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In the Midst of the Syria Crisis, the Military Is Not “Ready for Anything”

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The headline above a September 13 article in Politico blares that the Department of Defense is stating that the U.S. military is “ready for anything.”

This statement comes in the context of the conflict in Syria while sequestration is almost complete for fiscal year 2013, and the leadership of the House of Representatives is pursuing a temporary funding measure that extends the sequestration process into fiscal year 2014.

As a result, the military is not “ready for anything.” Indeed, it is significantly less ready than it was as recently as a year ago.

Here is what military leaders have stated recently about the possible state of readiness in the near future:

Accordingly, the headline in the Politico article is subject to misimpression. While the Department of Defense did not write this headline, it has a responsibility to Congress and the American people to correct any misimpression the headline may cause regarding the impending state of reduced military readiness being brought about by sequestration, not to mention the damage it will do to the military’s ability to execute the existing strategic guidance over time. There should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that overall U.S. military readiness is starting to decline.

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