Charles Skelton: “I want to contrast two statements for you to set the stage on what we are dealing with regarding the United States Army.…”

“I want to contrast two statements for you to set the stage on what we are dealing with regarding the United States Army. ``Help is on the way.'' That is what President Bush said to our military during the 2000 campaign when they were in pretty good shape. And ``No.'' That is what General Schoomaker, the chief of staff of the Army, answered when I asked him if he was comfortable with the readiness levels of the nondeployed Army units here in the United States. Let me put it in very clear terms. Our Army is in a crisis. Our forces are fighting valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the strain of that continued effort has put our preparedness to deter or to fight somewhere else, if we must, at strategic risk. The crises in North Korea, Iran, the Middle East, show how quickly things can change and how they can go wrong. We must be prepared. And right now the Army is not. President Bush, during the 2000 campaign, strongly criticized the Clinton administration because two divisions were below their appropriate readiness ratings. He said, ``If called upon by the Commander in Chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report `not ready for duty, sir.' '' Today nearly every combat brigade located within the United States would report that they are not ready for duty. They are at the lowest levels of readiness. Most nondeployed units in the active Army are reporting that they are not able to complete the expected wartime missions.…”