Knocking Petraeus, Ham Argues Readiness Woes Are ‘No Myth’

[rangerrebew]

Knocking Petraeus, Ham Argues Readiness Woes Are ‘No Myth’
 
 

Infantrymen with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division move through a trench during a company-level combined arms live-fire exercise, July 25, 2016 in Thies, Senegal as part of Africa Readiness Training 16. ART16 is a U.S. Army Africa exercise designed to increase U.S. and Senegalese readiness and partnership through combined infantry training and live-fire events. (Photo by Craig Philbrick/U.S. Army)Infantrymen with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division move through a trench during a company-level combined arms live-fire exercise, July 25, 2016 in Thies, Senegal as part of Africa Readiness Training 16. ART16 is a U.S. Army Africa exercise designed to increase U.S. and Senegalese readiness and partnership through combined infantry training and live-fire events. (Photo by Craig Philbrick/U.S. Army)

Posted By: Richard Sisk August 17, 2016

Retired Army Gen. Carter Ham took issue this week with the claim of retired Army Gen. David Petraeus that the U.S. military is in fairly good shape in terms of readiness.

Ham said the services were struggling to prepare to meet new challenges while coping with the wear and tear of 15 years of war and constant deployments.

“Fifteen years of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now in Syria, Libya and elsewhere, compounded by years of budget uncertainty, have left America’s military forces less well-prepared for operations to counter the increasing capabilities of near-peer and emerging competitors,” Ham said in an article for Defense One.

http://www.dodbuzz.com/2016/08/17/knocking-petraeus-ham-argues-readiness-woes-are-no-myth/

[Smokin Joe]

“Fifteen years of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now in Syria, Libya and elsewhere, compounded by years of budget uncertainty, have left America’s military forces less well-prepared for operations to counter the increasing capabilities of near-peer and emerging competitors,” Ham said in an article for Defense One.

I have wondered if that hasn't been the objective of the Obama Administration all along. Keep conflict levels just high enough to wear out troops and materiel, but not quite high enough to be decisive.

Gen. Carter Ham was Commander of AFRICOM when Benghazi went down, and (was?) retired shortly afterwards. He was not happy about 'stand down' orders from on high.