Even as the Pentagon considers sending additional troops to Iraq, the Washington Post reports that the wars there and in Afghanistan have taken such a toll on tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, helicopters and Humvees that many U.S. military units are now rated as “unready” to deploy.
Lt. Col. Mike Johnson said that, in the old days, if a unit was rated as less than “C-1,” or fully ready, “someone would get fired.” Now, he says, having units with substandard equipment is just an accepted part of life during wartime. “It’s a cost of continuous operations,” Johnson told the Post. “You can’t be ready all the time.”
