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thedrifter
06-26-04, 05:20 AM
06-23-2004

What We Owe Our Soldiers



By Paul Connors



My last two articles for DefenseWatch have focused on the plight of involuntarily activated members of the Army’s portion of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). The articles prompted numerous emails from both officers and enlisted members who have been recalled, as well as from friends and family members who want others to know what is going on. (See “Abuse of Army IRR Raises Ire Nationwide,” June 2, 2004, and “Army Shift in IRR Victimizes Soldiers,” May 27, 2004).



After reading the emails I received, I have grown progressively more pessimistic about the ability of the U.S. Army to redress the personnel shortfalls it faces. To restate a view I have expressed before, I have strong doubts that the Army even possesses the slightest scintilla of interest in correcting its personnel problems. The ongoing abuse of members of the USAR, the ARNG and the IRR offers solid evidence that force planners are clueless when it comes to solving the problems caused by the over-extension of both individual troops and the units to which they are assigned.



As DefenseWatch readers are aware, we have covered the gamut of active-duty personnel and equipment shortages, poor planning and execution of reserve and Guard unit call-ups, armament and vehicle inadequacies, ammunition shortages, abuse of prisoners, fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars in theater and in-transit, poor leadership and the perennial (and never ending) game of point the finger. While the rest of the mainstream news media must be foaming at the mouth as they wait for the next scandal to befall the coalition, they have also forgotten that more than 135,000 American GIs are in Iraq, confronted by a less than welcoming populace, but doing the jobs we have asked them to do.



I spent time this past weekend thinking of all the things I take for granted that the guys and gals in desert cammies can’t take advantage of while they try to get through their tours in Indian country. I like to think of them as the “freedoms” they have temporarily lost while preserving mine. Here’s my short list of what they can’t do while in Iraq:



* Can’t go down to the local watering hole for a beer.



* Can’t go on dates with their girlfriends/boyfriends.



* Can’t hold/hug/kiss their wives, sweethearts, children, parents and other relatives.



* Can’t put on comfortable civilian clothes to take a walk outside or down the street.



* Can’t jump in their car/truck/SUV to go to the mall/supermarket/movie.



* Can’t have a pizza delivered.



* Can’t go anywhere without having to wear a flak vest and kevlar helmet and carrying a weapon.



* Can’t take a walk alone for fear of being sniped at, shot, stabbed, kidnapped or blown up by a bunch of psychopathic crazies who really believe it is their goal in life to destroy all that America stands for.



* Can’t get a break from the likes of Dan Rather, Katie Couric, Leslie Stahl, Tom Brokaw and other left-leaning newcasters who believe that by denigrating the troops in the field that they can unmake an administration they disagree with.



* Can’t get a fair deal from the government they faithfully support through their actions, courage, commitment, fidelity and trust.



While I’ve spent a great deal of time writing about the sacrifices made by recalled members of the reserve components who leave behind civilian careers, families, college studies and other intangibles, I do not want anyone to walk away with the impression that I am not aware of the sacrifices made by members of the regular components of our armed forces as well. No one here at DefenseWatch forgets for a moment that the “regulars” are the now and forever defenders of our freedoms and sovereignty.



When I speak of our “citizen soldiers,” I have grouped them all together in that wonderful polyglot of people who have always stepped forward when the United States has needed its “best and brightest.”



As a “citizen-observer” of the events surrounding our involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and wherever conflicts confront U.S. interests, what I find difficult to accept is the sheer indifference to the real needs of the troops at the cutting edge of the spear by many military leaders back at home who are responsible for providing that support.



While some, including politicians, might think a withdrawal from Iraq would spare us the nightly reports of another five dead GIs, such an action will do little (if anything) to resolve the underlying and fundamental flaws in our current military structure. What is painfully obvious, but denied by those in power, is that U.S. armed forces are spread far too thin and are being asked to do far too much with too few real resources.



Have we made mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan? You bet! Are the mistakes irrevocable? No. Why not, you ask? Because we are Americans and because when we decide to solve a problem or set of problems, there is little short of a major natural disaster that will stop us. Yet, every once in a while, there are obstacles placed in the path of human progress that slow us down.



Lately, those obstacles have come from two quarters: the first is the constant carping of a mainstream press that can find no good in the effort, time, talent and treasure that the United States has expended toppling Saddam Hussein and his homicidal regime. The second major obstacle is the civilian staff of the Department of Defense and its willful refusal to accede to requests for an increase in end-strength for the U.S. Army.



Actions have consequences and the peace dividend predicted by Bill Clinton in 1992 never arrived. Cutting our forces by 40 percent saved money up front and in each of the last 12 years, but when the time came to fight a significant regional conflict and garrison a vanquished nation, the numbers just didn’t add up.



And it fell to the muddy boot Snuffies to try to make ends meet. It has been a Herculean effort and one for which each and every member of the military, active, Guard and reserve, should be commended.



But success stories don’t sell newspapers or garner ratings for the TV networks. So instead, these paragons of journalistic integrity continue to beat that dead horse called Abu Ghraib while forgetting that 875 American GIs (the equivalent of a full infantry battalion) have died and another 22,900 have been medically evacuated from the theater. And while these combat casualties are truly tragic for the families involved, the news media (and perhaps our fellow citizenry as well) also seem to have forgotten the 3,000-plus innocents who perished on 9/11.



Whether one supports America’s latest military adventure or not, let us not, please not, take out our disagreements on the men and women in uniform who are called upon to follow the lawful orders of their government. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen didn’t start this fight, and this American surely hopes they will be allowed to end it with the United States victorious.



It is long past the time where pundits should be wondering about whether or not the United States should have waited to find out if the U.N. inspection teams would have found weapons of mass destruction. Our military is committed and in place and more importantly, it is constantly under fire.



The servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan are our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, neighbors, co-workers and more importantly, they are our fellow Americans. They deserve far better than what we have given them. They should be the recipients of our love, support, gratitude, appreciation and solicitude. They should also have the tools they need to do the job so that they have the best chance possible to come home to their loved ones. They should have leaders in the field who lead from the front and they should have leaders at home who think twice and then some before placing them in harm’s way.



We at DefenseWatch think of the men and women who defend us every day. It is truly unfortunate that when others think of our troops, it is to besmirch their honor or to use them as props for the next election.



It is very unfortunate that the most selfless among us are the ones who we least appreciate and remember. They deserve better, each and every one of them.



Paul Connors is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at paulconnors@hotmail.com. © 2004 Paul Connors. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=DefenseWatch.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=539&rnd=948.7379899695084


Ellie