Strain on Military is Sign of Deeper Problems

My first day of class in History439 – “Modern American History,” was like any other first day of class, with the exception that I meet someone who had experienced many of the same things I had. He had been deployed twice with the military, and we were able to discuss the war in Iraq from the perspective of two individuals who had personal experiences with the war. We had a great conversation, and since then have continued to maintain a friendship in class. We share the same views on the military, and on Iraq.

The second time this guy was deployed it was on a volunteer basis. His four-year contract was coming to an end, but his unit was deploying again. Rather than have his unit deploy without him, he opted to extend for one year to return to Iraq. That is true honor, and that is a true hero. After his return from his second tour he got out of the military, and came to JMU to pursue a Master’s degree. He had three years of Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR) before he was officially out of the military. With just six months of this commitment left, he received a letter in the mail informing him he was being called to active service for deployment to Afghanistan. He has been out of the military for two and a half years, is engaged, and is trying to finish school. The news devastated him, and further convinced him that this war was a poor choice, and the military has been strained to its breaking point. The military has been forced to use policies such as stop-loss and the IRR to make up for the loss of troops in retention, and the drop in enlistment. This is what experts call a “back door draft,” and it is what is hurting the military.

A year ago Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey made this statement concerning the readiness of our troops:

The current demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply. We are consumed with meeting the demands of the current fight and are unable to provide ready forces as rapidly as necessary for other potential contingencies.

Regardless of how you view the war, every American should be concerned with the current state of our military. When speaking with Joe Biden at Virginia Beach he made a statement that has stuck with me, he said that, “America is not at war, our military is at war.” It is the men and women of our armed forces and their families who are sacrificing so much for this cause. It is either time to bring them home, or time to ask more of the rest of America.

Seth Lovell