While working this past week on a terrorism exercise (location undisclosed) I had a chance to chat with several active duty military officers. One soldier, a Colonel, told me he had been on the Army planning staff and that the Army was "crisped". Crisped means toasted, fried. It is the term firefighters use to refer to a body found in a burned out building--i.e., crispy critter. And it is all because of Iraq. Now this should not hit anyone as a newflash. Outgoing Chief of Staff of the Army said as much in Congressional testimony in February. The damage to the Army is deep and serious. We have lost our ability to respond to another international crisis. At present the Army units are either deployed in Iraq, coming back from Iraq (beat up and depleted) or training to go. There is no reserve.

The damage to the personnel goes beyond the physical wounds inflicted by improvised explosive devices and snipers.  The damage it encompasses the thousands grappling with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  And the damage surpasses the tens of thousands grieving the death of their soldier, including children deprived forever of a parent.  There are broken families, soaring divorce rates, homelessness among returning vets, and some suicides.  David Cloud does a great job of detailing this mess.