According to the Russian Television Today (RT) reported on the 26th, in a recent survey by the US Army, only one-seventh of the respondents said they were ready to deploy and fight at any time. However, the U.S. Army downplayed these numbers.
Screenshot of a report by Russian Television Today
A report published Tuesday on the U.S. Foreign Policy website showed that about 5,400 soldiers and unarmed U.S. military personnel were asked if they were ready to deploy, fight and win anywhere in the world, with only 14 percent saying they could do it at any time, and 13 percent saying they needed more time, such as a week (3 percent) or a month (4 percent).
There is a clear gap in this figure between generals and warrant officers, with 40 per cent of generals confident of immediate deployment, compared with less than 20 per cent of warrant officers.
U.S. Soldier Image Source: People's Vision
The investigation was reportedly conducted in July and August 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst.
In response to the media, U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Terence Kelley pointed to the date of the investigation and said U.S. military top brass believes that "both last summer and today, the military is ready for battle and victory." ”
Kelly also gave a different interpretation of the findings, saying that while the survey was in progress, "61 percent of the respondents concerned said they were ready to deploy, fight, and win in a reasonable amount of time, ranging from the day to a month." ”
However, the Heritage Foundation's U.S. military strength assessment released last week said only 58 percent of the U.S. Army Brigade's combat teams were at their highest level of readiness, 8 percent below targets and a full 16 percent below 2020.
According to the report, other departments of the US military are not much better. A November 2020 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that only three of the 46 aircraft used by the U.S. military in the past 10 fiscal years had reached "mission capability levels." Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy conducted an investigation into the fire that destroyed the Good Guy Richard last year and found that no one on board knew how to find or press the fire button, causing the amphibious assault ship to eventually have to be scrapped.
In February, U.S. Army Chief of Staff James McConville said he was willing to temporarily abandon his state of readiness to beat the outbreak. The Pentagon said earlier this month that a total of 58 U.S. servicemen have died from the coronavirus since the outbreak began. By comparison, the U.S. military committed suicides in 2020 alone.
(Editor: ZLQ)