Army training centers get failing grades
By Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES
More than half of Army combat and support training centers have
plunged to the lowest possible readiness level, with some
commanding generals warning they risk not being able to turn out
qualified soldiers, internal documents say. The sensitive Army
reports show that of 20 schools for such critically important
skills as field artillery, infantry and aviation, 12 have dipped
to a C-4 rating, the military's lowest.
"In the three-year period since the time I was assistant
commandant to now, I have never seen a resource picture so bleak.
And as we know, it will get worse," said a report from Maj. Gen.
Tony Stricklin, commander of the Army Field Artillery School at
Fort Still, Okla.
The documents paint a disturbing picture of training within the
very system designed to teach basic combat skills and prepare
soldiers for real-life operations. The skills include artillery
and missile firings, helicopter aviation, land combat and
intelligence. Some of the lowest-ranked training sites include
the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala.; the Army
Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; and the Army Field
Artillery School at Fort Sill, Okla.
"Let me clearly state the U.S. Army Field Artillery School is
nearing an unready state for training artillery soldiers," Gen.
Stricklin wrote.
A spokesman for Army Training and Doctrine Command, which
oversees the training centers and collected the readiness
reports, declined comment yesterday. "We have no comment at all
about leaked material," said spokesman Harvey Perritt.
Generals who run the centers complain of inadequate funding,
equipment and instructors. Their stark messages are contained in
memos to Training and Doctrine Command in the latest readiness
reports available for this year. Final reports are due after the
fiscal year ends Sept. 30. All schools were projected to
continue operating at low levels.
Maj. Gen. Anthony R. Jones, who heads the Army Aviation Center
for pilot training at Fort Rucker, Ala., said, "Shortages in
personnel and funding are significantly impacting the scope of
active projects."
The Army Signal Center at Fort Gordon, Ga., where soldiers learn
combat communications, reported similar problems. "Insufficient
personnel and training equipment, use of obsolete training
equipment, and a lack of funding have continued to plague our
ability to accomplish our training mission for more than two
years," wrote Maj. Gen. Peter M. Cuviello, then commander, who
is now stationed at the Pentagon. "We are barely meeting the
requirement, and in fact, we are graduating soldiers from
Advanced Individual Training, noncommissioned officer courses,
and officer courses who have not received the comprehensive
training we owe them in order to be successful in their jobs."
The documents show that of 20 schools, 12 were classified C-4.
Six were rated C-3. The highest rating, C-2, went to chaplain
training and special warfare.
The 12 C-4 grades were for training in air defense, aviation,
chemical weapons, combined arms, engineering, field artillery,
infantry, military intelligence, military police, signal corps
and transportation.
The Army Training and Doctrine Command defines C-4 this way: "The
school/installation/command requires additional resources to
undertake the mission(s) for which it was designed. It may
undertake portions of its mission(s) consistent with resources
available. Training deficiencies will have a significant impact
on Army readiness."
The Army readiness documents were provided to a reporter by a
retired officer. He said his motive is to shine light on the
problem and to bolster Republican presidential nominee George W.
Bush's contention that military readiness is declining. The
retired officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the
shortfalls stem from declining Army budgets and an ongoing effort
to transfer soldiers from support jobs to fill out the service's
10 active divisions. He said C-4 ratings mean the Army is
graduating soldiers whose quality "is not where it should be."
"The whole picture is alarming," he said.
Army special operations, an elite force thought to be immune from
readiness woes, is also feeling the pinch at its John F.
Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Maj. Gen. William G. Boykin, the commander, talked of
shortages of radios, night-vision equipment and weapons systems.
"This mode of operation cannot be sustained another year without
incurring unacceptable safety risks and severe training quality
degradation," he said. "We must be resourced to a level that
will allow us to meet current and planned course requirements."
Mr. Bush, the Texas governor, has accused President Clinton of
letting readiness slip while the administration deployed troops
on a record number of peacetime missions in the 1990s. Vice
President Al Gore, the Democratic nominee, counters that the U.S.
armed forces remain the world's best and that an influx of more
budget dollars is beginning to help recruiting and retention.
A recent spot check by The Washington Times of officers in the
field found them saying their units still lack proper equipment
and training hours.
Defense analysts and military personnel say today's readiness
problems are rooted in the early 1990s, when Mr. Clinton decided
to cut military spending by $128 billion over six years. He then
sent troops on scores of overseas deployments that drained spare
parts, wore out equipment and depleted maintenance accounts.
Pilots and other skilled people began leaving the services in
high numbers because of lost family time and better paying
private-sector jobs.
Congress and the White House began bumping up defense spending
two years ago, with special attention to increased pay and
medical benefits.
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Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
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