{"id":45185,"date":"2017-10-10T20:15:59","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T20:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/10\/milley-army-will-pray-for-peace-prepare-for-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:58:46","slug":"milley-army-will-pray-for-peace-prepare-for-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/ausa-digital-show-dailies\/2017\/10\/10\/milley-army-will-pray-for-peace-prepare-for-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Milley: Army will pray for peace, prepare for war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Army chief of staff has a message for his commanders: If it doesn\u2019t increase combat readiness, don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Mark Milley on Tuesday also called out North Korea as the No. 1 threat to U.S. national security and asked the officers leading operational units to be ready to meet that threat and any other, taking their own units\u2019 readiness into their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo not wait on orders and printed, new regulations and new manuals. Do not wait on force structure changes. You and you alone are responsible for the readiness of your unit,\u201d he said during the annual AUSA meeting in Washington, D.C. \u201cPut simply, I want you to get ready for what might come, and do not do any tasks that do not directly contribute to increasing combat readiness in your unit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readiness has long been Milley\u2019s No. 1 priority, but the time when the Army might need to call on that readiness is closer than ever, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy is it that we must be ready?\u201d Milley asked. \u201cWell, you don\u2019t have to have access to top secret intelligence. All you have to do is pick up a newspaper or watch the news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That news, increasingly, is of threats from North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is on the Korean peninsula where, in my view, we find the most dangerous near-term threat to the U.S.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only will well-trained, well-equipped soldiers give the Army the capacity to fight wars, but they also can be the key to preventing them, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReadiness deters enemies. It can end war quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, as soldiers, as America\u2019s sentinels of freedom, we will pray for peace every day. But at the same time, the U.S. Army will prepare for war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s not only up to commanders to keep the Army ready, Milley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile commanders will prepare our force for today, we, the institution, must prepare our force for tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support that goal, the Army is standing up a modernization command.<\/p>\n\n\n\t