Army Reserve chief raises concern about 'broken force'

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Urges wider call-up to meet commitments

Thursday, January 6, 2005 Posted: 8:51 AM EST (1351 GMT)

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Lt. Gen. James Helmly says the Army Reserve is no longer able to meet its commitments in Iraq.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon's reliance on volunteers from the Army Reserve for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan risks creating a "broken force," the reserve force's commander warned his superiors in a December memo, and he urged a wider call-up of reservists to active duty.

In his memo, Lt. Gen. James Helmly stated that the Army Reserve is no longer able to meet its commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor can it "reset and regenerate" units for future missions.

Reserve commanders spend too much time trying to accommodate troops who don't want to serve, leaving the force unable to meet its mission requirements, Helmly concluded -- the result of policies that were designed for peacetime, "as opposed to a mobilized force in wartime."

"While some have expressed surprise and indignation at being mobilized for this war, most have not," Helmly wrote in a December 20 memorandum to Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff. "They have understood it to be inherent in their volunteer contract for service."

In addition, offering a $1,000 monthly bonus to volunteers for active duty risks creating a "mercenary" culture in its ranks, he wrote...

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it is interesting, if the people abusing Iraqi prisoners were some of these that did not want to serve in the first place
 
USAFAUX2004 said:
it is interesting, if the people abusing Iraqi prisoners were some of these that did not want to serve in the first place

If they didn't want to serve. Then maybe they shouldn't have enlisted.
 
Yeah I get really pissed when I hear about these isolated cases of somebody from the Guard or Reserves saying they joined up thinking they'd never have to go anywhere. Thank God this all happened if nothing else than to get rid of the dead weight and freeloaders. Make them serve their commitments though. Probably plenty of garbage scows that need crews.
 
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