans for war, Rumsfeld said.

Army officials acknowledged that the force is stretched but say the drop in readiness will not leave the United States vulnerable if a new fight arises with an adversary, such as North Korea. Troops from the National Guard, reserves, and the other military services are capable of joining any fight, and the recovering soldiers could be quickly reactivated if they are needed, officials said.

The Army's Fourth Infantry, 101st Airborne, First Armored, and 82d Airborne divisions are expected to leave Iraq by May. When those troops return, they will need at least six months to rest, resume training, and repair helicopters, tanks, Humvees, and other gear that has been pushed to or past the breaking point in Iraq's harsh desert environment.

During retraining, the formal readiness ratings of those divisions will fall to the lowest or second-lowest level, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

"The dip in readiness is a natural result of troops returning home," said Kim Waldron, spokeswoman for Army Forces Command in Atlanta.Some have grumbled about the strain on the force. "Beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army," former Army chief of staff, General Eric Shinseki, said when he retired last summer.