Troops React To Forced Extensions With ‘Anger,’ ‘Frustration,’ ‘Collective Groan’

[babylonsister]

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/13/troops-extensions/


Troops React To Forced Extensions With ‘Anger,’ ‘Frustration,’ ‘Collective Groan’

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced yesterday that all U.S. Army soldiers in Iraq would have their 12-month tours in Iraq extended by 3 additional months. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) called the policy “an additional burden to an already overstretched Army,” and warned not to “underestimate the enormous negative impact this will have on Army families.”

Now, newspapers are returning harrowing accounts from the ground, where U.S. soldiers reacted to the news with “muffled outbursts of anger and frustration laced with dark humor.” The Washington Post reports:

They found out by reading exasperated e-mails from their spouses, hearing somber announcements from their platoon commanders, seeing snippets of the secretary of defense at a televised news conference: The American soldiers who thought they were staying in Iraq one year would now stay 15 months. All of them.

From Texas to Baghdad and Baqubah to the Beltway, the reaction Thursday among U.S. soldiers and their families to the news of the mass extension was akin to a collective groan.

“It flat-out sucks, that’s the only way I can think to describe it,” said Pvt. Jeremy Perkins, 25… “I found this out today from my squad leader. I still haven’t told my wife yet. I’m just trying to figure out exactly how I’m going to break it to her that ‘Honey, uh, yeah, might be home before our next anniversary. Sorry I missed the last one.’”

Similar scenes of soldiers worried about their families and relationships were documented by the New York Times:

The soldiers wondered if their relationships back home could weather an extension and predicted that divorce rates in the military would spike. They muttered about three additional months of forced celibacy and fretted half jokingly about impatient wives and girlfriends. “Now a lot of cheating be going on,” said Sgt. Jonathan Wilson, 29. “I’m serious.”

Specialist Lawson had planned to take a vacation with his former wife, with whom he has two daughters, after he got back to the division’s home base in Schweinfurt, Germany. They were going to give the relationship another try.

“This has totally wrecked everything I had planned,” he said as he slumped on an empty explosives crate.

“Now I’m never going to get together with my ex-wife,” he said. “I’m scared that the longer it takes, more things could happen.”

The price that’s paid for a war without end.

[BeFree]

1. I feel sorry

For the Iraqi citizens who will be on the receiving end of the anger and resentment building up in these soldiers.

bushco(sic) is painting itself into a corner.

[maggiegault]

4. And Then, Of Course, We Will Blame The Soldiers For A Very Human Reaction

We are holding our military hostage. Held hostage by a little thug who was not man enough to complete his own military service.

[babylonsister]

6. So true! Untenable that the true soldiers may have to die for this idiot! nt

[Kikosexy2]

37. High time...

all our brave ones just mutiny...send a strong message to Chimperor and say "we ain't fighting your illegal war no more!".."Enough is enough!"

[Erika]

2. I feel so sorry for these kids. No one else is sacrificing.

It is shameful. Bush needs to be impeached.

[babylonsister]

3. I am sick about it myself. Really.

:-(

[maggiegault]

5. And That Right There Is The Problem. A DRAFT. NOW.

Let Jane and John Sixpack, who no doubt voted for the little tyrant twice, send THEIR kids over to that hell hole to fight for nothing and to come home in a casket.

You see how quickly this whole matter would resolve itself.

[babylonsister]

7. Yep. I remember when Rangel first brought it up, people were SHOCKED!

Rangel is one smart man, for the right reasons.

[BearSquirrel2]

60. Has to be limited ....

Force Bush to draft whenever he over-deploys soldiers. That way he cannot blame it on the Democrats.

[E-Z-B]

22. Yup. It's the quickest way to end the war and bring the troops home.

What happened with Charlie Rangel's bill this year?

[SammyWinstonJack]

26. I didn't vote for that little rat bastard! Not even for Governor! I have two sons

who would probably be called up in a Draft. So no thanks! I never supported this war on Iraq and I didn't support going into Afghanistan either! Bring the Troops Home Now! No reason for a draft then.

[jbnow]

31. My son isn't draft age

but the draft is no solution to this war. Do we think bush would care if Americans started protesting a lot more? Do we think a veto proof majority would force bush into anything?
Do we think kids who would never join and are against the war should go to prove our point or to make rich people's kid go too?

The draft might help kids there get home sooner or stay home longer. Might also enable more war or war with Iraq. For sure it would get many kids injured or killed...kids that have no choice in this, kids that are real people too. And we are to say they must go?
It's not going to change bush's mind at all.

We don't kill kids to prove a point. I don't get why people find it a good idea.

[maggiegault]

40. Because It Is Time For Someone OTHER Than Military Families To Make A Sacrifice

It's not a "good idea" to have a draft. In fact, it is repugnant and distasteful. But you know what? My brother does not deserve to be sent over there INDEFINITELY.

HIS son isn't draft age, either. In fact, his son just took his first steps the other day. My brother missed it because he was too busy fighting a war of which not nearly enough Americans are feeling the pain.

Yeah yeah yeah...he signed up. Is that an excuse for this inhumane treatment? I don't think so.

No, a draft is a terrible idea. Unfortunately, we live in a world where personal discomfort is the only thing that gets results. Look at how aghast you are at the notion of your son, when he becomes of age, fighting and dying in a war based on lies.

So...because our soldiers volunteered, they "get what they deserve"? That seems to be the underlying theme a lot of the time. That they should have somehow "known"?

I don't want to see one more soldier leave their loved ones for the war, I don't want to read about one more soldier coming home in a body bag. Yet what we are currently doing AIN'T WORKING. I think you might be surprised how * opens up his hairy ears when what remains of his base turns on him because THEIR sons and daughters are being called upon to make the same sacrifice that our loved ones made willingly.

(And incidentally, we HAVE been killing kids to prove a point ever since this debacle started. The point being that * is a childish, obstinate little tyrant. The Decider.)

[jbnow]

44. Why would bush care

if his base turns. He's not running again.
The war cost them the House and Senate, the recommendations came out to start using diplomacy and focus on training so we can leave and all bush did was fire rumsfeld and "surge". He does not care. We would not affect anything by the end of his term.

I feel horrible for the people that are forced to stay there longer, to go there at all. I don't want another person hurt or killed but I don't want to give him MORE.

I am not close to saying that volunteers "get what they deserve."
I assume recent volunteers do know they will go to this war but they deserve much better treatment. They had a right to expect the government would keep it's word.
This is horribly unfair to people who thought their service was over and are called back. They didn't sign up during or for this war. The national guard has never been used this way.

I am not aghast at the notion of my son being drafted later, he is well past draft age.

But I can imagine being a kid who is against war, who would never join the military being told that I must go.

I hope your brother and all the siblings/children/spouses/friends come home well and SOON.

[maggiegault]

48. At This Point, A Draft Would Cement Bush's Dubious Positions As WORST EVER

Look, I don't want to see one more kid fight and die for a bunch of rich white men, believe me.

I just don't think that we have any other choice at this point. Not only to teach Americans a lesson (or perhaps not), but because what our military (our National Guard should NEVER be sent anywhere without a draft being in place, too) has been put through by this cabal.

[Carolina]

41. the draft is a partial solution

because it was the massive protests of all those drafted and draftable young college kids (my peers) that helped end Vietnam. Remember: "Hell no, we won't go!"

If all the young men and now women, too, on college campuses across this country were vulnerable to being called up for duty (and guess what ... now the Guard is no safety hatch), there would be a sea tide (no, make that a tsunami) of change about this war. If the sons of the privileged were at risk, things would change quite fast. I wouldn't like because I do have a draft age son.

And yes, we do kill kids and have done so throughout history. It's not a good idea but it's fact.

[jbnow]

52. I don't get the logic

It's true that when Johnson committed ground troops and greatly increased the draft (100,000 in 1964 to 400,000 in 1966) there were a lot more protests! But it enabled forces there to climb from 23,000 "military advisers" in 1964 to 543,000 troops by 1968.
What do you think bush would do with all the extra bodies to use?

The draftees were less then 16 percent in the service but were almost 90% of the infantry in Vietnam by 69 and more than half the army's deaths in battle.

So it's true that protests got much bigger by the end of the 60's like the million Americans who took part in the "Vietnam Moratorium" in October 69 (along with 50 members of Congress).

That didn't end things. The last American soldier killed in Vietnam was in April 1975....after 10 years of protests.

The draft did not end the war. In fact one of the pressures was Congress refusing to extend the draft so it expired automatically in July 1973 and then the pressure Congress put on trying to limit war powers and then putting the financial squeeze on.

What didn't work on Johnson, Nixon or Ford through those years would make bush quickly change? Bush would not just end this war if there was a draft, huge protests and political pressure.
We can make sure we elect a next president who will end it.

In the meantime we don't give bush all those extra people, he'll use them.

My son is past draft age and my grandchildren not born yet...but giving bush more people to use will just escalate the war, perhaps start new ones and definitely spike the deaths.

It doesn't make sense and if I were a 19 year old kid I'd feel betrayed, utterly betrayed, by those who pushed me into that hell...for no damn reason.

Drafts are not for this.

[jbnow]

53. btw I get the emotion behind it

I get that sense of "Well if their kids go let's see how many support it" It's a lot easier to support a war you stand to lose nothing in.

And you know if there was a way to send just people who support the war and bash those wanting peace and vote for hawks...well I'd support that draft!

But even that impossible draft wouldn't stop bush or turn enough republicans to stop him immediatelt...and bush will be gone in 647 long days.
I really fear all the draft would do is get him and cheney doing a happy dance because now Iran is possible and we can triple Iraq.

[Carolina]

42. also

if the talking heads, many of whom were chickenhawks in the 70s, had to send their precious ones into harm's way, I bet they'd quickly lose their supportive blather about troop surge and how great Chimpco's wars are.

[maggiegault]

39. I Wish That I Didn't Feel The Way That I Did, But I Still Do

Believe me when I said that I wish that there was some other way.

Is there another way? Because we haven't seen it yet, if there is.

And really, why should my brother be PUNISHED for VOLUNTEERING to do *'s dirty work time and time again when there are able-bodied Americans here Stateside who can do it, too?

It seems to me that we are adding insult to injury not just to our troops, but to their families, by taking advantage of their sacrifices in such a shameful and unthinkable way.

None of us in our family ever supported the war in Iraq, either. Yet my brother just had his sentence extended to 15 months.

Is that fair? Why are we punishing volunteers for their choices and sacrifices, instead of thanking them by treating them humanely?

I don't want to see your sons go over there, believe me. I wouldn't wish this stress and pain on my mortal enemy. But at this point, I don't see that we have any other option.

[juno jones]

47. Exactly. My son is now 16

If he turns 18 and there is a draft I will do whatever it takes to get him out of the country. I will not have my intelligent liberal child in harm's way to prove somebody's point about who should be serving in that hell. He is going to grow up to be part of the solution, and will better serve his country as a living, whole, happy being.

[TahitiNut]

43. Absolutely. ALL the People should share in our collective failure.

The self-serving, self-righteous blame-shifting of those who'd let others bear the burdens of the corruption in this nation is appalling. 'Democrats'?? Hardly.

EVERYONE must bear the burdens of self-governance ... or we don't deserve to be a democracy.

[demigoddess]

62. that would just give bush fresh troops, and the generals would not be as

anti war as they are now, due to the consequences of a draft-less war. With a draft it might go on for 6,7 years or longer.

[ContraBass Black]

64. I campaigned actively against Bush and the war before we were stuck with either.

In a draft, my body might well be thrown into the war machinery, and still it would grind on.

What would be resolved?

[PA Democrat]

24. But the cretins will still insist that it is an "all volunteer" army.

I'm afraid I will punch the next Bush apologist who says that to my face.

[MUAD_DIB]

28. Why wait for them to say it. Just punch them now. When they start crying

and asking why you did it just say you were acting unilaterally to remove a present threat.


The lil GOPig should be able to appreciate that.

[Webster Green]

8. Support the troops!......Impeach Cheney and Bush!

Impeach Now!

[babylonsister]

11. I wish someone would seriously consider that. I don't care if there's not

enough time, they have to consider '08, whatever.
This bunch of rat bastards should not be in power/control.

[ProudDad]

49. Consider

The time between the announcement of the "18 minute gap" in the White House tapes and nixon's resignation was 4 months.

The announcement of the gaps in the email record was just last week. At that rate we can get the rat bastards out by August.

Visualize impeachment and removal of bush/cheney

[NormanYorkstein]

9. Let's bring the troops home now

Let's declare victory, bring the troops home, and have a victory parade. What's the problem???

[babylonsister]

10. Do you have an inkling about how long we've been saying that?

YEARS! If you can figure out what 'the problem' is besides the obvious, let us know.
Otherwise, we're open to solutions.
:dunce:

[NormanYorkstein]

12. I agree, what's the problem?

Saddam is gone, they have an elected government. We won. Hell I say Bush won, good job, now bring the troops home.

[SicSemperTyranus]

13. Not just Iraq

Several soldiers in my camp here in Kabul, Afghanistan just got notified that they're staying too. I'm here on a one-year also, but since I'm not Army this apparently doesn't affct me. Thank God. A year's enough. And Kabul isn't NEARLY as bad as Baghdad. Yet.

I wouldn't have said this a few years ago, but I now support a draft. Let Mr and Mrs Well Off Republican feel some pain too when Johnny or Jenny have to go off to a pointless war (Iraq) or a hopelessly under-funded failure-in-the-making (Afghanistan).

[symbolman]

17. Thanks for serving Brother

I enlisted in 1971, USAF, and luckily I wasn't sent to a war zone, as my bro was there and they hold back one surviving son, but I did supply the troops and was glad to serve.

I wonder if anyone there feels the same way I do, if they know that everyone talks about Iraq all the time, you barely hear about Afghanistan..

For some reason, every time I think of Afghanistan, the term, "The Forgotten War" sticks in my mind, it's gotta be worse there in some ways, but I also hope that you guys know that SOME Of us Haven't FORGOTTEN YOU. :)

I also hope that you stay safe, and remember what most of the sane Vietnam Vets used to say back in that day,

"It ain't nothin' but a Thing, Brother."

Stay warm, and thanks again for serving, sorry that little shit that's keeping you there hasn't choked on a pretzel, and spittled out on his own rug.

Maybe we can Nail the guy with these emails, one can only hope. :)

[SicSemperTyranus]

18. Forgotten War it is.

I'm USAF too, although you'd never know it to look at me and my team. This is the forgotten war, and it's very sad because the Afghans by and large are trying very very hard to fix things, and are some great people who just desperately need a break. They know this is their last best chance. I and most of my team volunteered because we thought this was one place we could make a difference for people (in a positive way). If we got even half the funding that went into Iraq, we could make a real difference here. But we don't and it won't. We're so under-funded my team uses unarmored Toyota SUVs for driving around the city and I had to buy radios off Ebay myself so we could communicate vehicle to vehicle. Troops who come here after Iraq are stunned at how primitive conditions are compared to there.

[jbnow]

33. Afghanistan is getting worse

more dangerous it seems. I recall the vp debate when Edwards brought up the problems in Afghanistan and cheney just denied them.

We blew a lot more than chances to get Osama...we drew too much out of Afghanistan too soon and didn't do enough to stabilize and help the country and people.

Now too few of you are there with too little support and too much that needs to be done. I'm so sorry.

[ComerPerro]

21. Its an entirely different debate, and its been done to death, but I gotta say

a draft won't hit Republicans. Republicans won't lose anyone. They will get exemptions. All a draft would do is round up the poor.

[Breeze54]

57. Exactly!!

Ending the Iraq Occupation would be the better choice!

[radfringe]

14. and it's all

the Democrat's fault because they gave bush what he wanted for funding and are forcing him to veto it
:sarcasm:

[scarface2004]

15. they should all refuse to obey...

illegal orders for an illegal occupation..then what would the dimwit do? court martial the whole lot?

[bananarepublican]

16. At least they can look forward to another one of W's plastic Thanks-giving turkeys. n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

19. One of the things that contributed to the downfall of the old USSR was their endless war in

Afghanistan and how it broke their troops and treasury.
This seems to be a part of recent history that goes unsaid.

I keep thinking that Iraq is paralleling that war.

[hobbit709]

23. 1917

The Russian troops had had enough, bad leadership, insufficient food and supplies-sound familiar? The troops basically said "Fuck It" and started walking back home. The Czar's government fell and the rest is history.

[texanshatingbush]

32. You hit the nail on the head !!!

I have often thought of the parallels between the Russian war in Afghanistan--which broke the back of the USSR--and the neocon war we are currently involved in.

I worry that we may well have broken the economic back of this nation, not to mention the military back.

I well remember telling my right wing brother (family get-togethers are SO interesting!) that it was a foregone conclusion that we would WIN the war, but winning the peace was a highly questionable matter.

If Bush and Cheney had participated in Vietnam instead of getting favorable treatment, perhaps they would have learned something about the difficulties of a guerrilla war in which the people shooting at you simply fade back into the crowd of the populace as a whole.

[livingonearth]

46. You are so right!

The right wing always forgets the Afghanistan factor when talking about the fall of the Soviet Union. They are always too busy worshiping Reagan to look at the real reasons the USSR fell. Why does no one ever talk about this?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

50. And not to continually worship King Ronnie? Please. If cancer had been cured during

his Presidency, they would have given him credit for that too.

[OneGrassRoot]

20. Last night I saw one of those three-star or four-star generals...

being interviewed, somewhere - I think it was on Lou Dobbs.

He was asked if he felt the military is being stretched too think and breaking.

He said that, yes, but it's due to family influence. Because the families are becoming impatient, it's harder on the soldiers.

Maybe my perception was off...I don't know. But it bothered me the way he said it. As though the soldiers are fine with being in this mess, but because their families aren't supporting them the way they need to be supported, THAT is what is breaking the military.

Are they going to start calling stressed-out military families unpatriotic now?

Go ahead....I dare them....that will really start a shitstorm.

[Canuckistanian]

29. The families are impatient for a REASON

They're not stupid. They're looking at the reason for the war and thinking, "What are our troops really dying for? How is our freedom really being threatened?".

Public opinion is AGAINST the rationale for this war by huge numbers.

And asking families to endure even greater sacrifice is abominable.

[OneGrassRoot]

34. Absolutely. Maybe it will be like the 9/11 widows....

it will be the families who start speaking out en masse, raising questions about why their loved ones are STILL there...why their loved ones are there in the FIRST PLACE.

[SicSemperTyranus]

54. In that case...

things should be looking up very very soon given the appalling divorce rate in the armed forces. In a few more years most of us won't have a family to worry about, then we can go on permanent deployment to Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, etc. Apparently I inadvertently joined the Roman Imperial Army. Must have missed that in the fine print...

[Breeze54]

58. When all else fails; blame the families!! Grrrrrr!!!

What a fucking mother fucker!!! :grr: :grr: :grr:

[MGD]

25. I wonder if the military is having any regrets about overwhelmingly voting for Bush yet.

I'll bet John "Fucking" Kerry is looking pretty god damned good right now in retrospect. Hehehe

[SicSemperTyranus]

55. Not really

There's an impressive amount of cognitive disassociation going on right now. Most of those around me are still very pro-Republican, yet they know things are going wrong, and seem to sense that the Administration is really really incompetent at everything, yet they can't blame the Administration because it then reflects negatively on their choices and values. So they default to blaming the Democrats for everything, even though I then point out that the Democrats weren't in power the last six years, so what an incompetent bunch of morons the GOP must be if they controlled everything yet were still undone by the minority party. At this point they mostly prefer to change the subject to NASCAR. Don't expect a great rush of military personnel to the Democrats any time soon. But some are starting to figure out that they got exactly what they voted for. But being anti-Republican is still not a popular position in the military. Makes it that much more fun to be a Democrat though. :evilgrin:

[MGD]

61. I spent 8 years surrounded by gung ho right-wing kill bots who blamed Bill Clinton for everything

that was wrong with the world. They weren't particularly responsive to my suggestion that they vote for John Kerry and were fond of regurgitating the various RW talking points circulated by swift boat types back then. My Battalion commander was so far to the right, he made John Birch himself seem like a communist. As I left, I told them so. Now I like to remind them of that when threads about how bad it is for the military these days, such as this one for example, pop up.

[Breeze54]

59. How do you know they did?

A lot of military didn't even get their absentee ballots and the election was STOLEN!!!!!!!!!

[LynnTheDem]

63. They didn't.

Which is why bush didn't trumpet his "overwhelming votes" from the US military.

The majority of US troops are NOT republican.

[MUAD_DIB]

27. And what is the armchair GOPig reaction to this? I bet you've heard it before.

"The military owns their ass so the should stop whining. The knew what they were getting into when the signed up."

[skygazer]

30. But god forbid we ask Republican congressmen to work 5 days a week

It would have a bad effect on their families. :sarcasm:

[paparush]

35. THIS is why we're not having a draft....THIS is Bush's idea of Recycling

THIS abuse of our troops is the ONLY way BushCo have not had to swallow the poison pill that is THE DRAFT. Extended tours, shortened state-side rotations, multiple tours...these are the tools this president using to avoid REALITY. And he's doing it at the expense of these brave men and women, their families, and their communities.

Bush hates our troops.

The only thing Bush recycles is OUR TROOPS.

[Neshanic]

36. Lessons from Vietnam. Keep all things at home as if a war is not even occuring.

If there was a draft, then it would affect this, so no draft, no matter how bad it gets, no matter how much it breaks the forces.

Who sez our prez is not smart from Vietnam dodging?

[TrogL]

38. Maybe it's time for Catch-22

[cordelia106]

45. Bring the troops home....

Bring the troops home now! Not in 18 months, now.No Draft. No more wasted ruined
lives for the mistake that is the War in Iraq.

[lovuian]

51. and watch the 15 months will become 2 years

the trust Americans gave their government is over

Kaboom
:nuke:

[disndat]

56. Last night on K.O.

The question was the missing email and the interview with Howard Fineman. At the end, Fineman expressed his opinion that nothing will come of the Democrats probe. He said he expects to see Karl Rove to be at the White House steps, waving farewell to Bush at the end of January, '09. What a chilling, horrible prediction from an insider on Washington DC real politique as he is.

[Old Smokey]

65. Catch 22