AWOL Soldier Cites Army Inadequacies

[seriousstan]

HOUSTON — An Army National Guard soldier said Tuesday that the inadequate training and equipment he received had led him to abandon his unit rather than face deployment to Iraq (news - web sites).

"I guess I'm AWOL right now," Spc. Joseph Jacobo, 46, said in a telephone interview from the Los Angeles area.


Among his concerns, Jacobo said, was that he had been unable to find anyone at his Texas training base who could fix his M-4 assault rifle, the primary weapon he would carry in Iraq. The weapon jams, he said.


"They try to put old parts in new rifles," he said. "It doesn't work. We're having all kinds of problems with our automatic weapons."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2026&u=/latimests/20050112/ts_latimes/awolsoldiercitesarmyinadequacies&printer=1

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Instead of spending millions on his coronation, maybe Bush would

be wise to help pay for new rifles for the soldiers?

[physioex]

2. Whooaaa buddy.....

Wasn't it Kerry who voted against body protection for our troops?

/sarcasm

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Actually, he voted against giving Halliburton a blank check.

[NYC]

5. Why would he care?

They are simply cannon fodder to him.

[The Zanti Regent]

6. My only child was cannon fodder.

I will never forgive the Bonesmen for killing him

[NYC]

7. It is truly unforgivable.

[underpants]

4. A 46 year old Specialist who "Spent most of his life in the military"?

That doesn't add up. Okay so he had a cross service enlitment but something isn't right about this.

It is an important firsthad look at training (or lack of it) though.