US Soldiers have their own deck of cards of most wanted

It's a shame they lose faith in the Army, when Rummy and Wolfowitz are the culprits. They're destroying the institution they have so shamelessly exploited for the personal ends of a pampered coward who never heard a shot fired in anger.

What hasn't this administration destroyed in so short a time? c.i.

U.S. Soldiers Complain of Low Morale in Iraq
U.S. Soldiers Complain of Low Morale in Iraq
Reuters - Wednesday, July 16, 2003; 10:24 AM
By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fed up with being in Iraq and demoralized by their role as peacekeepers in a risky place, a group of U.S. soldiers aired their plight on U.S. television on Wednesday and said they had lost faith in the Army.

Told several times they would be going home only to have their hopes dashed this week, a small group of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, spoke of poor morale and disillusionment with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"If Donald Rumsfeld were here, I'd ask him for his resignation," one disgruntled soldier told ABC's "Good Morning America" show.

Asked by a reporter what his message would be for Rumsfeld, one said: "I would ask him why we are still here. I don't have any clue as to why we are still in Iraq."

About 146,000 U.S. troops are serving amid mounting security threats in postwar Iraq. The death toll has now equaled the number killed in the 1991 Gulf War.

Sgt. Filipe Vega, said they had expected to return home soon after the fall of Baghdad on April 9. "We were told the fastest way back home is through Baghdad and that's what we did. Now we are still here," he complained.

The 3rd Infantry Division was the first U.S. unit to enter Baghdad after driving through southern Iraq through Kuwait.

Sgt. Terry Gilmore described a phone call with his wife Stacey when he told her he would not be coming home soon.

"When I told her she started crying and I almost started crying. I just felt like my heart was broken. I could not figure out...how they could keep us here after they told us we were coming home."

In Washington, a Pentagon spokeswoman said she understood the frustration, but said morale was still high. "It's obviously a frustrating situation for some of them, but it does not represent the entire 3rd Division."

She added: "When you get down to the individual soldier level, you can clearly see the dedication."

The wives of two of the soldiers appeared on the same show. "Just send my husband home -- send all the soldiers home. They have done the job they were supposed to do," said Rhonda Vega from Hinesville, Georgia.

Stacey Gilmore said U.S. troops were ill-prepared for the post-war phase. "They were told after the fighting ended they were coming home. All I know is that morale is low and they are just hanging in there, sticking through it." ((Writing by Sue Pleming, editing by Jackie Frank; Reuters Messaging [email protected])

Reserves wanting to leave Mideast
Reserves wanting to leave Mideast
Web posted Friday, July 11, 2003
The Augusta Chronicle
By Johnny Edwards | Staff Writer

First, they heard it would be May. Then they heard June. Then they thought they had a departure date of July 20. Now, members of the 319th Transportation Company fear they could be in the Middle East as late as September.

Speaking by cell phone from Kuwait, members of the Augusta-based Army Reserve unit say their extended stay in the desert - and their elusive return date - is having a maddening effect on morale.

Making matters worse, they're living in 120-degree temperatures, pulling guard duty at a base in Kuwait and riding shotgun in civilian fuel trucks on convoys into Iraq. They are working for an Army battalion that wasn't in the Middle East during the brunt of the war, as they were.

The 319th soldiers say they have seen other Army units come and go since they have been in Kuwait. Their spouses and families watch as Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and soldiers from Fort Stewart, Ga., and Fort Gordon trickle home.

"We don't understand what's going on," said Sgt. Robert Curl, 44, of Cobbtown in Tatnall County. "We've been here long enough. We did our mission."

The unit's commander, Capt. Mohandas Martin, said everyone is tired and ready to go home. It seems as though every day the soldiers hear of troops being killed by snipers in Iraq.

They can't leave until they get the orders, though, and Capt. Martin said he doesn't know when that will be.

"I don't know if it's fair, but that's what's happening," he said.

Sgt. Curl, who works at a paint and body shop in civilian life, has contacted U.S. Rep. Max Burns' office for help, as has his wife, Jenny.

Mr. Burns' spokesman, Chris Ingram, said the office is making inquiries on behalf of the Curls. An Army liaison at the Pentagon told the office that the 319th did not have a scheduled leave date.

If Sgt. Curl makes a specific request, Mr. Burns' office could begin advocating for the 319th's return, but so far the office has been asked only to make inquiries, Mr. Ingram said.

A call to the Pentagon by The Augusta Chronicle was returned by a defense official who said he could not speak specifically about the 319th. About 146,000 troops remain in Iraq, and a troop rotation policy is in the works, he said.

About 130 men and women from the 319th remain in Kuwait. Most of the soldiers arrived in mid-February, and a forward team of 20 soldiers has been there since November.

During the first two weeks of the war, the 319th hauled all the bulk fuel for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in its drive to Baghdad, a job that took them through hostile territory and into ambushes and firefights.

The 319th is now working for the Army's 260th Quartermaster Battalion. It is stationed at Camp Arifjan, south of Kuwait City.

Soldiers say most of their work involves civilian contractor Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton Corp. The company has contracts to haul fuel, and 319th members are riding along as armed escorts.

"The main reason we're still here is to support Brown and Root," said Sgt. 1st Class David Uthe, 45, of Augusta.

He said the supposed departure dates are being passed down through the ranks by word of mouth.

Julia McMurray's daughter, Pfc. Arrington Gray, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., is deployed with the 319th. Mrs. McMurray said her daughter needs to come home to start college. She said she has sent e-mails to the Pentagon asking for an explanation.

"I don't expect anyone to respond," she said. "I'm trying to put the bug anywhere I can."

"We don't understand what's going on. We've been here long enough. We did our mission." Sgt. Robert Curl, on waiting to return home

Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or [email protected].

Click here to return to story:
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/071203/met_021-6883.000.shtml

Will Bush Adm. policies cause loss of volunteer military?
Will Bush Adm. policies cause loss of volunteer military?

A possible unintended consequence of the Bush Administration's imperialistic policies may result in the loss of the US's volunteer military. In fact, if it continues, Bush et al may be required to call for a military draft, which will have one of two results: Bush will be forced to stop using Americans as fodder for his imperialistic fantasies or, the draft will rally the American people against Bush. Then, finally, America may be rid of this idiot and his civilian cronies.

It will take new leadership with credibility to restore the confidence of the Military in the civilian leadership of this country.

Colin Powell must be slowly dying a little each day to see his beloved Military being abused by his bosses. For god's sake, Powell, resign and set an example for others to follow.

---BumbleBeeBoogie

BBB
After listening to Rumsfeld on sunday it has become quite obvious that the little Caesar has finally come to the realization that we have insufficient manpower in Iraq. The previous Chief of the armed forces said we would need several 100,000 troops in Iraq. For which he was derided by the little Caesar. Apparently he was correct. In light of that rather than pull forces out they will in all likelihood be forced to send more in. These men have IMO very little hope of being rotated out.
Rummy also spoke about all the nations who will supply troops to the mission. They must be a figment of his imagination.
As to the volunteer army I would expect recruits will be hard to come by. Especially hard hit will IMO be the reserves.
Will there be a draft? If there is that will be the nail that shuts Bush's coffin. Something I wait for with baited breath. Not the draft but to see Bush in the coffin.

When the American People begins to realize that this administration has no exit strategy for Iraq while Haliburton and Bechtel gets rich off the oil and American soldiers get killed daily, there's gonna be hell to pay by this group of crooks. They have stolen our economy, our tax money, our military, and the good name of our country for the sole purpose of enriching their family and friends. c.i.

It is about oil, STUPID!!!!!!

Iran becomes much more interesting now that it has recently (within last week) had three major discoveries. Watch for our "Iranian concerns" to move up in priority.

Amen, c.i.

Iran becomes much more interesting now that it has recently (within last week) had three major discoveries. Watch for our "Iranian concerns" to move up in priority.

BBB's prediction is starting to come true
As opined in my post: "Will Bush Adm. policies cause loss of volunteer military? A possible unintended consequence of the Bush Administration's imperialistic policies may result in the loss of the US's volunteer military. In fact, if it continues, Bush et al may be required to call for a military draft, which will have one of two results: Bush will be forced to stop using Americans as fodder for his imperialistic fantasies or, the draft will rally the American people against Bush."

It may be starting to happen. The National Guard is an important segment of our Homeland Security protection services. Who will do their jobs within US borders now?

Read the following.

-----BumbleBeeBoogie

Report: U.S. May Call National Guard for Iraq Duty
Thu Jul 17, 2:17 AM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pentagon could start a call-up of as many as 10,000 U.S. National Guard soldiers by this winter to bolster forces in Iraq and offset a lack of troops from allies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have stretched the U.S. military thin, the report said, and soldiers there still face danger every day.

One senior U.S. defense official, asked by the Journal if he had ever seen the Army stretched so thin, said: "Not in my 31 years" of military service.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to sign off later this week on a plan that would set up rotations to relieve Marine and U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Iraq, the newspaper said, citing a Pentagon official.

About 146,000 U.S. troops are serving in postwar Iraq amid mounting security threats. The U.S. death toll of 147 combat deaths has now equaled the number killed in the 1991 Gulf War.

National Guard soldiers would likely not be deployed until March or April after they complete two or three months of training, the paper said. Their lengths of service could last 12 to 16 months each including training.

The Pentagon was driven to consider calling in the troops because some U.S. allies have chosen not to send in large contingents of their own, the report said.

Twenty-one of the Army's 33 active-duty combat brigades are already in Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea and the Balkans, the paper said. Three other brigades cannot currently be sent abroad, leaving nine brigades, or 45,000 troops, as relief for deployed soldiers, the report said.

Some of those forces are being held back in case they are needed near North Korea or in Afghanistan, further limiting U.S. options in Iraq, the Journal said.

Looks like some guys are eager to be court-martialed.

Why our troops are easy moving targets
Can anyone explain to me why our troops are being transported in unprotected convoy vehicles instead of armored vehicles? Every picture I've seen in which an American was killed during a convoy shows an open truck.

What is going on here? Perhaps the officers who are responsible should be made to ride daily in these vehicles in the areas where these attacks are taking place. Then something might be done to better protect our troups.

-----BumbleBeeBoogie

Gen.: G.I.s who rip leaders will pay



By HELEN KENNEDY
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON - The military will punish demoralized soldiers in Iraq who are bluntly venting their frustration to reporters, the Pentagon said yesterday.
"None of us that wear this uniform are free to say anything disparaging about the secretary of defense or the President of the United States," said Gen. John Abizaid, head of Central Command. "We're not free to do that. It's our professional code. Whatever action may be taken, whether it's a verbal reprimand or something more stringent, is up the commanders on the scene."

This week's abrupt cancellation of homecoming plans for the Army's 3rd Infantry Division unleashed a remarkable and widespread flood of fury from troops who are hot, homesick and hunted by guerrillas.

"If Donald Rumsfeld was here, I'd ask him for his resignation," Spec. Clinton Deitz of the 3rd Infantry's 2nd Brigade told ABC News.

"I've got my own 'Most Wanted' list," said a 2nd Brigade sergeant. "The aces in my deck are Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush and Paul Wolfowitz."

Many soldiers are openly asking why they are in a country that wants them out. They complain that their commanders have gone home. Frustration with the powers in Washington is a main theme.

"I can guarantee you they've never stood out in a checkpoint in the heat of the day, day after day, full battle rattle, always wondering if today's the day somebody's going to shoot me. Do they even care?" one soldier told a Knight Ridder reporter.

The 2nd Brigade, in the Persian Gulf since September, had been told it would be home by May, then July, then August. When the announcement came that the deployment was being extended until at least September and maybe beyond, "you could hear a pin drop," said Sgt. 1st Class Eric Wright of the 64th Armored Regiment.

The Code of Military Justice bars officers from using "contemptuous words" against civilian or military leaders. Punishment is rarely stringent, said military law expert Eugene Fidell.

"People always grumble in the trenches," he said. "Typically, administrations are extremely well advised not to throw gasoline on the fire by creating martyrs."

The White House took no public offense at the soldiers' gripes. "We know that they are making significant sacrifices," said spokesman Scott McClellan. "We are going to do everything we can to support them and get them home as soon as we can."

Originally published on July 17, 2003

I just wonder how this voluntary military of the US is going to recruit any more men and women? Just a question. c.i.

The soldiers should have know all of this prior to opening up their mouths to complain.

Answer:

With a great deal of ease!

Who doesn't gripe in the service. I think the general is one big asshole. When the morale is bad threaten that will fix it. I wonder if west point has a course titled psychology for idiots.

When Generals start addressing Privates then we know they are in trouble!