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The Wheels Are Coming Off — Why Now?
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The Wheels Are Coming Off

by Bryan

I’ve written about General Peter Schoomaker, the Army Chief of Staff, before, when he asked Congress for more money in September to fix all of the worn and broken equipment that is piling up in repair depots.

Now he’s asking for more troops for the Army, because the commitments are exceeding the capacity of the Army to meet them without breaking.

General Schoomaker was Rumsfeld’s personal choice for Army Chief of Staff; he was called out of retirement to fill the job. He isn’t a maverick and has been toeing the party line for years. Things are so bad that he can’t be quiet any longer.

Mark Fiore highlights one of the problems that General Schoomaker faces when trying to hold on to trained personnel.

2 comments

1 John McKay { 12.16.06 at 1:15 am }

I’m not saying anything you don’t know, but…

Anyone who asks for more troops, without offering a source for getting those troops, is just playing a propaganda game. Or, to use the favorite word of the the conservative pundits, they are not serious. It doesn’t matter if they are General Schoolmaker, Sen. Lieberman, or St. McCain, demanding troops without offering a source for those troops is bullshit, pure and simple.

2 Bryan { 12.16.06 at 12:56 pm }

OT: Glad you made it through with power, John.

Schoomaker is talking about increasing the size of the army, hoping to be able to recruit and train an extra 6,000 additional troops a year. Rumsfeld has been blocking this for years.

Apparently Schoomaker and others have been asking to do this for some time, rather than relying in the Guard and Reserve, but Rumsfeld wouldn’t listen.