Posted on 09/16/2004 7:07:11 PM PDT by churchillbuff
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Soldiers from a combat unit at Fort Carson say they have been told to re-enlist for three more years or be transferred to other units expected to deploy to Iraq, the Rocky Mountain News reported Thursday.
Hundreds of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team were presented with that message and a re-enlistment form in a series of assemblies last week, two soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity told the newspaper.
"They said if you refuse to re-enlist with the 3rd Brigade, we'll send you down to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is going to Iraq for a year, and you can stay with them, or we'll send you to Korea, or to Fort Riley (in Kansas) where they're going to Iraq," said one of the soldiers, a sergeant.
The second soldier, an enlisted man, echoed that view: "They told us if we don't re-enlist, then we'd have to be reassigned. And where we're most needed is in units that are going back to Iraq in the next couple of months. So if you think you're getting out, you're not."
The sergeant told the News the threat has outraged soldiers who are close to fulfilling their service obligation.
"We have a whole platoon who refuses to sign," he said.
An unidentified Fort Carson spokesman said Wednesday that 3rd Brigade recruitment officers denied threatening the soldiers with more duty in Iraq.
"I can only tell you what the retention officers told us: The soldiers were not being told they will go to Iraq, but they may go to Iraq," said the spokesman, who confirmed the re-enlistment drive is under way.
One of the soldiers provided the form to the News. If signed, it would bind the soldier to the 3rd Brigade until Dec. 31, 2007.
An Army spokesman, Lt. Col. Gerard Healy, said sending soldiers to Iraq with less than one year of their enlistment remaining "would not be taken lightly."
"There's probably a lot of places on post where they could put those folks (who don't re-enlist) until their time expires," he said. "But I don't want to rule out the possibility that they could go to a unit that might deploy."
Extending a soldier's active duty is within Army authority, since the enlistment contract carries an eight-year obligation, even if a soldier signs up for shorter terms. Members of Iraq-bound units can be retained for an entire year in Iraq, even if their active-duty enlistment expires.
"I don't want to go back to Iraq," the sergeant told the News. "I went through a lot of things for the Army that weren't necessary and were risky. Iraq has changed a lot of people."
The enlisted soldier said the recruiters' message left him "filled with dread."
"For me, it wasn't about going back to Iraq. It's just the fact that I'm ready to get out of the Army," he said.
I should have known you'd post this. From a crappy link too. Didn't you know that radio and television hosts can say ANYTHING these days without fear of having to have actual proof?
Naturally you wouldn't post an article about the soldier who lost an arm in Iraq and has re-enlisted for duty there.
dan rather sent them documents?
Sounds like bull to me. All of our soldiers MAY go to Iraq.
Sorry, but it's a wire service story, taken from an original story at the Denver Rocky Mountain NEws, which is one of Colorado's largest newspapers, if I'm not mistaken
Translation: on condition its all made up.
Interesting how you "support the troops" -- except those who say things that you don't like. Then you hate them.
Notice that there is no names, so one is identified as saying this.
He took the gamble.
Hate the troops?
LOL
No, churchillbuff. That's you who constantly finds way to demean their service and undermine their morale by posting the articles you do.
Funny that you NEVER post articles that would actually BOOST their morale. You are sooo obvious.
Who said they hated somebody. Are you stoned?
Actually, i'm looking for an article that tells what our exit strategy is. If it's ever made clear how we can actually say "mission accomplished" in Iraq -- ie what criteria must be met to end our mission there -- THAT will boost morale quite a bit, I bet. As it is, we seem to be floundering.
I know someone who just got out of that unit and the Army. Since he had been getting promotions on a fairly quick schedule, I don't think it's because the Army didn't want him, but he was ready to get out and his time was up.
I don't believe it. Period.
The other answer is that the recruiters did say this, but because it was said and not in black and white, no one is able to confirm nor deny it was ever said. 3rd BCT was at Balad when I was there. They had their act together from what I saw. Security was much better with them than with the group that replaced them (81st WANG-yea the same unit with Anderson getting busted AND the same unit that Hackworth profiled as they were mobilizing).
I've noticed this also.
You beat me to it.
Doing the work of the terrorists.
Only losers look for exit strategies. Winners figure out how to win.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Just as we floundered in Germany after WW II, how we floundered in Japan after WWII. Shoot I guess the terrorists would leave Iraq alone and concentrate on attacking the US directly!!!! It is much better to have the focus being outside the continetal U.S. The fact that fighting is heavy this month and will continue through the election is that the terrorists are scared of 4 more years of Bush. If they lose and Democracy wins in Iraq, they are finished.
Did we have an exit strategy in Germany?
Did we have an exit strategy in Japan?
There's no such thing as an exit strategy. The enemy doesn't say "oh, gee, America has certain goals and an exit strategy so let's just let them do it their way."
You know nothing of history. Your namesake would be ashamed of you.
I've heard more troops support the president and their mission than I've heard complain. They believe in their mission.
But people like you who complain all the time undermine their morale. You have no backbone. No inner-strength. No sense of history. No sense of what a real war is. No support to offer the troops.
Only negativity. Like Kerry. Go away. The troops don't need you. Free Republic doesn't need you.
If you wanted to support the troops you would join the forums that pray for them. YOu would send them gifts and join in Freeper efforts that do that. You would rejoice at the threads that show how much the troops love the president and trust him. You would join the "live" threads when the president is speaking to the military and mention how much they trust him. Respect him.
You can say what you want. But your agenda is obvious and I think you are an odious person.
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