According to a just-released report by the House Armed Services Committee’s oversight and investigations panel the more than $19 billion spent over the past four years to train and equip Iraq police and military personnel has produced “mixed results” and forces that “are not yet ready to take full responsibility for their nation’s security.” Moreover, the panel declares that after three months studying the effort, its members “cannot assess the operational capability of these forces” and put the blame squarely on DOD, which it said was “unwilling or unable to provide Congress with meaningful information.” In short, the panel reports, “We are actually left with more questions than answers.”
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…