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| Science & Technology |
| Fixing Tanks and Tracks At Anniston Army Depot |
| 2006-12-06 |
| Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the 15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot -- the idle, hulking formations symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt. The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert sand and used up to nine times the rate in times of peace. The gear is piling up at depots such as Anniston, waiting to be repaired. The depletion of major equipment such as tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and especially helicopters and armored Humvees has left many military units in the United States without adequate training gear, officials say. Partly as a result of the shortages, many U.S. units are rated "unready" to deploy, officials say, raising alarm in Congress and concern among military leaders at a time when Iraq strategy is under review by the White House and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #14 So true, Shieldwolf. Anniston Army Depot is one huge place. I drive past it (though you can't really see into it) on my way to the in-laws. This makes it completely obvious the need to PRE-plan so many things for DoD it's almost ludicrous. And the spin in the article is ridiculous. They want to blame Bush (w/o noting Congress's defaulting on this bill), but then when Bush does shove something through Congress, they whine and moan about him being a bully. Can't have it both ways, punks. It's completely obvious (like Shieldwolf says) that equipment wears out a LOT faster in REAL combat than in peace time. Add on top of that the effects of fine sand of Iraq and its impact on our "toys" and I'm surprised they can keep half the stuff together. Of course, these guys are salt of the earth and can probably rig up stuff the Inside the Beltway types would NEVER even imagine to keep things going. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-12-06 22:09 |
| #13 Oh, I'm sure JosephM wouldn't have a problem with Ms. Coulter, BA -- he likes Americans. No, I don't think we want JosephM to run for president, where consistently clear communication is preferred; but his understanding of the interweaving of Islamists and the Spetz-whatsis Soviet Special Forces, his thorough grasp of outre' conspiracy theory and cant, and the opacity of his communications at the most delicate of moments perfectly suit the chief diplomat/chief executive officer of the United Nations. Had our beloved JosephMendiola taken over after that dreadful Kofi Annan, the nefarious elements at the UN would have quickly been frozen in their tracks -- likely mid-word -- enabling the serious members and staff (like Rantburg's occasional correspondent from those parts) to accomplish the necessary. Perhaps as the end of the Korean chap's tenure approaches, JosephM's candidacy can be readdressed. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-12-06 22:07 |
| #12 Congress will sometimes fund the purchase of new equipment since that brings in jobs and ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but skimps on the parts and spares production. Also why there was always a push for 'more troops': they aren't as expensive as weapons. There's also no voting bloc to offend with a RIF. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-12-06 21:34 |
| #11 What the f**k does gas rationing have to do with spare parts production? That is a stupid example to make. All this article did was state the obvious for anyone who has paid attention to Congress and military procurement for the past 20 years : Congress will sometimes fund the purchase of new equipment since that brings in jobs and ribbon-cutting ceremonies, but skimps on the parts and spares production. And during the 90s, the spares problem was much worse : Clinton never even tried to keep up with equipment replacement/maintenance requirements. What we are now seeing is the normal wear and tear on equipment that war brings. Also, notice that the article stresses that equipment is being worn out at "nine times the rate in times of peace". Well, DUH!! We are actively fighting a military campaign! It is the old mantra of "War bad, peace good" from the Left, except this time they are trying to say they are concerned with the military. And another thing, after Rummy cancelled several of the gold-plated programs like the Crusader, he did try to get Congress to increase spending on spares. They refused, with several of the Repubs backing the refusal, since their districts got hit by the program cancellations. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2006-12-06 16:07 |
| #10 Wait, TW. I thought it was Joe M for Prez. Is he lessening his goals now? And how will JOEM for UN Sec Gen really mesh with Ann Coulter for US Ambassador to the UN? Methinks like oil and water. |
| Posted by: BA 2006-12-06 14:49 |
| #9 Part of the blame can be laid at the feet of the unit / squadron commanders; even back in my active duty days, there was a chronic shortage of spare parts for our jets, but since the squadron CO wanted to make Captain and the Wing commander wanted to make Admiral, they would rotate 'up' assets from the squadrons just getting back from a deployment to those getting ready to go. This shell game was choreographed in such a way that those units showing a less than perfect readiness were those that wer in an authorized stand down mode. One deployment the carrier CO wanted all airplanes listed as 'up' airborne in 2 hours; there were a lot of red faces when it was discovered that 'well they were up intil the engines, ejection seats, radios, etc were discovered missing.....' If those responsible had painted the true picture, perhaps the spares shortage would not be so huge today. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2006-12-06 14:43 |
| #8 Nicely done, Pappy! You've a future career when our JosephMendiola is tapped for UN Secretary General. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-12-06 14:40 |
| #7 Joe translated: all this news, plus the adminstration/GOP's post-election behavior gives the Left a woody. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2006-12-06 10:05 |
| #6 WHAT DID JOE M SAY???????? |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2006-12-06 08:05 |
| #5 This could actually be a Bush/Rumsfeld phalkup. They allowed things to deteriorate instead of making it everybody's war. In WW2, there was gas rationing, tin can recycling, victory gardens, etc. Not today, don't want to trouble the couch potato civilians for some support, no sir. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-12-06 08:04 |
| #4 Itza quagmire, I tell ya! |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-12-06 06:50 |
| #3 News like this + post-elex anti-Dubya/GOP-isms, etc only make the Spetzlamists + OWG-ists salivate for more. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-12-06 00:31 |
| #2 The upcoming supplemental request by Army includes funds for new replacements. Congress better shit or get off the pot. We're just about out of toys to play with. Do they really want to have no viable Army ? Because fatasses like them would be the first to get snuffed if anyone ever rolled into the homeland. |
| Posted by: SpecOp35 2006-12-06 00:30 |
| #1 Don't expect the Dems to put a dime into getting it back in service or replacing it. But the Republican are not much better they let it get this way. This situation is criminal neglect. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-12-06 00:19 |