Five Years Late
The recession is proving to be a boon for Army recruitment (this is always true), as the Army plans to complete its 2012 expansion two years early. There are other benefits:
The army also sees increased “dwell time” as a partial cure for combat fatigue, and a major boost for morale. Currently, because of last year’s surge campaign in Iraq (the addition of five more brigades in Iraq and extension of tours from 12 to 15 months), troops spend a bit less than a month at home for each month in combat. This year, the dwell time will return to one month at home for each one in combat. By 2009, it will be 1.5 at home for each one in combat. Eventually, the army wants to get dwell time up to three months for each one in combat. With the accelerated expansion of the force, that may be accomplished within five years.
Why President Bush or Congress didn’t push for increases in the active duty and reserve rosters back in 2001, I have no idea.
In many ways, though I supported (and continue to support) the Bush Doctrine, I think he was the wrong man for the job. There have been so many aspects of the execution that have been a complete failure. In particular the PR campaign. That alone almost lost us this war.
I’m hoping that Obama, since winning, has had his eyes opened to the dangers we are facing as a country, and that he is able to use his ample rhetorical skills to rally the nation behind the cause.
I still believe that, in the long-run, Bush will be viewed more in a more kindly manner. But we can’t varnish over his obvious deficiencies.
Nuke, I feel confident that history will be kind to George Bush. You’re right that his deficencies are obvious, but they are of the sort history tends to forget.
Unfortunately, one of the deficiencies was his total acceptance of the Rumsfeld doctrine of the light footprint and beefing up the military after 9/11 would have been incompatible with Rumsfeld’s approach to war making.
The USMC is still 10% smaller than it was in 1993 when we weren’t at war. This is shameful of our generals to accept.
Stephen, your memory is getting pretty bad. Don’t you remember the screams about the “rush to war,” and all the conspiracy theories that Bush entered office planning to invade Iraq?
If he had tried to increase force levels after 9/11, most of the Democrats would have screamed bloody murder, and claimed he was planning an “aggressive” war. They probably would have sucked in a few isolationist Republicans as well.