Charles Skelton: “In matters of national security, experienced leaders never forget that the unexpected is always just around the corner…”

“In matters of national security, experienced leaders never forget that the unexpected is always just around the corner and that danger is never far away. The Roman orator Cicero immortalized these ideas in his story about the Sword of Damocles. Damocles, a citizen of the ancient Greek city of Syracuse, wanted to be king for a day. The king agreed to this request, and Damocles feasted and reveled with wine and fine meals. Only after his merrymaking did Damocles discover that a razor-sharp sword, suspended by a single thread, hung over his head all day. Damocles was immediately cured of his desire to rule. When I consider the challenges confronting the U.S. national security today, I see not one but two swords of Damocles dangling above us. The first danger concerns the strain current operations place on U.S. military readiness, and the second concerns the deterioration of security and stability in Afghanistan. Military readiness ratings measure how prepared U.S. forces are to perform their assigned combat missions. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, more than 6 years of war have resulted in serious readiness shortfalls, with our Army and Marine Corps ground forces experiencing the most acute problems. In spite of efforts to fill the gaps in equipment, training and personnel, readiness deficiencies serious enough to cause alarm last year have only continued to expand. Today, two-thirds of the Army's combat brigades in the United States are not ready for duty.”