Jets or GIs? How Best to Address the Military's Manpower Shortage
In December 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was asked by a soldier why U.S. troops in Iraq were not properly equipped for their mission. Rumsfeld responded that "you have to go to war with the army you have, not the army you want." Rather than resolve anything, however, the secretary's explanation only begged two further and fundamental questions about the U.S. armed forces: What kind of military does the country really want? And if it does not have it, how can it get it?
Print
Email
Read mere here.
This article was originally published in Foreign Affairs.
To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:
Print: Katie Peters (economy, education, and health care)
202.741.6285 or kpeters@americanprogress.org
Print: Christina DiPasquale (foreign policy and security, energy)
202.481.8181 or cdipasquale@americanprogress.org
Print: Laura Pereyra (ethnic media, immigration)
202.741.6258 or lpereyra@americanprogress.org
Radio: Anne Shoup
202.481.7146 or ashoup@americanprogress.org
TV: Lindsay Hamilton
202.483.2675 or lhamilton@americanprogress.org
Web: Andrea Peterson
202.481.8119 or apeterson@americanprogress.org