Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Tuesday that the military may need to move toward a tiered readiness system.
“We may have to accept the reality that not every unit will be at maximum readiness, and some kind of a tiered readiness system is perhaps inevitable,” Hagel said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies Global Security Forum. “This carries the risk that the president would have fewer options to fulfill our national security objectives.”
Different units of the military would have varying levels of training and equipment, resulting in varying levels of readiness. The military has already reduced training for units that are not going overseas.
Hagel said that the Pentagon is also going through its review, which takes place every four years, and the defense department will determine how to realign resources.
“The goal is to ensure they better reflect our goals in the shifting strategic environment, the evolving capacity of our allies and partners, real-world threats, and the new military capabilities that reside in our force and in the hands of our potential adversaries,” he said of training and equipment for military forces.
