what do they mean when they say an army is "breaking"?

[grasswire]

Serious question. I know it means worn out, but how what are the manifestation? How does it "break"? Do soldiers start deserting? Going mad? Taking their own lives? Inability to fight? Could someone with more information please elaborate? The warning keeps appearing in quotes from experts, but I don't know exactly what it means.

[NMDemDist2]

1. equipment broken beyond repair and units gutted and understaffed

to plug holes in other units

it's a mess and the Guard is in even worse shape

[BrotherBuzz]

4. And busted morale

Experienced middle level NCO and lower ranked officers, the backbone of the military leadership, are opting to get the hell out of Dodge.

[NMDemDist2]

6. agreed, Sgt.s and Lt./Cap are the backbone of the military

and they are trying to leave in droves

[gratuitous]

2. A good question

And one, probably, that the more military-experienced should take a crack at; panty-waist pacifist traitors like me tend to regard much of the military mindset as broken from the get-go.

[Avalux]

3. My take on the phrase -

It means morale is poor, so the army isn't functioning as a cohesive unit; the reasons for poor morale stem from a lack of objective, troops spending too much time in combat without R&R. There aren't enough troops and the ones we do have aren't able to perform because they're exhausted. The equipment in theater is beaten and broken down and can't be easily replaced. The army posts in the States are functioning with less $$ than they should; Ft. Sam Houston here in Texas hasn't been able to pay it's electric bill to the city of San Antonio, and what's considered "extra services" for families have been cut. It's a lot of things.

I'm just wondering how Bush thinks he's going to expand the military, unless it involves offering new recruits an obscene amount of money, or instituting a draft.

[grasswire]

8. my nephew was offered $15,000 to re-enlist in the Guard

Plus a boatload of benefits. He said recruiters are telling him that "things are changing" in Iraq for the better.

[grasswire]

9. I don't understand why equpment can't be replaced...

...with all the billions of dollars being alloted. It can't be made? Or there isn't money for it?

[Avalux]

11. We don't know where all that money is going -

that's part of the problem. There has been zero accountability when it comes to funding this mess; Congress has rubberstamped everything without asking for details. I know for a fact the army is struggling financially. Equipment is expensive.

[MasonJar]

5. A friend of mine whose brother is a career army man was sent to

a tour in Iraq and then he and his squad were returned to Germany. Six weeks later they received orders to return to Iraq. That is again SIX WEEKS! He was the only lucky one because a colonel requested he stay and work for him in Germany. He told his sister (my friend) that he would have cracked if he had had to go back so soon.

[DisgruntledVet]

12. I follow

I follow all the deployment units, and none of them have deployed a full tour only to return 6 weeks later. Is he in a specialty unit, or did he move to a different unit? And what squad goes by itself without the Battalion commander? <<confused>>

[shadowknows69]

7. Meet a few veterans of this war

you'll understand.

[lebkuchen]

13. Most don't wanna go back for that third tour

V Corp returning now say it's bad, much worse than during the initial assault.

[SoCalDem]

10. It means they are simpletons and cannot come up with an appropriate word

Our military is under supplied and being ripped off by Georgie's contractor pals.