IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 834 
Regarding the readiness decline of the Army, Marine Corps, National Guard, 
and Reserves, and the implications for national security. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 15, 2007 
Mr. ORTIZ (for himself and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 
RESOLUTION 
Regarding the readiness decline of the Army, Marine Corps, 
National Guard, and Reserves, and the implications for 
national security. 
Whereas non-deployed Army and Marine Corps units cur-
rently in the United States are reporting lower levels of 
readiness; 
Whereas in order to meet ongoing operational demands, 
members of the Army and Marine Corps face multiple de-
ployments, extended combat tours, and a limited time at 
home, which create stress and strain on the service mem-
bers and their families; 
Whereas faced with these demands, the Army and Marine 
Corps are experiencing retention and recruiting chal-
lenges while trying to meet operational demands and 
‘‘Grow the Force’’ initiatives; 
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•HRES 834 IH 
Whereas to address personnel shortfalls, the Army offers in-
flated bonuses as incentives, and has lowered service 
standards, to create a higher number of eligible per-
sonnel; 
Whereas the inability to offset personnel shortfalls continues 
to increase the demands and hardship experienced by ac-
tive-duty military members and members of the Reserve 
Forces; 
Whereas the high operational tempo of combat operations 
overseas has decreased the useful life of ground and avia-
tion equipment; 
Whereas the destruction or damage of equipment in battle re-
sults in equipment inventory depletion; 
Whereas in order to address equipment shortages, the Army 
and Marine Corps have drawn from prepositioned war 
stocks of equipment that are needed to rapidly deploy 
military units worldwide and are strategically stationed 
around the world, and plans to restock the equipment 
drawn are not near-term, thereby hindering the capability 
of the Army and Marine Corps to rapidly respond to any 
emerging crisis; 
Whereas equipment is often left behind in theater to support 
the incoming unit, resulting in severe equipment short-
ages in the United States for non-deployed units; 
Whereas due to time constraints, many Army units are skip-
ping vital pre-deployment training; 
Whereas due to equipment shortages, Army and Marine 
Corps units do not train as they fight, instead receiving 
the necessary force protection and other essential equip-
ment just prior to their deployment or when they arrive 
in theater; 
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•HRES 834 IH 
Whereas shortened dwell time has negatively impacted the 
ability of the Army and Marine Corps to provide soldiers 
and marines with full-spectrum training, possibly limiting 
the ability of the ground forces to respond to all types 
of conflict; 
Whereas these training shortfalls increase the personal risk 
associated with serving in the Army and Marine Corps 
and limit the ability of service men and women to per-
form their assigned duties; 
Whereas the National Guard and Reserves have mobilized 
into an operational backstop to meet Army and Marine 
Corps active-duty shortfalls and thus are experiencing de-
clining readiness shortfalls in personnel, equipment, and 
training; 
Whereas the Army Reserve is experiencing a fundamental 
personnel shortfall in battlefield leaders and is now de-
ploying training brigades because all deployable brigade- 
level units have been deployed in support of operations in 
Iraq and Afghanistan; 
Whereas the Nation is accepting an unacceptable amount of 
risk because the National Guard equipment inventories in 
the United States are depleted and the Department of 
Defense has not measured or tracked the National 
Guard’s readiness for domestic missions, with the result 
that the National Guard may not be prepared to respond 
effectively to unexpected terrorist incidents or large-scale 
natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina; 
Whereas all Army National Guard Brigade Combat Team 
units have been deployed in support of ongoing oper-
ations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the Army switch-
es from deploying individual units to whole brigades, at- 
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•HRES 834 IH 
home time is decreasing, leaving Guardsmen facing mul-
tiple deployments that negatively impact families and 
communities throughout the United States; 
Whereas the Army and Marine Corps are reporting personnel 
shortfalls; 
Whereas the Army and Marine Corps are reporting equip-
ment shortages; 
Whereas the Army and Marine Corps are reporting training 
deficiencies; 
Whereas the National Guard and Reserve are experiencing 
declines in the readiness of personnel, equipment, and 
training; 
Whereas the readiness of the military is critical to the na-
tional security interest of the United States, its citizens, 
and the integrity of the entire military force; 
Whereas the readiness shortfalls within the Army and Marine 
Corps pose an immediate risk to the integrity of the mili-
tary force and the national security of the United States; 
and 
Whereas section 8, article 1, of the Constitution empowers 
the Congress ‘‘To raise and support Armies’’ and ‘‘To 
make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the 
land and naval Forces’’: Now, therefore, be it; 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that because serious readiness shortfalls exist 
within the Army, Marine Corps, National Guard, and Re-
serves, severely limiting the ability of the ground forces 
to respond effectively to any contingency or threat, at 
home or abroad and thus creating a potentially dangerous 
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•HRES 834 IH 
level of risk to the national security of the United States, 
Congress should restore and maintain the ground forces 
at the highest levels of readiness in the interest of national 
security and to ensure the integrity of the entire military 
force. 
Æ 
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