Skelton: Falling readiness puts U.S. at risk

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Skelton: Falling readiness puts U.S. at risk
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 9, 2008 14:17:34 EDT

A key Democrat says it is becoming increasingly important to find a way out of Iraq because the mission is placing the U.S. at ever-greater risk.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that Iraq is “preventing us from effectively preparing for the next conflict.”

“Readiness for most nondeployed units has fallen to unprecedented levels, and nearly all training is focused on counterinsurgency operations,” Skelton said, adding that the situation would make for a “steep climb” for the Army if it were forced to respond to another contingency.

The risk is real, Skelton said. “Contingencies have come, on average, about every five years. We are due for another, and in my view, we are not doing what we must to prepare.

“We have had 12 military contingencies in the last 31 years, some of them major and most of them unexpected,” Skelton said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_skelton_petraeus_040908w/