Army Reserves

"I do not wish to sound alarmist. I do wish to send a clear, distinctive signal of deepening concern," Lt. Gen. James Helmly said in a Dec. 20 internal memorandum to the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker.

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"The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of the Army Reserve's inability under current policies, procedures and practices ... to meet mission requirements associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom," Helmly wrote, referring to the Army’s codenames for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

"The Army Reserve is additionally in grave danger of being unable to meet other operational requirements," including soldiers in classified contingency plans for other potential wars or national emergencies, "and is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force," He wrote.

He added that the Reserve’s ability to regenerate its mobilized troops is "eroding daily," partially because Reserve soldiers who finish deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan are asked to abandon substantial amounts of their equipment for other troops and contractors.

Helmly also said that the Pentagon don’t issue mobilization orders “in a timely manner”, adding that at least 10,000 Reserve soldiers received as little as three to five days notice.

He also referred to "potential 'sociological' damage” by giving Reserve soldiers an extra $1,000 a month if they volunteer to be mobilized for a second time. Hemly said that this confuses “volunteers” with "mercenaries.”

Aljazeera International article

Here's a CNN article emphasizing some other aspects of Helmly's report.