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In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week, Army Chief of Staff General George Casey acknowledged that the Army is under pressure and facing readiness issues due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson, the Chair of the Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, is now asking Casey to work with Congress to identify solutions to those problems.
"I appreciate General Casey's candid testimony before the Committee. The fact that the Army is nearing a breaking point is no surprise – repeated and prolonged deployments have created cascading costs that are not limited to physical, mental and economic hardships on troops, increased difficulties in recruitment and retention, and the expense of continually repairing or replacing equipment,” said Nelson. "At present, we are running the risk of not being able to adequately respond to problems that might arise elsewhere in the world."
Today, Nelson sent a letter to Casey requesting the Army’s plan for further steps to alleviate the problems facing that branch. Nelson noted that some steps have been taken – primarily an increase in Army end-strength, targeted bonuses for re-enlistment, and new recruiting efforts. He further commended the Army's goal to reduce deployment time from 15 months to 12 months and provide at least 12 months at home between deployments with a future goal of 2 months at home for every month of deployment.
But Nelson also pressed for further details on additional measures that can be undertaken to reduce the strain on the Army described in General Casey's testimony. Reducing future deployments is a first step but plans to fix the Army must also address the existing challenges, such as increased costs of health and mental health care, and equipment shortages.
"Deployments are one part of the big picture – we need an Army that is ready and able to respond to threats anywhere in the world while meeting the needs of current and future soldiers and their families," said Nelson. "I stand ready and willing to work with General Casey and the Army leadership to make the changes necessary to restore the Army to full strength."
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