Military Review English Edition September-October 2013 | Page 19

S O C I A L C A P I TA L

Moreover, training is in jeopardy at the organizational level. Gen. Raymond Odierno testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that current sequestration cuts will “curtail training for 80 percent of ground forces.” The opportunity to train consistently, become proficient at their mission, and foster norms of trust and mutual assistance in units with both good and bad leaders is disappearing at the same time combat missions are ending. Soldiers, leaders, and entire units will lose the chance to build the bonds required to maintain readiness as “our soldiers, our young men and women, are the ones who will pay the price, potentially with their lives,” according to Odierno.52 In addition, limited readiness results in a breach of trust with the American people. According to ADRP 1, social trust begins at the highest level, with the American people trusting that the Army will defend their nation, their values, and their future.53 If the Army and the Army Profession are not ready to fight and defend the nation against all enemies, then the people’s trust of the profession is broken. Social trust makes bonds tighter. Poor leadership and an inability to build esprit de corps causes trust and bonds
MILITARY REVIEW ? September-October 2013

to crumble, which challenges the Army Profession to develop the social capital required for its success over the next decade.

Limiting Bridges of Trust

Sequestration cuts further break down social capital bridging the Army Profession and the communities surrounding military installations. The Army is already a small percentage of the population. Social trust arises more from observed actions than personal interaction. As the Army draws down 80,000 troops to reach 490,000 by 2017, there is even less opportunity to interact.54 Reports of sexual assaults, murders overseas, and other nefarious activities hurt this social trust. If the Army Profession is dependent on the trust of America’s citizens as its organizing principle, it must also recognize that Americans must interact and view the profession in a positive manner. This could be a challenge for the Army with communities near Army bases. Sequestration does not just affect those in uniform. As General Odierno testified, he has “directed an immediate hiring freeze,” will “furlough up to 251,000 civilians,” and “cuts in
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