Kerry Press Release: Relieving Strains on Overburdened Military

[Skinner]

For Immediate Release
July 9, 2004

Kerry and Edwards Pledge to Relieve Strains on Overburdened Military
Outline Steps to Strengthen Military and America’s Security During West Virginia Campaign Stop

Beaver, WV – The Kerry-Edwards ticket stopped in West Virginia today where the two Democrats pledged to keep faith with those who serve in the Armed Forces. With experts around the country expressing concern in recent months that our military is overstretched, the Democrats said we must take steps to alleviate strains on our overburdened military.

“As President, I will always remember that America’s security begins and ends with the soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine – with every man and every woman in our armed services standing a post somewhere in the world,” Kerry said. “Today, we must do more to keep our commitment to the men and women who wear our uniform.”

Operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have left our military stretched too thin – a concern expressed just this week by General Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. The Bush administration’s answer has been to put band-aids on the problem – calling-up members of the Individual Ready Reserve, extending tours of duty, delaying retirements, preventing personnel from leaving and using a stop-loss policy as a back door draft.

“When you add it up, we are in danger of creating another hollow Army,” Kerry said. “I will modernize our military to match its new missions and fight for a constant standard of decency and respect for those who serve their country in our armed forces.”

As commander in chief, Kerry’s first order of business will be to expand America’s active duty forces to relieve this current overstretch and to prevent and prepare for other possible conflicts. This step will increase our security and alleviate strains on our overburdened military.

Kerry and Edwards will also fight for a Military and Family Bill of Rights that will treat members of the military and their families with the dignity and respect they deserve.

A comprehensive plan, the Military Family Bill of Rights will ensure that service members and military families are treated fairly. It will make sure troops do not face pay cuts and give them the protections they need on the battlefield and at home, like allies by their side, body-armor and other equipment, health care for all military reservist, assistance for families affected by extended deployments, support for small business and reservists and up-to-date and accurate information about deployments.

“We need a commander in chief who will keep the American people safe , who will keep our military strong and who will stand up for the men and women who serve this country,” Edwards said. “John Kerry will stand up for the young men and women who serve us abroad and who serve us at home. And, he’ll stand up for the millions of Americans who have served us before—our country’s veterans.”

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FACT SHEET:

MILITARY “ABSOLUTELY” STRETCHED THIN


General Richard Cody, Vice Chief of Staff, Army: "Are we stretched thin with our active and reserve component forces right now? Absolutely. We just did the largest move of the Army since World War II. You can't move 8.5 divisions and 240,000 soldiers without stressing the force. And we still have equipment that is en route back to those units that have already been home for a month or so."- NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. 7/7/04

CONCERN FROM OFFICIALS, TROOPS: ARMED FORCES STRETCHED THIN

John McCain doesn’t know why the Pentagon is resisting adding more troops. “I don’t know the answer to that, military costs are high but many of us said sometime ago that we needed more troops. The facts show that we are stretched thin and I don’t know why the Pentagon is resisting. Congress has passed bills to increase the size of the standing military but we may pay a heavy price.” John McCain, NBC Today Show 6/8/04

Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel Readiness, David S.C. Chu acknowledges deployment/equipment problems. “I will acknowledge that with early deployments there were some issues of Guard and Reserve equipment.” House Armed Services Committee Hearing 6/7/04

House Armed Services Committee questions the burden of war falling to the Guard and Reserve. "It's just another indication that in light of the lack of coalition partners in Iraq, the burden of manning this operation is falling almost entirely on the United States," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D. "This has imposed a burden on the Guard and Reserve and now the Individual Ready Reserve that we've not seen before. It underscores that we need to do more by way of compensation and benefits to these groups in light of the active duty-type tasking that has been assigned to them." House Armed Services Committee Hearing, 6/7/04

Lawmakers cite ‘breaking point’ is near. ”Military reserves taxed 'nearly to the breaking point' with repeated and extended deployments in its two ongoing wars, a senior lawmaker told defense officials Wednesday.” AP 7/7/04


EVIDENCE OF ARMED FORCES BEING STRETCHED THIN

Greatest Mobilization of National Guard and Reserve Troops Since World War II. Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee stated in testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee in March 2004: “We now rely on our Reserve Component to support our operations to a degree not seen since World War II. As of January 2004, there were more than 164,000 Reserve Component Soldiers mobilized with over 139,000 of them serving overseas.” (Senate Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee hearing, 3/3/04)

Nearly half of the soldiers in Iraq are Reservists. Overall, National Guard and Reserve forces will make up 42 percent or 43 percent of the total force in Iraq, the director of operations for the Joint Staff, Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz, told Congress on Wednesday. That compares with a 39 percent share presently and 25 percent last year, he said. AP 7/8/04

Rumsfeld Issues Another Stop-Loss Order. ‘The U.S. Army has issued an order preventing thousands of soldiers designated for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan from leaving the military even when their volunteer service commitment expires…The move to extend the service of some soldiers involuntarily was the latest sign of increasing stress on the Army as the Pentagon strives to maintain adequate troop levels in the two conflicts. (Reuters, 6/2/04)

Bush Administration Seeks To Pull Troops From South Korea For Service in Iraq. In May, the Bush Administration said it wanted to move some of the 37,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to Iraq, redeploying forces from the Cold War's last remaining flashpoint to cope with spiraling violence in the war-torn Arab country. “Tapping into the U.S. military force on the Korean Peninsula would result in the first significant change of troop levels here since the early 1990s. It underscores how much the U.S. military is stretched to provide enough forces for Iraq while also meeting its other commitments.” (AP, 5/17/04)

Pentagon Calls on IRS To Help Locate More Troops. “The Defense Department, strapped for troops for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, has proposed to Congress that it tap the Internal Revenue Service to locate out-of-touch reservists. The unusual measure would allow the IRS to pass on addresses for 50,200 of the 280,000 former military members who still face recall into active duty as part of the Individual Ready Reserve.” (Washington Post, 5/18/04)

The Individual Ready Reserve represents the latest strain on the U.S. Military. “The move -- involving the seldom-tapped Individual Ready Reserve -- represents the latest evidence of the strain being placed on the U.S. military, particularly the Army, by operations in those two countries. Roughly 5,600 soldiers from the ready reserve will be notified of possible deployment this year, including some soldiers who will be notified within a month, said an Army official speaking on condition of anonymity.” "Sometimes there's a misperception by some of the individuals ... that 'I've done my obligation, I've been in the Army, thank you very much, and I'm done'. But you're not done," the (anonymous Army) official said. (Reuters, 6/28/04)


JOHN KERRY HAS A PLAN TO TAKE CARE OF THE TROOPS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND MODERNIZE THE MILITARY


I. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY

The Bush Administration has done far too little to adapt our armed forces to the new missions they have to undertake. This Administration has left our military stretched too thin. And their answer has been to put band-aids on the problem. They have effectively used a stop-loss policy as a back door draft. They have extended tours of duty, delayed retirements, and prevented enlisted personnel from leaving the service.

John Kerry has a plan to modernize America’s military to meet the new and different threats of the 21st century. John Kerry will:

Expand America’s active duty forces by adding 40,000 new soldiers. These troops will relieve the burden on our overstretched Army and help us prevent and prepare for future conflicts.

Double our Special Forces capability to fight the war on terror and expand other specialized personnel by the end of his first term.

Build a military with the best trained troops and the most modern tools and technology, and prepared for the tasks of the 21st century.

Make homeland security one of the primary missions of the National Guard and ensure that the Guard is prepared for this new mission.

II. COMPETITIVE PAY

Assure Sufficient Imminent Danger Pay And Family Separation Allowances. Unlike the Bush Administration, John Kerry will never attempt to reduce special compensations such as family separation allowance and imminent danger pay.

III. QUALITY HOUSING

Bring Up Standards Of All Family Housing Units. Military families should live in housing that meets American standards, but unfortunately, military housing has been grossly inadequate for several decades. John Kerry will accelerate the construction of new military housing.

IV. QUALITY HEALTH AND DENTAL CARE

Ensure Service Members and Families Receive Adequate Health Care. Military families should have full access to quality health and dental care. John Kerry will fight for TRICARE eligibility for all members of the National Guard and Reserves.

V. QUALITY EDUCATION

Defend Impact Aid from Bush Administration Cuts. John Kerry will ensure that military children get the quality education they deserve. The Bush Administration has proposed cutting the Impact Aid program.

VI. FIRST-RATE TRAINING, ARMS, AND EQUIPMENT

Reimburse Families Forced To Purchase Body Armor. The Bush administration deployed troops to Iraq without the latest body armor. John Kerry will reimburse families that were forced to provide for themselves.

First-Rate Training And Equipment. John Kerry will ensure that no soldier, sailor, airman or Marine will ever go into harm’s way untrained, when the best training is available, and poorly or incompletely equipped when we have the best equipment available.

VII. UP-TO-DATE, ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT DEPLOYMENTS

·Ensure Families Know When Their Loved Ones Are Leaving and Coming Home. Our families deserve the best, most current information about the timing and duration of deployments. John Kerry will make every effort to ensure they know that and much more.

VIII. HELP FOR FAMILIES AFFECTED BY EXTENDED DEPLOYMENTS

Penalty-Free Withdrawls from IRAs for Expenses Associated With Deployments. Our service members and families deserve more consideration and assistance when on operational deployments. John Kerry will work for penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts for expenses associated with deployments.

Make Family Separation Allowance Permanent. The Bush administration tried to cut the military’s family separation allowance. John Kerry would make it permanent and index it to inflation.

IX. ASSISTANCE WHEN A SERVICE MEMBER HAS BEEN KILLED

Increase The Death Gratuity. When a service member is injured or killed in the line of duty, military families deserve full, complete, and timely notification. Kerry will work to have a $250,000 gratuity added to the Service Members Group Life Insurance if a service member is killed in a combat zone.

One Year of Military Housing for Families Of Deceased Service Members. Kerry will extend from 180 days to one year the amount of time that a family of a service member killed in action can live in military housing so that children can finish the school year and families can plan for the future.

X. RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AFTER LEAVING THE MILITARY

After military service ends, a new commitment from the nation begins to assist and recognize those who have served, and who often bear the wounds of battle. All agencies of government that can help our veterans must help our veterans with service that is complete and compassionate.

www.johnkerry.com

Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

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