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CNN Live At Daybreak
U.S. Troops Spread Thin Across Globe
Aired June 18, 2003 - 05:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, U.S. troops are in Iraq, of course, but they're also in Afghanistan and South Korea, and elsewhere around the world. The Pentagon is finding itself stretched thin across the globe.
Our Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre tells us it's a growing problem for military planners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Soldiers of the 3rd I.D., instead of a ticket home have been assigned dangerous new combat duties in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a little irritated, you know? Seems like there are plenty of other soldiers to do it, why do we have to do it?
MCINTYRE: The answer is simply that because of ballooning global commitments the Army is fresh out of reinforcement. Most soldiers now in Iraq can expect a nine-month tour of duty, some having already served in Afghanistan.
At his retirement last week, Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki, who infuriated the Pentagon, with is pre-war prediction it would take several 100,000 troops to secure Iraq, delivered a parting shot. The Army, he charged, is stretched far too thin.
GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: And as we speak over 370,000 soldiers of our army are deployed in forward station, this day and everyday, 120 countries.
MCINTYRE: In 1991, when the U.S. Army sent the equivalent of eight divisions to Iraq, it still had 10 divisions left. Now the Army only has 10 divisions, total. And only one, the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas, is complete and ready for deployment on short notice. The rest, with the exception of a few brigades are deployed or earmarked to replace soldiers in Afghanistan, Europe, Korea and Iraq.
SHINSEKI: Beware the 12 division strategy for a 10 division Army. Our soldiers and families bear the risk and hardship of carrying a mission load that exceeds what force capabilities we can sustain.
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon insists the problem isn't that the Army is too small, but rather that too many U.S. military personnel, 320,000 by one estimate, are doing jobs that should be done by civilians. DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: They're not being done because of the way the rules and requirements are fashioned over a long period of time. That's not good. That's not right. We ought to fix these things.
MCINTYRE (on camera): Army officials complain privately that what really needs fixing is the U.S. national military strategy updated after September 11. It calls for hunting down terrorists and deposing dictators, but critics say it doesn't include enough forces to sustain those mission without great individual sacrifice.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 18, 2003 - 05:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, U.S. troops are in Iraq, of course, but they're also in Afghanistan and South Korea, and elsewhere around the world. The Pentagon is finding itself stretched thin across the globe.
Our Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre tells us it's a growing problem for military planners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Soldiers of the 3rd I.D., instead of a ticket home have been assigned dangerous new combat duties in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a little irritated, you know? Seems like there are plenty of other soldiers to do it, why do we have to do it?
MCINTYRE: The answer is simply that because of ballooning global commitments the Army is fresh out of reinforcement. Most soldiers now in Iraq can expect a nine-month tour of duty, some having already served in Afghanistan.
At his retirement last week, Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki, who infuriated the Pentagon, with is pre-war prediction it would take several 100,000 troops to secure Iraq, delivered a parting shot. The Army, he charged, is stretched far too thin.
GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF: And as we speak over 370,000 soldiers of our army are deployed in forward station, this day and everyday, 120 countries.
MCINTYRE: In 1991, when the U.S. Army sent the equivalent of eight divisions to Iraq, it still had 10 divisions left. Now the Army only has 10 divisions, total. And only one, the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas, is complete and ready for deployment on short notice. The rest, with the exception of a few brigades are deployed or earmarked to replace soldiers in Afghanistan, Europe, Korea and Iraq.
SHINSEKI: Beware the 12 division strategy for a 10 division Army. Our soldiers and families bear the risk and hardship of carrying a mission load that exceeds what force capabilities we can sustain.
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon insists the problem isn't that the Army is too small, but rather that too many U.S. military personnel, 320,000 by one estimate, are doing jobs that should be done by civilians. DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: They're not being done because of the way the rules and requirements are fashioned over a long period of time. That's not good. That's not right. We ought to fix these things.
MCINTYRE (on camera): Army officials complain privately that what really needs fixing is the U.S. national military strategy updated after September 11. It calls for hunting down terrorists and deposing dictators, but critics say it doesn't include enough forces to sustain those mission without great individual sacrifice.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
