Congress Ignored Warnings From General Raymond Odierno

Odierno has been wrong on military suicides, especially when he said during an interview with the Huffington Post

"First, inherently what we do is stressful. Why do I think some people are able to deal with stress differently than others? There are a lot of different factors. Some of it is just personal make-up. Intestinal fortitude. Mental toughness that ensures that people are able to deal with stressful situations.

And then went on to point out that he had a very supportive family, meaning those who committed suicide must not have had support. Anyway, he's been wrong on a lot of things but this time, he isn't wrong. Congress just didn't care about having a strong Army or the price soldiers had to pay for what they failed to do.

Odierno Stepping Down With Barrage of Warnings on Troop Cuts
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Aug 12, 2015

In the face of continual budget cuts and shrinking end strength, Army Gen. Ray Odierno has been a persistent voice in stressing the "indispensable" role of the soldier during his time as chief of staff.

Odierno is leaving his post as the Army's top officer with a barrage of warnings on the risks to the nation of continuing cuts to the regular forces.

"We have deactivated 13 active-duty brigade combat teams and we are in the process of eliminating three active component combat aviation brigades," Odierno told the Senate Appropriations Committee last March.

The result is that "we have fewer soldiers, the majority of whom are in units that are not ready," Odierno said. "They are manning aging equipment at a time when a demand for Army forces is much higher than anticipated."

Odierno will hold his final news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday, and on Friday he will turn over his post as Army chief of staff to Gen. Mark Milley in a formal change-of-command ceremony at Fort Myer in Virginia.
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