Gates to face questions on troop readiness

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A letter sent Thursday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asks the secretary to be prepared to address concerns over the U.S. armed forces' readiness shortfalls.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and Readiness Subcommittee Chairman Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, sent the letter signaling a line of questioning Gates will be faced with when he appears before the committee Feb. 6.

In the letter Skelton and Ortiz described their concerns about the growing readiness shortfalls of the U.S. armed forces, particularly the Army, as a result of the ongoing troop commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Our review of the most recent Department of Defense quarterly reports detailing the services' readiness posture indicates that the past readiness shortfalls have not improved but are continuing to decline," Skelton and Ortiz wrote in the letter. "This situation presents the United States with an alarming strategic risk to our national security that we believe must be addressed."

Skelton and Ortiz plan to question Gates on concerns ranging from equipment, personnel shortages and the status of the mandated creation of a Defense Materiel Readiness Board designed to handle readiness issues.

"We simply are taking unacceptable risks in our ability to protect our nation and our interests," Skelton and Ortiz wrote. "We believe that these readiness issues present a grave risk to our nation that must be addressed now, before the next conflict emerges."