McHugh: Tough Times Require Lean, Tough Army

Citing parallels with the scenario faced by his predecessors as the Vietnam War wound down, Army Secretary John M. McHugh believes history is repeating itself today. Like himself and his chief of staff, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, McHugh alluded to the challenges Robert F. Froehlke and Gen. Creighton W. Abrams faced in 1973 – with tight budgets and a Congress with which they did not always see eye to eye. McHugh made the observations in an essay published in Sept. 25 issues of Army Magazine, the official publication of the Association of the U.S. Army. “We’ve seen this all before. This modern, professional force – the greatest landpower the world has ever seen – knows all about tough times and even tougher challenges,” McHugh wrote. “Just as we’ve done in the past – as when Abrams and Froehlke painfully sowed the seeds for the Army we are blessed to have today – we will prevail again,” he wrote. To meet that end, McHugh called for maintaining readiness while taking care of those who serve and their families as well. He placed the responsibility for ensuring such an outcome upon Congress. “We must have predictable, long-term funding in order to help keep America and her allies free from coercion around the world,” McHugh said.