Should The U.S. Military Classify Its Readiness Reports?

U.S. soldiers attend the inauguration ceremony of bilateral military training between U.S. and Polish troops in Zagan, Poland, January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Maggie Ybarra, National Interest: How the U.S. Military Is Trying to Mask Its Readiness Crisis

Senior Pentagon officials are classifying data on important readiness issues. Is that a good idea?

The Defense Department has quietly embarked on a multilayered approach to masking the difficulties its officials have been experiencing acquiring new military equipment while ensuring that old equipment is repaired and battle ready.

In early March, two directives on information sharing began circulating in the Pentagon. The first, dated March 1 and signed by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, urged officers not to discuss publicly information that could give away the Navy’s competitive edge, but instead to scrutinize and protect it. The second, dated March 2, issued via email by Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis, detailed guidance from Defense Secretary James Mattis on publicly telegraphing shortfalls in weapons systems and other military equipment.

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WNU Editor: I am sure that America's adversaries have a very good idea already on what is the state of readiness for the U.S. military. And while classifying this state of readiness may make it a little bit difficult for these countries to determine what is this exact state .... the ones who will be really put in the dark will be the American public.