Posted by
Brian Peters on Monday, March 19, 2007 10:59:11 PM
I'm kind of doing this in reverse, my thoughts and plans about our military....as you know, very near and dear to my heart. I tossed out the subject of Gray Eagles on Military.com's website forum last year and had much positive feedback.
What is 'Gray Eagles'? Who is the more appropriate question. Gray Eagles are prior and retired military personnel that still have the physical means to fight. Taking this further and more detailed, what I proposed was the formation of a Gray Eagles Battalion to augment the front line military personnel that are being 'drained' in Iraq.
This 'battalion' would be fall under the 'U.S.Army Reserve' and whose members as I indicated, would be prior and retired military personnel....from all Branches of Service. Since 'boots on the ground' are what is needed, this is why the GEB would be U.S. Army and not any other branch.
There are numerous men and women who are physically able to perform the duties necessary to 'patrol' and if necessary, participate in offensive operations.
The GEB would provide another source of manpower to the Joint Chiefs so top line forces, i.e. Airborne,Rangers, Marines, do not have to continually rotated in/out of an Iraq type operation.
Members of the GEB would all come in as paygrade E2, officers if chosen by a Pentagon review board could assume rank/pay grade close or at their seperation/retirment. Mid level NCO's could be those who were senior NCO"s but have been out for more than five years. Senior NCO's should come though from active duty or recent activated reserve status for the purpose of having recent experienced NCO's in the units. The purpose of a GEB is to put boots on the ground and release our best troops to RnR and refit and prepare for the next big war or international crisis...which seem to come along quite a lot these days.
Everyone signing onboard, except the already active duty NCO's, would be required to sign up for a two year tour. Options to extend at the end of that two years.
In WW2, Germany ended up using it's Air Force to man prison camps, and many of the sailors...became soldiers. The U.S. could find itself in the same state without some good planning ahead. In a quickly esculating conflict, in this modern World, the U.S. does not have the time nor ocean distance no more to build up a fighting force as we did in WW1, 2, Korea, and Vietnam.
Modern world warfare is going to quick and dirty. So, the think tanks and strategist had better plan now for tomorrow. Part of that had better be the use of able bodies that still have the ability to fight.
If this too much for you and your laughing about a GEB.....go run an organized 5K, 10K run in your town,city. Watch those old guys burn you and then you won't laugh....I guarantee it.