thedrifter
09-01-09, 07:31 AM
More Afghanistan tours of duty for LI-based military?
August 31, 2009 By MARTIN C. EVANS martin.evans@newsday.com
The grim assessment of progress in Afghanistan by the commander of U.S. troops there could mean more tours of duty for Long Island-based soldiers, airmen and Marines, many of whom have already served multiple deployments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
"There are already rumors that we will have to deploy again," said Jean Dudenhoffer, whose son Mark served a tour of duty in Afghanistan last year as a member of the New York National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment.
"There is a feeling that families are not happy about it," said Dudenhoffer, who served as a family assistance coordinator for the regiment, helping relatives of deployed troops cope while loved ones were in harm's way. "They don't want their loved ones to have to go back again."
Long Island is home to four National Guard or Marine Reserve units that have sent troops to Afghanistan or Iraq since President George W. Bush ordered the toppling of the Taliban in late 2001. Members of the 69th returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan in January. Troops with the Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing, based at Westhampton Beach, were serving in Afghanistan as recently as May.
Dudenhoffer, whose son left the National Guard this spring after 10 years of service, said some troops have expressed frustration that the training they received had not adequately prepared them for a shadowy insurgency that is often difficult to distinguish from ordinary Afghan residents.
But she said there is a general feeling among many soldiers and their families that the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting because instability there provided an incubator for the 9/11 al-Qaida attacks.
"Bin Laden started this," she said. "We have to finish it."
Ellie
August 31, 2009 By MARTIN C. EVANS martin.evans@newsday.com
The grim assessment of progress in Afghanistan by the commander of U.S. troops there could mean more tours of duty for Long Island-based soldiers, airmen and Marines, many of whom have already served multiple deployments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
"There are already rumors that we will have to deploy again," said Jean Dudenhoffer, whose son Mark served a tour of duty in Afghanistan last year as a member of the New York National Guard's 69th Infantry Regiment.
"There is a feeling that families are not happy about it," said Dudenhoffer, who served as a family assistance coordinator for the regiment, helping relatives of deployed troops cope while loved ones were in harm's way. "They don't want their loved ones to have to go back again."
Long Island is home to four National Guard or Marine Reserve units that have sent troops to Afghanistan or Iraq since President George W. Bush ordered the toppling of the Taliban in late 2001. Members of the 69th returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan in January. Troops with the Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing, based at Westhampton Beach, were serving in Afghanistan as recently as May.
Dudenhoffer, whose son left the National Guard this spring after 10 years of service, said some troops have expressed frustration that the training they received had not adequately prepared them for a shadowy insurgency that is often difficult to distinguish from ordinary Afghan residents.
But she said there is a general feeling among many soldiers and their families that the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting because instability there provided an incubator for the 9/11 al-Qaida attacks.
"Bin Laden started this," she said. "We have to finish it."
Ellie