A FRAMEWORK FOR NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS AND MILITARY READINESS
Posted byThomas Galvin
April 28, 2022
But given all that has happened in the past couple years with COVID-19 and the re-emergence of great power competition, another question should also be asked: is the nation prepared for war, and how do we know?
A natural question crossing the minds of leaders is simple: is the military ready for war? The word “ready” naturally associates with the military. We would expect a flag officer or a DoD official to know the answer, even though the meaning of “ready” may not be clear.
But given all that has happened in the past couple years with COVID-19 and the re-emergence of great power competition, another question should also be asked: is the nation prepared for war, and how do we know?
Unfortunately, the answers to these sorts of questions are not going to be found among current readiness metrics. Unit readiness, “force” or “strategic” readiness, and force generation models reflect the military’s capabilities alone and how the defense enterprise designs units to prosecute wars that it expects to fight. However, the joint force has long depended on non-military capabilities. Consider sustainment. Most of what the joint force consumes―food, fuel, ammunition, repair parts—is produced by either private industry or the organic industrial base. Services established and provided at forward bases—e.g., medical, information technology, facilities & infrastructure—depend on the private sector.
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/preparedness-and-readiness/
