Army looking at 'progressive readiness'

The Army is talking about something spinners call “progressive readiness” as budgets shrink and every government department wants to show why it is indispensible for the country’s future.

When a uniformed bureaucrat puts a good-sounding title on something, rather than what the thing actually is, you know we have a problem.

Army leaders know there is a dollar problem, but leaders do not always see problems and fixes the same way soldiers do. A high-up leader wants a big-dollar weapons system that is all things to people technical. I want a rifle that shoots straight and often, a machine gun that is dependable, a mortar that will splash rounds where I need them, when I need them and a reliable radio so I can call for stuff. And I want food and pay on time.

Gen. John Campbell, Army vice chief of staff, says people might look at “progressive readiness” as what used to be called “tiered readiness,” which “we said we never were going to go again.”

“Tiered readiness” refers to “the Cold War practice where units not in West Germany or South Korea sometimes never received their full allotment of troops, equipment, and training dollars,” according to Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., of Breaking Defense.

http://breakingdefense.com/2013/08/26/army-adopting-tiered-readiness-vice-chief-campbell/?utm_source=Breaking+Defense&utm_campaign=92b27f1939-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4368933672-92b27f1939-407339625

Whatever words the Army decides to use in describing readiness, many soldiers went through years of insufficient funding, old equipment and little ammunition, all of which caused a general malaise in training and morale. This was particularly true for most National Guard and Reserve units until post-9/11 and for Active Duty units during the Carter administration.

I was pushed out the door in 1990 and missed out on the times of intense training with sufficient ammunition and updated equipment. It is sad, but historical, that Americans have to be killed in large numbers before politicians begin approving needed funding for war training.

One comment at Breaking Defense said: “Be prepared for a lot of garrison training on individual skills. Company training and higher will become a rarity unless you are at Fort Hood where there is room to train.”

I will tell you, few things suck morale from a company as does constant garrison training on individual skills.

I hope unit leaders do a better job than it looks like Pentagon leaders know how do to. A lot of somebodies are in over their heads.