Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee - State of the United States Army
Interview
Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee - State of the United States Army
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SEN. MEL MARTINEZ (R-FL): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank both of the witnesses today for their service to our country at this difficult time.
General Casey, would you expand for me on the condition of the National Guard and its equipment as we were faced in a post-9/11 world, which then required their deployment? Because I'm not sure that was fully answered earlier. So if you wouldn't mind?
GEN. CASEY: As I started to respond to Senator Kennedy, the Guard and Reserve forces prior to September 11th were not fully manned and equipped, and there's a perception that the Guard and Reserve have equipment shortages what they -- was that they left it in Iraq is just -- it's not true. Less than 5 percent of the equipment -- Guard and Reserve equipment was left in Iraq. They never had it to begin with because they were a strategic reserve, and that's what I said in my opening statement about -- we're using them in a role that they weren't originally designed or resourced for -- as an operational reserve.
Now that said, we've made great strides right form the beginning in ensuring that the Guard and Reserve had the equipment -- the right equipment -- when they deployed. And we made a decision back when I was the Vice Chief of Staff at the Army to issue the first new soldier personal equipment to the Guard brigades that were going over in early '04, and that has continued and they -- we have shared the quality equipment with the active and the Guard and Reserve equitably. Now, as I said to Senator Collins, we're not where we need to be right now by any stretch of the imagination. But you have given us the resources that are going to allow us over the next several years to buy the equipment and bring the Guard and Reserve back to the point where they need to be so that they can support the state missions, train for further missions and have the quality equipment they need when they deploy.
SEN. MARTINEZ: General, you spoke earlier in your testimony about the challenges of globalization -- the have and have-nots which, merged into humanitarian crises, could lead to mischief in the world and potential conflict and problems. My question has to do with the role that you envisioned for the Army, but as well the totality of our federal government as we respond to problems abroad that might present themselves where nations may have problems that, if unaddressed, would lead then to potential conflict. How we address the issues of financial problems, health issues, housing issues, rule of law, education and the potential for economic development and growth, which could then lead to a healthier environment in which it would be more difficult for the mischief you spoke of to sustain itself. Could you address how we are prepared or not prepared for that type of challenge in the 21st century?
GEN. CASEY: Well, Senator, first of all on these -- the different trends I mentioned, the reason that they're important to us from a security perspective now is because global terrorism and extremism are realities that we're dealing with. And they create recruits that can sustain this effort. And as you suggest, it's not necessarily going to be the military solution that is the one that is ultimately going to bring stability to these different countries. And as we are seeing in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a great need for civil efforts to do the kind of things that the military doesn't necessarily do, like build rule of law institutions -- like build financial institutions and just municipal government and those kinds of things.
(In progress after audio break) -- soldiers at home longer, that will also impact their readiness. With the short period of time that they are home today, the ability to train up for multiple specialties is challenging. And as we see the time at home grow, the training piece of the readiness indicators will improve. But when you're home for 12 months and getting ready to go back for COIN operations, it limits the other type of training that you can take on and be competent at. So that's an issue that will get better as the deployment schedule gets more back in balance.
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