America’s front line of missile defense is straining under the demand of global threats

The US Army’s air defense units are among the most overworked in the US military, manning missile systems across the globe to provide around-the-clock deterrence against adversaries including North Korea, China, Iran and Russia.

In describing the problem to CNN, the Army’s most senior air defense officer, Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler, recounted something an Army sergeant told him recently: “Sir, it’s simple, pure math. We have more missions than we have air defense capability.”

As demands stack up with the war in Ukraine and amid looming concerns over a potential conflict with China, service leaders have been sounding the alarm that these critical missile defense units could be stretched too thin.

“It could get out of whack in a hurry if it’s not managed properly,” Maj. Gen. Brian Gibson, commander of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Hawaii, told CNN.

The situation became so severe that in 2020, the service conducted a survey of air defense soldiers and families, and have recently been working to implement changes to offload some of the pressure those soldiers and families are feeling.

The Army is offering $47,500 enlistment bonuses to attract more candidates for certain air defense jobs, including operating Patriot missile batteries. It’s also embedded mental health specialists into air defense units around the world in an effort to address what has emerged as a troubling side-effect of manning the front lines of America’s missile defense systems: burnout.

“Right now, the Army has directed that we put behavioral health specialists in the formations,” said Karbler, who is commander of the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command. “We have them there, and they will become a permanent part of those organizations.”

The Army’s air defense branch is among the most frequently deployed…