OK, now Bush wants to trim the size of the Army Reserve?!
Let's see. Rummie thinks the Army is too big. Commanders in Iraq are now coming out that they don't have enough men. They also want to shrink the size of the National Guard, though that wouldn't be an actual manpower reduction, it would reduce the current maximum strength to the current actual strength. The National Guard is theoretically at the command of the state's governor, though I don't know who pays for them.
So. There isn't enough manpower in Iraq. The Army can't meet recruiting goals, all of the other branches of the armed forces are meeting their goals. The Army is doing stop-loss to keep personnel and units, including Guard and Reserves, longer in Iraq than their originally planned deployment. And Rummie and Bush think they can do the job with less people?!
THEY HAVEN'T DONE THE FRICKIN' JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE! Show me Bin Laden in chains in court.
They need a larger army. They need an army that can fight an irregular war. THEY NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THE VETERANS AND INJURED SOLDIERS THAT ARE COMING BACK HOME. I don't know why, but it just occurred to me that the current administration views army soldiers as being interchangeable, replaceable, and with no value, that's why they keep cutting veteran's benefits, but that's OK because Halliburton stock is up to around $80 a share from being down around $20 three years ago. I don't know why I didn't recognize that before. Then again, few people in the current administration actually served in the military.
I don't doubt that the American Army can be smaller and more effective, BUT YOU DON'T SHRINK YOUR MILITARY DURING A WAR! Geez.
Oh, I forgot one point that I needed to make. If Congress votes this down, then can Bush take a bit of a moral high ground saying that he's trying to save the country money to reduce the deficit? The GOP controls Congress, Congress does not seem to be in favor of such a move, so is Bush breaking with Congress?
It's just a mess, that's probably the only certainty in this whole thing. I honestly don't think we are capable of improving things in Iraq, the country has gone to hell and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. If we pull out, we "didn't stay the course" and it's our fault the country has gone to hell. If we stay, it continues to get worse, and it's our fault the country has gone to hell. Even capturing Bin Laden at this point will make no difference in terrorist activity in Iraq and the region (IMO). It can be argued that with Bin Laden out of circulation that the world will be a better place, but I think the actual amount of improvement will not be as significant as people think, he is not responsible for all the terrorist activity in the world, and it will not instantly be Days of Wine and Roses when he is out of circulation.
I should go to bed. :-)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/defense_budget
Full story under cut.
Bush to Propose Trimming Army Reserve
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
President Bush will use his new budget to propose cutting the size of the Army Reserve to its lowest level in three decades and stripping up to $4 billion from two fighter aircraft programs.
The proposals, likely to face opposition on Capitol Hill, come as the Defense Department struggles to trim personnel costs and other expenses to pay for the war in Iraq and a host of other pricey aircraft and high-tech programs. Bush will send his 2007 budget to Congress on Feb. 6.
The proposed Army Reserve cut is part of a broader plan to achieve a new balance of troop strength and combat power among the active Army, the National Guard and reserves to fight the global war on terrorism and to defend the homeland.
The Army sent a letter to members of Congress on Thursday outlining the plan. A copy was provided to The Associated Press.
Under the plan, the authorized troop strength of the Army Reserve would drop from 205,000 - the current number of slots it is allowed - to 188,000, the actual number of soldiers it had at the end of 2005. Because of recruiting and other problems, the Army Reserve has been unable to fill its ranks to its authorized level.
Army leaders have said they are taking a similar approach to shrinking the National Guard. They are proposing to cut that force from its authorized level of 350,000 soldiers to 333,000, the actual number now on the rolls.
Some in Congress have vowed to fight the National Guard cuts. Its soldiers and resources are controlled by state governors unless Guard units are mobilized by the president for federal duty, as Bush did after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I remain convinced that we do not have a large enough force," Rep. Ike Skelton (news, bio, voting record), D-Mo., said in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Proposals to cut funding in two key jet fighter programs were described by defense analysts and congressional aides, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because the reductions have not been announced.
One plan would eliminate funding for an alternative engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, the military's next-generation combat plane.
The second would cut money for F-22 fighters during 2007. But it is actually a contract restructuring that would add that money back - and more - over the long run by stretching out the program for an additional two years and buying up to four more planes. The new plan calls for buying 60 aircraft through 2010, rather than 56 in the next two years.
The Joint Strike Fighter engine is being built by General Electric and England-based Rolls Royce, and the plan to dump them as suppliers has triggered intense lobbying, including a handwritten note from British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Bush.
On the homefront, the close to $2 billion cut would hit General Electric engine plants, and possibly jobs, in Ohio and Massachusetts and a Rolls Royce plant in Indiana.
"This is a big question for GE," said Loren Thompson, military analyst with the Lexington Institute think tank. "They could get shut out of the fighter engine business over the next 10 years."
The proposal would benefit Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney, which got the original contract for the Lockheed Martin aircraft, and delivered its first engine last month.
GE spokesman Dan Meador said the alternate engine program provides competition for Pratt & Whitney, helping to drive down costs while also providing a back-up if problems arise.
"It's very important to GE and Rolls Royce, and we're performing well," he said.
Defense officials, however, said the Pratt & Whitney engine has performed well and within budget, and noted that a number of other jet fighter programs - including the F-22 - have just one engine maker. Pratt & Whitney also makes the engines for the F-22.
___
AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.
So. There isn't enough manpower in Iraq. The Army can't meet recruiting goals, all of the other branches of the armed forces are meeting their goals. The Army is doing stop-loss to keep personnel and units, including Guard and Reserves, longer in Iraq than their originally planned deployment. And Rummie and Bush think they can do the job with less people?!
THEY HAVEN'T DONE THE FRICKIN' JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE! Show me Bin Laden in chains in court.
They need a larger army. They need an army that can fight an irregular war. THEY NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THE VETERANS AND INJURED SOLDIERS THAT ARE COMING BACK HOME. I don't know why, but it just occurred to me that the current administration views army soldiers as being interchangeable, replaceable, and with no value, that's why they keep cutting veteran's benefits, but that's OK because Halliburton stock is up to around $80 a share from being down around $20 three years ago. I don't know why I didn't recognize that before. Then again, few people in the current administration actually served in the military.
I don't doubt that the American Army can be smaller and more effective, BUT YOU DON'T SHRINK YOUR MILITARY DURING A WAR! Geez.
Oh, I forgot one point that I needed to make. If Congress votes this down, then can Bush take a bit of a moral high ground saying that he's trying to save the country money to reduce the deficit? The GOP controls Congress, Congress does not seem to be in favor of such a move, so is Bush breaking with Congress?
It's just a mess, that's probably the only certainty in this whole thing. I honestly don't think we are capable of improving things in Iraq, the country has gone to hell and there doesn't seem to be any end in sight. If we pull out, we "didn't stay the course" and it's our fault the country has gone to hell. If we stay, it continues to get worse, and it's our fault the country has gone to hell. Even capturing Bin Laden at this point will make no difference in terrorist activity in Iraq and the region (IMO). It can be argued that with Bin Laden out of circulation that the world will be a better place, but I think the actual amount of improvement will not be as significant as people think, he is not responsible for all the terrorist activity in the world, and it will not instantly be Days of Wine and Roses when he is out of circulation.
I should go to bed. :-)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/defense_budget
Full story under cut.
Bush to Propose Trimming Army Reserve
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
President Bush will use his new budget to propose cutting the size of the Army Reserve to its lowest level in three decades and stripping up to $4 billion from two fighter aircraft programs.
The proposals, likely to face opposition on Capitol Hill, come as the Defense Department struggles to trim personnel costs and other expenses to pay for the war in Iraq and a host of other pricey aircraft and high-tech programs. Bush will send his 2007 budget to Congress on Feb. 6.
The proposed Army Reserve cut is part of a broader plan to achieve a new balance of troop strength and combat power among the active Army, the National Guard and reserves to fight the global war on terrorism and to defend the homeland.
The Army sent a letter to members of Congress on Thursday outlining the plan. A copy was provided to The Associated Press.
Under the plan, the authorized troop strength of the Army Reserve would drop from 205,000 - the current number of slots it is allowed - to 188,000, the actual number of soldiers it had at the end of 2005. Because of recruiting and other problems, the Army Reserve has been unable to fill its ranks to its authorized level.
Army leaders have said they are taking a similar approach to shrinking the National Guard. They are proposing to cut that force from its authorized level of 350,000 soldiers to 333,000, the actual number now on the rolls.
Some in Congress have vowed to fight the National Guard cuts. Its soldiers and resources are controlled by state governors unless Guard units are mobilized by the president for federal duty, as Bush did after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I remain convinced that we do not have a large enough force," Rep. Ike Skelton (news, bio, voting record), D-Mo., said in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Proposals to cut funding in two key jet fighter programs were described by defense analysts and congressional aides, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because the reductions have not been announced.
One plan would eliminate funding for an alternative engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, the military's next-generation combat plane.
The second would cut money for F-22 fighters during 2007. But it is actually a contract restructuring that would add that money back - and more - over the long run by stretching out the program for an additional two years and buying up to four more planes. The new plan calls for buying 60 aircraft through 2010, rather than 56 in the next two years.
The Joint Strike Fighter engine is being built by General Electric and England-based Rolls Royce, and the plan to dump them as suppliers has triggered intense lobbying, including a handwritten note from British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Bush.
On the homefront, the close to $2 billion cut would hit General Electric engine plants, and possibly jobs, in Ohio and Massachusetts and a Rolls Royce plant in Indiana.
"This is a big question for GE," said Loren Thompson, military analyst with the Lexington Institute think tank. "They could get shut out of the fighter engine business over the next 10 years."
The proposal would benefit Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney, which got the original contract for the Lockheed Martin aircraft, and delivered its first engine last month.
GE spokesman Dan Meador said the alternate engine program provides competition for Pratt & Whitney, helping to drive down costs while also providing a back-up if problems arise.
"It's very important to GE and Rolls Royce, and we're performing well," he said.
Defense officials, however, said the Pratt & Whitney engine has performed well and within budget, and noted that a number of other jet fighter programs - including the F-22 - have just one engine maker. Pratt & Whitney also makes the engines for the F-22.
___
AP Military Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.