the House Committee on Armed Services, May
8. Melvin Laird and Lawrence J. Korb, The
29, 1980, p. 18.
Problem of Military Readiness (Washington:
American Enterprise Institute, 1980), p. 2.
27. James L. Kitfield, Prodigal Soldier: How the
9. Forrest said, "I always make it a rule to get
Generation of Officers Born of Vietnam Revolutionized
the American Style of War (New York: Simon and
there first with the most men," but the misquot-
Schuster, 1995), p. 199.
ed more colorful version is often seen.
28. Congressional Budget Office, "Trends in
10. Betts, p. 33.
Selected Indicators of Military Readiness, 1980
11. General Accounting Office, "Military
through 1993," March 1994, p. 2.
Readiness: Data and Trends for January 1990 to
29. For example, with Robin Pirie, assistant sec-
March 1996," March 4, 1996, p. 1; and Laird and
retary of defense for manpower and reserve
Korb, p. 17. The official C rating definitions are
affairs in the Carter administration and
classified.
Lawrence Korb, who held the same job in the
12. Lawrence C. Korb, "Did Readiness Get Its
first term of the Reagan administration.
Fair Share of the Defense Buildup in the First
30. The author was a professional staff member
Reagan Administration?" in Defense Policy in the
for national security affairs in Congress during
Reagan Administration, ed. William P. Snyder and
the Hollow Force years.
James Brown (Washington: National Defense
University Press, 1988), p. 403.
31. Melvin Laird, People, Not Hardware: The Highest
Defense Priority (Washington: American
13. Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr., "Going Hollow: The
Enterprise Institute, 1980), p. 4.
Risk to the Marine Corps," in "Going Hollow:
The Warning of the Chiefs of Staff, An Update,"
32. John F. Lehman Jr., "A Report on the Fiscal
a report by Sen. John McCain, September 1994.
Year 1986 Military Posture of the United States
Navy and Marine Corps," Department of the
14. Quoted in Betts, p. 260.
Navy, February 6, 1985, p. 6.
15. General Accounting Office, "Military
33. There are reports that China might be pur-
Readiness: A Clear Policy Is Needed to Guide
chasing a Russian carrier that would take several
Management of Frequently Deployed Units,"
more years to complete. It would then take even
April 1996, p. 2.
more years for the Chinese navy--which has
16. One of his latest was Harry Summers, "No
never operated a carrier--to make it fully opera-
More Task Force Smiths," Washington Times, June
tional.
11, 1998, p. A21.
34. For a discussion of this question, see Ivan
17. Clay Blair, The Forgotten War: America in Korea
Eland, "Protecting the Homeland: The Best
19501953 (New York: New York Times Books,
Defense Is to Give No Offense," Cato Institute
1987), p. 78
Policy Analysis no. 306, May 19, 1998.
18. Quoted in ibid., p. 93.
35. McCain, pp. 1922.
19. Quoted in ibid., p. 98.
36. William S. Cohen, Reserve Component
Programs: Report of the Reserve Forces Policy Board
20. Quoted in ibid., p. 111.
(Washington: U.S. Department of Defense,
March 1998), pp. 812.
21. Charles E. Keller and William A. Stofft, eds.
Americas First Battles, 17761885 (Lawrence:
37. Kitfield, pp. 34952.
University of Kansas Press, 1986).
22. Max Hastings, The Korean War (New York:
38. The current reserve force consists of two
Simon and Schuster, 1987), p. 77.
Army and two Air Force organizations (the Army
and Air Force Reserves and the Army and Air
23. Blair, p. 97.
Force National Guard), the Navy Reserve, and
the Marine Corps Reserve.
24. Ibid., p. xi.
39. William S. Cohen, Memorandum to the lead-
25. Ibid., p. 99.
ership of the Pentagon calling for a "seamless
total force," September 4, 1997.
26. Gen. Edward C. Meyer, USA, Testimony
before the Subcommittee on Investigations of
40. Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, Maj. Gen. Thomas J.
21