Rumsfeld Plan Would Deemphasize Reserves
WASHINGTON — With the war in Iraq severely straining the military, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this week ordered radical changes that, if adopted, would dramatically reshape the military services and the reserves to create a force that could mobilize for war within 15 days.
In a memo Wednesday to the secretaries of the Air Force, Navy, Army and to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Rumsfeld called for shifting a broad range of professional specialties from the reserves to active-duty military.
The proposal is running into opposition from senior Navy and Air Force officials, who warn that moving these jobs into the active-duty force would drive up costs. Reserve officials say they were stunned by the proposal, which they fear would shrink the role of citizen soldiers into irrelevance. Rumsfeld's office could not be reached for comment.
Calling the effort "a matter of the utmost urgency" in the memo obtained by The Times, Rumsfeld ordered that plans for carrying it out be drawn up by the end of the month.
Senior military officials who are working to respond to Rumsfeld's order expressed some concern Friday that he is not allowing enough time to produce a thoughtful plan.
"There's a very tight timeline to do it right," said one senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Rumsfeld's action was a direct result of the crisis in force strength caused by the deepening violence against U.S. forces in Iraq, sources close to him in the Pentagon said.
Before and during the war, Army officials had planned for no more than 50,000 soldiers to still be in Iraq at this point. But 148,000 are still there, and with attacks against them growing in number and sophistication, senior Pentagon officials say they expect troop numbers in the country will remain at or near the same level for years to come.
As the war on terrorism continues, more than 370,000 Army troops are deployed away from home and family in 120 countries around the world. About 138,000 are reservists, many in certain specialties that are being called up again and again. Another 67,000 reservists from the other military services are also deployed. Current and former army officials and military experts are warning, with growing urgency, that the all-volunteer military, 30 years old this month, cannot long tolerate the pressure.
