The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 25, 2006, Image 1
The University of South Carolina Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Vol. 99, No. 54 • Since 1908
Study says Army
stretched too thin
Retired officer: U.S. forces ‘in a race against time
because of repeated deployments, low recruitment
Robert Burns
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Stretched by
frequent troop rotations to Iraq
and Afghanistan, the Army has
become a “thin green line” that
could snap unless relief comes
soon, according to a study done
for the Pentagon.
Andrew Krepinevich, a
retired Army officer who wrote
the report under a Pentagon
contract, concluded that the
Army cannot sustain the pace of
troop deployments to Iraq long
enough to break the back of the
insurgency. He also suggested
that the Pentagon’s decision,
announced in December, to begin
reducing the force in Iraq this year
was driven in part by a realization
that the Army was overextended.
As evidence, Krepinevich points
to the Army’s 2005 recruiting
slump — missing its recruiting
goal for the first time since 1999
— and its decision to offer much
bigger enlistment bonuses and
other incentives.
| “You really begin to wonder
just how much stress and strain
there is on the Army, how much
longer it can continue,” he said
in an interview. He added that
the Army is still a highly effective
fighting force and is implementing
a plan that will expand the number
of combat brigades available for
rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The 136-page report represents
a more sobering picture of the
Army’s condition than military
officials offer in public. While not
released publicly, a copy of the
report was provided in response to
an Associated Press inquiry.
Illustrating his level of concern
about strain on the Army,
Krepinevich tided one of his
report’s chapters, “The Thin
Green Line.”
He wrote that the Army is
“in a race against time” to adjust
to the demands of war “or risk
'breaking’ the force in the form
of a catastrophic decline” in
recruitment and re-enlistment.
Col. Lewis Boone, spokesman
for Army Forces Command, which
IRAQ • 4
Mohammed Adnan / The Associated Press
Iraqi soldiers stand behind suspected insurgents who were
detained in an early morning raid on Tuesday in Baqouba, 60 35
miles northeast of Baghdad. The Desert Lion Brigade of the Iraqi
Army raided multiple houses the same morning and arrested 23
suspected insurgents, brigade commander Col. Saman Talabani
said.
Committee vote assures Alito’s Supreme Court confirmation
I_I
Dennis Cook / The Associated Press
Judge Samuel Alito, right, and Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., a baseball
hall of famer, talk baseball on Capitol Hill on Tuesday after the
Senate Judiciary Committee on a 10-8 party line vote sent his
nomination for the Supreme Court to the Senate floor where a final
confirmation vote is expected later this week.
Judges presence could mean bench tilts slightly to right
Jesse J. Holland
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Supreme
Court nominee Samuel Alito won
a Senate Judiciary Committee vote
along strict party lines Tuesday
as well as commitments from a
majority of senators, assuring his
confirmation and a likely tilt of
the court to the right.
All of the 55 Republicans —
except Sens. Lamar Alexander
of Tennessee; Lincoln Chafee
of Rhode Island; Susan Collins
and Olympia Snowe of Maine;
and Ted Stevens of Alaska
— have publicly committed
to vote for Alito through their
representatives, interviews with
The Associated Press or news
releases.
That gives Alito 50 votes, and
Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson
of Nebraska’s support makes a
majority.
Twenty Democrats are publicly
opposing President Bush’s pick
to replace retiring Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor, while the other
23 and independent Sen. Jim
Jeffords of Vermont are still
publicly undecided or refuse to
say how they will vote on Alito’s
nomination.
The only way Democrats can
stop the conservative judge now
is through a filibuster, a maneuver
they show little interest in.
The final debate on the 55
year-old New Jersey jurist begins
Wednesday.
AUTO • 6
EYE
SPECIALIST
TO OFFER
WEEKLY
SERVICES
--
Opthalmologist to join
health center staff
Gina Uasselli
STAFF WRITER
The Thomson Student Health
Center has announced it is bringing
an optometrist to the campus clinic
one day a week, starting Feb. 2.
Keshia Elder, an assistant
professor of clinical ophthalmology
at the School of Medicine, will be
spending her Thursday afternoons
running a clinic in room 304 at the
health center.
Clinical Services Director Terry
King said that the Department of
Ophthalmology has been interested
in running a clinic at USC for a
while, but it was the acquisition of
extra Equipment that “gave them
the opportunity to open a clinic
for the students,” she said.
The clinic will begin service on
Thursday afternoons, but future
times will be adjusted based on the
number of students who use the
service.
A standard eye exam will cost
$75 and a contact lens exam will be
$130, with all of the billing done by
the ophthalmology department.
Elder said that the clinic will have
trial contacts available for students
who need them, and they will then
order the final prescription and
have it shipped to either the clinic
or to the student’s mailbox.
For glasses, students will have
a choice of frames, but if students
do not like the selection they can
go to the main clinic, located at
the Medical University of South
Carolina off Gamers Ferry Road,
for a wider selection.
“I think it’ll be a great
opportunity for students,
particularly those who don’t have a
car to get the services they need,”
King said.
According to the Department
of Ophthalmology, Elder began
her career in the U.S. Navy. She
returned to her native South
Carolina after finishing her
service.
“I think that students will enjoy
receiving their care from her,” said
DOCTOR • >1
RHA Senate proposes changes
i to residents’ visitation rights
* ^
Haty Blaloch
FOR THE GAMECOCK
The Residence Hall Association
Senate proposed a plan Tuesday
to eliminate a campus visitation
policy mandating that guests
could not be in residence halls
between 2 a.m. and 10 a.m.
“It’s a consistent problem we
hear from our residents. It’s
mostly freshmen’s concerns with
the policy,” said RHA President
Terrill Wilkins, a third-year
| political science student.
Wilkins said he has received
many complaints from residents
about the visitation policy overall.
The current policy includes four
variations on allowing residents to
have guests in their rooms.
' The RHA plan would affect
Plan C, or the “Freshman Plan.”
Currently, the policy only allows
residents to have escorted guests
from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. the
following morning.
The proposal is that there
would be an open visitation policy
devised by the roommates based
on a roommate contract. Entering
freshman would have to follow
the present policy, but in their
second semester, they would be
able to make alterations to their
roommate contracts.
Nick Esarts / THE GAMECOCK
RHA President Terrill Wilkins,
left, speaks Tuesday at a
meeting while Vice President
Jonathan Ross writes.
Signing in visitors would be
done using color-coded stickers
indicating plans residents have
developed with their roommate.
“The bottom line is when you
take away the opportunity of
students to make choices, you take
RHR • 1
Engineering dean candidate:
College needs more teamwork
Jackie Alexander
ASSISTANT NEWS WRITER
Making the engineering
college richer and more reputable
while focusing on teamwork
among faculty were the goals
that Seshu Desu, a University
of Massachusetts administrator
and dean finalist for the college,
outlined during his two-day-long
interview with USC’s candidate
committee, which finished meeting
with Desu on Tuesday.
On Monday, Desu presented his
plan for the engineering program.
If selected, Desu will draw from
various experiences during his
tenure as department head at the
University of Massachusetts and
as a General Electric team leader.
Desu said he has the experience
to solve problems by assembling
a team of people with diverse
backgrounds.
“It’s like a puzzle,” Desu said.
“You need all the pieces.”
Desu added that he also
employed this method of
assembling a team with a degree
of autonomy at UMass, and he
believes he can use it to increase
resources.
Desu also said he values research
DESU • 6
Viewpoints
Brandt Boidy expresses his
concern with uniformed
America; Tim McManUS
shares his experience at
Columbia’s EdVenture
Discovery Museurh.
The Mix
Table for one
A night out by yourself
can be just the thing
the doctor ordered. It’s
dinner and a movie
— solo style.
Sports
Gator haters
The Gamecocks will
face a hungry No. 5
Florida basketball
team tonight at the
Colonial Center.
INDEX
Comics & Crossword......11
Classifieds.14
Horoscopes.11
Opinion.8
Police Report.....2