There is no cavalry coming over the hill. Their horses are in Iraq.

Of all the readiness issues we've seen, this one may worry me the most.

For decades, the Army has kept a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division on round-the-clock alert, poised to respond to a crisis anywhere in 18 to 72 hours.

Today, the so-called ready brigade is no longer so ready. Its soldiers are not fully trained, much of its equipment is elsewhere, and for the past two weeks the unit has been far from the cargo aircraft it would need in an emergency.

Instead of waiting on standby, the First Brigade of the 82nd Airborne is deep in the swampy backwoods of this vast Army training installation, preparing to go to Iraq. Army officials concede that the unit is not capable of getting at least an initial force of several hundred to a war zone within 18 hours, a standard once considered inviolate.

The "ready brigade" is absolutely critical to the way the military plans contingency response. Almost every pre-packaged contingency plan for a crisis situation includes this "ready brigade" as a main body of the first response.

China attacks Taiwan, Pakistani coup, Venezuela attacks a neighbor, an attack on a US ally, Israel, the plans are remarkably similar. Respond with theater and carrier air assets immediately. Try to buy time and "prepare the ground." Then deploy the quick reaction Marine and Army units.

Only there's no Army unit ready to go.

In the extra two days it would take to deploy a response, we would lose alot of ground and alot of time.

This is really dangerous.