Free Republic

Did anyone else hear Gen Dempsey's interview on NPR yesterday afternoon? He said that they had to bring women into combat, as only one in four young males in our nation were eligible for enlistment due to the national dropout rate and the increased number of legal problems experienced in the young male demographic. Therefore, they had to allow women to enter previously restricted combat fields in order to meet the military requirements. He stated that the physical standards for these fields needed to be "dusted off" and re-examined, as it might be possible that intellectual and other personal attributes...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Army is investigating up to 19 members of a supply platoon in Iraq who refused to go on a convoy mission, the military said Friday. Relatives of the soldiers said the troops considered the mission too dangerous, in part because their vehicles were in such poor shape. Some of the troops' concerns were being addressed, military officials said. But a coalition spokesman in Baghdad noted that "a small number of the soldiers involved chose to express their concerns in an inappropriate manner causing a temporary breakdown in discipline." The reservists are from a fuel platoon that...