A recent Congressional hearing generated headlines about the Navy's surface fleet falling into disrepair. But that was news four years ago. Across all the services, long-standing readiness problems are worsening; breakdowns are happening more frequently.
Several years ago, an Air Force F-15C literally broke in half during flight. Since then, two F-18s have caught fire aboard ships. Today, every single cruiser hull has cracks; A-10C Warthogs have fuselage cracks, and the UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter fleet is regularly grounded. Over half the Navy's deployed aircraft are not ready for combat. This is just a sample of the readiness problems plaguing those who serve in uniform. U.S. forces and their military commanders are putting on a brave face. But it's beyond irresponsible for Congress and the Obama administration to not provide the resources needed to address the problems immediately.
After a decade of constant combat and ever-increasing disaster relief and homeland defense missions, readiness among all U.S. military services -- National Guard and Reserves included -- is dangerously lower. Symptoms included delayed, shortened, and less diverse training; plugging personnel and equipment shortfalls in deploying units with resources from others; reduced maintenance for worn-out equipment; and shortened rest time before redeploying overseas.
And, there is so much more ..... something should be done, we once were a strong, proud nation, no more ........... but more so, is anything being done to correct the situation, I think not.
