spittle8

Yo. I've heard that, because of Iraq, we couldn't go to war with a medium sized country right now if we needed to. Is this so? What do we have in reserve, not in Iraq? How many nice divisions of quality forces do we have right now, not in Iraq, and not about to go to Iraq? Also, what about our logistical support system? How strained is it by Iraq?

Basically, how ready is our military for a serious war? Say, we had to (I'm just coming up with a scenario..) fight China in a land war, as unrealistic as that might be, what could we do ? Our we really as strained as I've heard? Or, what if we decided to invade Pakistan (that other thread gave me the idea) via Afghanistan/amphibiously? What if North Korea attacked right now?

If we are so strained, that seems like a bum deal. We spend hundreds of billions each year on our forces, and we can't even stand an intense guerrilla war in a country like Iraq? I understand how much money it costs to replace HUMVEES, Black Hawks, Apaches, and highly trained fighting men. Still, how worried should we be? What, precisely, does Iraq tell us about our capabilities? Thanks.

Anon

Define "Need".

If by "need" you mean REALLY NEED then yeah, we could still fight another war.

If by "need" you mean fight another war of our choosing, then no, we do not have the force for that. The main problem isn't even the combat forces.

It's logistical and specialized fields that are the problem.

Canmoore

Look at world war two, americas military size, streangth and mobility was nothing compared to what it is today.

Yet America was fighting the Germans in Europe and at the same time, fighting the Japanese in the pacific. And the scale of both of those wars makes Iraq look like a walk in the park. If America NEEDED to, then yes, she would be more than able to fight another war.

Anon

By the end of WWII the US Military was 30,000,000 strong. So yeah, given some lead time and a draft, we could easily fight in several theaters at once.

But it would take time to build the forces. At least a year or two at a minimum.

Right now if we had to we could hold the line in Korea, or start a major air campaign against Iran, or invade Venezuela....but only one of them, and only if we really have to.

spittle8

So.... what kind of forces do we have in Iraq, and what force does that leave us for rapid deployment somewhere like Korea, Taiwan, wherever?

Anon

All that changes from moment to moment as units rotate around.

spittle8

Well, obviously. The gist of my question, however, is what is are general readiness? If NK attacks ROK tomorrow, would we be able to move 2 Airborne divisions and a cavarly division there on a dime? Or is everything totally involved in Iraq, whether rotating in, rotating out, or rearming and equipping? I also thought we had a large military. It seems rather asinine that we are bogged down by a nation as small as Iraq. It really infuriates me. I can understand we messed up, but even having mishandled things, it seems insane that our power projection is busy with occupying a nation like Iraq. Quite discouraging. I'm not forgetting our troops stationed in other parts of the world, still.

Anon

We don't even have two airborne divisions.

If the DPRK attacks we should be able to keep a toehold around Pusan till we can get some troops together and in theater.

Chavez we could biitch stomp now, but there's no pressing need yet(there will be at some point, but you know how the masses hate pre-emption).

spittle8

82nd and 101st. I consider the 101st an airborne division. I don't like the term "air assault" But, it can get anywhere in the world in 48 hours, or so I've heard. That makes it about as mobile as the 82nd.

gunnut

They are airborne for all intents and purposes. The term "air assault" means they have traded in their parachutes for a ride in helicopters. They are still jump certified I believe. If push comes to shove, we can air drop them. But air drop is far more dangerous and less efficient than helo borne assault.

__________________
"Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

Anon

The 101st is not an airborne division, it is an airmobile division.(It's also the most difficult division in the whole US Army to move from what i've read because of the lift requirements)

Technically, we don't have any cavalry divisions either. 1st Cavalry is really just an armored division.

I don't think everyone in the 101st is Abn qualified. You have to be AASlt certified to get into the 101st, but i don't think you have to be Abn.(i have to admit i'm not totally sure).

The 173d and 82nd and 75th are our main Abn forces. I think we've got a few Bns more here and there in the Guard and reserves too.

gunnut

Depends on your definition of "bogged down." If you mean bogged down as in Iraq is not a self-sufficient democracy, yes, we're bogged down. If you mean bogged down as in "our morale is broken and our army is living hand to mouth (I have no idea what this means)" then you are sadly mistaken.

Iraq is bogged down because we're trying to police the nation. We weren't bogged down when we faced off against the Iraqi army.

Our military is designed to kill armies. We're not very good at occupying or policing a huge territory.

Should Kim Jong-Il try something stupid tomorrow, I have no doubt our military will rip him a new one, but not without some heavy losses though. From a standing start, North Korea is ready to charge with somthing like 1 million troops at the ready line. We'll delay and withdraw to Pusan, like Sniper said, and wait for reinforcement and the NK forces to run itself out. Then it's open season for the US air power.

Rifleman

The 101st is very mobile tactically but not strategically. Because of all it's assigned helicopters it takes a lot of heavy transport to move accross the globe, and it has huge fuel requirments operationally. It's light at the infantry battalion level but not at division level.

There is (was?) a small unit of pathfinders and LRSU in the 101st on jump status. Most 101st troops are not parachute qualified. We could not drop them if we needed to.

The U.S. Army has six brigades (two battalion brigades) on jump status; four with the 82nd; the 173rd; and the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Divison. There is also the 75th Ranger Regiment, three battalions strong.

The 101st is about as Airborne as the 10th is Mountain. For all intents and purposes it's historical and nothing more.

In WWII the term Airborne meant parachute and glider troops. It has since become synonymous with parachute troops. The argument that Air Assault is the modern equivilent of glider troops is a shaky comparison at best. These days paratroopers ride in helicopters all the time and love it. In WWII some paratroopers were on record as saying they wouldn't ride in a glider.

Airborne is strategic. Air Assault is tactical.

__________________
"Aim small, miss small." - Benjamin Martin in The Patriot

gunnut

Ah...I didn't think of the strategic mobility...

How effective can air dropped light infantry be at this day and age? How has modern weapons and detection gear changed the nature of paratroopers?

Anon

Gun nut:

Hezbollah is light infantry.

Next time you see an Israeli tanker, ask him how effective it can be.

Seriously though, it's a matter of terrain, tactics, training, motivation, and tools.

Put all five together, and a well supported single Bn of light infantry can utterly maul even a well supported Heavy Bde.

It's happened many times throughout modern warfare.

Rifleman....excellent post.