Are you interested

in seeing what the GIs and Airmen think about this ?

go to http://stripes.com/ (the shorter route)

or straight to letters to the editor, now well hidden under " Opinion ". It was "letters" a month or so ago. Does that tell ya summit ?

Not what you would expect from grown men...more like what you would expect from a tightly controlled journalistic environment. Still, a few letters do get through and they are worth reading. Example ;

Same rotation schedule for all

I am writing in reference to the March 30 article "General says long-term 'surge' will mean longer Iraq tours" (Mideast edition).

I totally support whatever the government deems necessary for the military to do to win this war on terrorism. However, in no way can you compare the Army's dwell time to any of the other services. In the article, Air Force Gen. Lance Smith, head of U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., is quoted as saying: "If seven months [at home] is workable for the Marines, why would you say the Army has to stay for a year? ... You can physically do it." I say if the Army can spend 12 to 18 months in Iraq, then why can't the Marines, Navy and Air Force also spend the 18 months in country and then go home for just seven months prior to redeploying back to country?

I'm not much of a mathematician, but deploying for six months and then spending seven months at home is quite a bit more dwell time then spending 18 months deployed with seven months' dwell time in between deployments. Just some quick math, but out of four deployments a Marine would spend 24 months in country with 28 months at home, whereas an Army soldier could spend 72 months in country with the same 28 months at home. If we're going to extend tours to 18 months with seven months' dwell time in between, then lets spread the wealth throughout all services.

 ????? Huuuurah ?????

Beanheadz at work. 

by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments) on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 2:48:42 PM
 

P.S.

3 months is a long f*cking time.

To hell with ethics and to hell with warmongers. 

by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments) on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 3:56:10 PM
 

What is it they don't understand?

The American people want us out.

The Iraqi people want us out.

The troops want out.

Most of the nations of the world never wanted us in.

So please, explain to me why we're sending more troops and extending the stay of the ones there? What part of "get out now", don't they understand?

by Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 2004 comments) on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 4:11:03 PM
 

Gates is surprised?

Gates observed, "I'm surprised at the level of excitement over this."

Really? In what capacity is he surprised? "Excitement"? About what? Is he excited that more deaths will result from this bonehead decision? Does he mean Halliburton and KB&R are excited? If you were a soldier would you be excited positively or negatively?

I can tell you if I were a soldier and I just got the news that the DoD decided to extend my stay in that hell-hole I would be looking to tell the SoD personally just how "excited" I'd be by ramming my rifle up his ass and emptying the clip.

We've fallen down the rabbit-hole.

by Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 2004 comments) on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 4:25:26 PM
 

Running out the clock

George can't pawn off his illegal, immoral war of choice on the next president before the next "election." Needs to stall for time. Ta-da! Troop surge! Extened tours!

Well, that and the fact that they're still working on that plan to seize control of the vast majority of Iraqi oil reserves for the next 30 or so years. As soon as that's done and they've secured a pile of blood money for the next generation of silver-spooned chicken hawks, they'll be able to cut and run. Hopefully to a Bush-friendly country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Damn. Tough being a neocon, isn't it?

by John Perry (31 articles, 32 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 81 comments) on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 8:46:09 AM
 

FTA all the way

sh*t's bad enough as it is ;

 

Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, April 12, 2007

A soldier with the 72nd Signal Battalion, 7th Signal Brigade died in his barracks room Tuesday night in Mannheim, Germany, an Army spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Officials didn’t release the name of the soldier, but said the soldier was found unconscious around midnight and later pronounced dead by the responding authorities.

Both German and U.S. authorities are investigating the cause of death, said 5th Signal Command spokeswoman LeAnne MacAllister.

The Mannheim-based 72nd Signal Battalion returned earlier this year from a yearlong deployment to the Middle East, but MacAllister could not confirm if the soldier was one of about 300 people deployed with the unit to fight in war on terrorism.

More information would be released after the family was notified, she said.

Presumably suicide. That's how bad it is.

I recall a recent outing to a nearby Irish Pub. A few US soldiers....kids really....we're drinking their troubles away. Trouble was, they couldn't. The more they drank, the worse it got. I invited them to join me and my buddies at our table but they declined. One of them said something like "we'd rather stick to our own kind 'cause we're so f*cking touchy we could kill someone for saying the wrong thing". I could understand that but pressed my luck and asked if they were to deployed to Iraq any time soon. Being the bold futher mucker I am, I was risking my life just by asking that question. But hey, I was a GI once and I think those guys could smell the OD green still lingering on my skin (it doesn't rub off all too well). The meanest looking on told me "we just got back to find out they're sending us back over again and that sucks so goddamn hard I just broke up with my chick, told her to f*ck off so she won't have to go through and year of worrying her pretty little head off about a piece of sh*t soldier." That kinda shocked me. The guys I new back in my Army days were rarely in a mood as bad as that. Just as those guys paid and got up to leave the Pub, they looked over my way and told me to take care and thanks for the invite anyway...to which I replied "FTA you guys, FTA all the way!"

by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments) on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 11:26:18 AM
 

A classic

Rummy was a  dumb f$&ck and mean bastard. When he did his  dirty job the puppet masters  ousted him ( please, let's not  keep illusions that he was ousted because of us) and  it was  a time for a classic buerocrat. Mr.Gates is the one. His task is to  maintain the status quo  until  the goons suck all the blood from Iraq. If we consider ( and it is obvious) that  the ONLY remaining   purpose of the occupation is LOOTING AS  MUCH AS POSSIBLE then  Mr. Gates provdes the cover, that is all. Looting for a happy few- is the goal and when they suck it all- I can assure you, folks, they will organize a  biggie casualty of our forces  ( like about 1000 in a day) and off we will run with Mr. Gates  telling us that mission was  accomplished. I know that- the same happened  with the Russians in Afghanistan- when looters got what they wanted they used the cannon fodder to get away. Now, here is the funny question:  I guess Mr. Gates is right- do you see any public outcry about this, or some governors telling  him to f&ck off about National Guard? Nope, we just have seen a surge in...box office movies. O-la-la, blame ourselves, folks.

by Mark Sashine (55 articles, 19 quicklinks, 256 diaries, 3701 comments) on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 1:13:03 PM
 

Salary

Our troops are under-paid in Iraq.  If Black Water is paying their men $4,000 a week, without benefits, our troops should be getting $2.000 each week and more.  If we can force more  pay, lots more, then government officials would have to pull our troops out of Iraq.  Republicans only see dollars, when it comes to budgets.

by Dale Hill (58 articles, 0 quicklinks, 102 diaries, 347 comments) on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 3:26:51 PM