[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11128]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       ARTICLE BY THOMAS M. RUYLE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 1, 2007

  Mr. SKELTON. Madam Speaker, Thomas M. Ruyle wrote an excellent 
article, entitled ``Army Stretched Beyond Limits'', which appeared in 
the Sedalia Democrat on April 12, 2007. This article accurately 
describes the current state of our Army and the challenges it faces. I 
wish to share Mr. Ruyle's writing with the rest of the chamber:

               [From the Sedalia Democrat, Apr. 12, 2007]

                      Army Stretched Beyond Limits

                          (By Thomas M. Ruyle)

       The Army is broken.
       Defense Secretary Robert Gates' announcement yesterday that 
     all active-duty soldiers currently serving in Iraq would have 
     their rotations extended by three months is the latest 
     evidence that our military cannot meet the demands placed on 
     it.
       Furthermore, the Pentagon this week alerted four National 
     Guard brigades for a second tour in Iraq, long before those 
     units have had five years at home since their last 
     deployment, as policy dictates.
       Some active-duty units, such as the 3rd Brigade, 3rd 
     Infantry Division, are serving their third tour in Iraq in 
     four years.
       They recently returned to Iraq after a shortened rest and 
     re-training period. Newer soldiers have, in many cases, not 
     had the time to train with their new comrades before being 
     sent into battle.
       Reserve units that have already served are woefully short 
     on equipment and ammunition to properly retrain, either for 
     the maw of Iraq or defending America itself. The Marine Corps 
     recently announced that jungle training--a Corps mainstay--
     will be suspended as that service is forced to concentrate 
     all resources on training for Iraq.
       In the event of a major conflict erupting between the U.S. 
     and another nation--Iran, North Korea and Pakistan come 
     immediately to mind--America's ground forces, particularly 
     the Army, are in no way, shape or form capable of responding 
     appropriately.
       Meanwhile, the current administration--particularly the 
     vice president--continues to maintain that everything is 
     progressing as scheduled in Iraq, and that anyone who begs to 
     differ is a defeatist or unpatriotic. Trouble is, there was 
     no schedule and little planning involved in the Iraq debacle.
       The administration went to Iraq on a platform of lies, 
     failed to heed the warnings of senior military officers and 
     other warfare experts, and did not react appropriately when 
     things started going bad in Iraq shortly after the invasion.
       Indeed, under Donald Rumsfeld, the defense establishment 
     followed the `script' rather than act to prevent the looming 
     realities that are obvious now.
       Since 2001, America's military has been engaged full-time 
     in two separate wars: The War on Terrorism (primarily in 
     Afghanistan), and (since 2003) a second, unnecessary war that 
     has only begotten more terrorism, further destabilized the 
     Middle East and left America very vulnerable.
       As an Army National Guard veteran of the Iraq War, I've 
     seen firsthand the toll that a combat deployment will have on 
     a unit, its equipment, soldiers and, their families. It takes 
     years for a unit to properly recover and be ready to deploy 
     again.
       Sending units back to Iraq on a speeded-up schedule is a, 
     disservice to not only the soldiers and families affected, 
     but America's long-term strategy (if there is one) in Iraq as 
     well as America itself.
       All the while, there has been no effort to expand the 
     military or adequately address the equipment shortcomings of 
     units after serving in the harsh climate of the Middle East.
       The recent spate of Guard alerts, tour extensions and 
     shortened rest periods are indicative of a problem that the 
     Pentagon and administration utterly refuse to acknowledge: 
     The United States Army is broken, and it will take billions 
     of dollars over at least a decade to bring the Army back up 
     to a fully competent readiness level.

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