DoD has a ready manpower source for combat

A draft is on the way. But for whom?Lately, there’s been some talk in Washington that there might be a draft.

Hold your horses. Actually, DoD has some extra manning that they could realign first.

There’s been some anecdotal evidence that non-combat units could be realigned within DoD to provide front-line support.

US Contractors aren’t the only ones that are picking up that slack.

One potential source of manning will be non-combat units. There are manpower studies going on to determine which units could be moved.

Some of the factors that go into determining whether units could be realigned from non-combat to combat support are based on academic studies and computer analysis.

One method proposed is to analyze the number of man-hours that DoD units spend on non-official work.

This information could be aggregated to determine which DoD units could afford to have their positions either realigned, abolished, or converted to contract status.

This isn’t to say that it will come cheap. Moving a position from DoD to any other unit can be expensive.

But there are options on the table besides a draft.

One place to look will be the number of internet hours that military personnel use official computers for non-combat related activities. Some DoD IPs are known to be hotbeds of online gaming.

Is this in preparation for war? Certainly not. They’re online role playing games that are fantasy based. They have nothing to do with simulation, combat readiness, or anything related to official duties.

Another source of realignment will be personnel currently enrolled in academic studies online. If they can continue their academic studies online while in Iraq, that’s two problems solved: Avoids a draft, and puts active duty DoD personnel in forward positions.

Will the debate end soon? Certainly not. DoD has a story to tell to the world: That, despite the manning cuts, DoD can still do the job.

They certainly can. All they have to do is look in-house for the excess. There are plenty of troops bored enough during this phony “war on terror” that they have enough time to debate their role-playing character names, online, in plain view.

I encourage DoD to look at their OPSEC procedures. Why are troops posting on the bulletin boards using DoD IP numbers and being so brazen about their online gaming activities?

Would be a shame to find out that DoD IG has failed to investigate the complaints.

Or is online fantasy gaming now part of the new DoD training program?