|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Posted on 07/18/2003 10:47:44 AM PDT by StatesEnemy
Edited on 07/18/2003 11:13:59 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Dear Col Hackworth,
I am currently on the ground in Iraq and have been since I came over the LD on 31 March.
While the Army did a great in winning the war, what is not being covered is how broke the Army logistics system is and the damage it is doing to the long term readiness and moral of the Army. The Army seems to have this NTC rotation mentality, which consists of f*** it live in the dirt and filth you only have to be here for a month. That works at NTC, but it seems no one has thought of how to sustain an Army in the field for weeks and months at a time. The answer has always been, "after a month or so, we will contract with the locals for everything."
The problem is that outside of a few areas in Kurdistan and the north, Iraq is so poor that there is nothing to contract for. Moreover, we don't trust the locals enough to contract with them even if they did have something of value. Units all over the Army came to Iraq without basic things necessary for life support in the field. I a m talking about portable sh*tters with cans that you can burn. You can't live somewhere and have everyone sh*ting in cat holes for weeks at time. Units came here without tents. The 855th MP Company, a guard company from Arizona was allowed to mobilize without any tents. They lived on the ground in the most God awful piece desert you have ever seen for over two weeks. Units came here without proper heaters for the water in their MKTs, so that when they started serving T rats, they didn't cook them enough and didn't clean the serving treys properly and everyone who ate from there got sick. If its not a life or limb issue, its nearly impossible to get medical care.
Soldiers get literally hundreds of flea or mosquito bites and they can't cream or benedril to keep the damn things from itching. The army issued mosquito netting, but didn't give anyone any poles for their cots, so the stuff is basically useless. I am not talking about bringing in the steak and lobster every week. I am talking about basic health and safety issues that continue to be neglected by the Army. Even beyond that. If we are going to be here for a year, we need to start thinking about MWR and R&R for people. You can't just lock people up in a compound and feed them T-rats and MREs for a year and expect them to be as effective at the end as they were at the beginning. To my knowledge no one has given any thought to any kind of pass or MWR activities for soldiers. Division staff sits around in their air conditioned vans watching satellite AFN goofing off on the internet and just don't give a shit about anyone else.
Meanwhile, soldiers are living in the dirt, with no mail, no phone, no contact with home, and no break from the daily monotony at all. I went to a division rear in May and practically got in a fist fight with this Captain up there over letting my private, who hadn't contacted home since we left the U.S., send an e-mail over his office's internet. This clown spends his days sending flowers to his wife and surfing the net and he won't let my private send an e-mail to her husband. F*cking disgraceful and all too typical of today's army.
The fact is, soldiers can put up with anything and will do the right thing. The problem, however, is that at some point they are going to go home and hit their ETS date. I can tell you right now, a lot of good people are going to get the hell out over this deployment. The good soldiers won't put up with this crap. They will get out and get good jobs on the outside. We are breaking the Army and the reserve corps with this deployment needlessly. I understood when the war was going on.
But the war is over. This is peacekeeping and guerrilla warfare. Our supply lines are clear. There is no excuse why basic health and safety issues and moral issues like mail cannot be addressed. They are not being addressed because the army doesn't know how anymore. Units spend their lives preparing for 2 week warfighters and one month NTC rotations and never think, "okay, how are we going to live out here for six months or a year." Its just not part of the Army's thinking anymore and it s a shame.
Pissed Off Army Officer
Look I supported the ousting of Saddam (for other reasons besides WMD's - he didn't live up to the surrender agreement in GWI, hence we were still at war, AFAIC), but this 'nation-building/hearts and minds' crap is NOT THE MILITARY'S MISSION!!!
|
|
|
|
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Maybe he already is.
Perhaps he needs to crack a few heads instead!
The fact is, soldiers can put up with anything and will do the right thing.
Excepting the author of this letter, of course, who bitches like a waitresses with a bunion.
I wouldn't have embarked upon this 'mission'.
After throttling the 'Elite Republican Guard', and humiliating the fleeing Bathists, I would take control of the oil fields, pull our troops back to safe areas, and wait for the resistance to coalesce - then bring in the AF again for a lil' more MOAB mamba.
Fvck rebuilding Iraq. Just keep it impotent.
Everyone has an agenda. Hackworth as well. It would be nice if we could get some news out of Iraq, but unfortunately the media with all its resources can seem to provide.
There has to be a gold mine of stories in Iraq just waiting for someone to tell them.
How's that plan working out for ya?
That's brilliant.
I would assume that if things were so terrible, someone in the media would have jumped on it like flies on honey. All we have seen is that one disgusting ABC report, and it was more like complaining that they wanted to go home.
I don't trust Hackworth as far as I could throw him. He has been systematically undercutting the Pentagon by pretending to be helpful to the troops, which he most definitely is not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.