WP: Many Troops Dissatisfied, Iraq Poll Finds

[kskiska]

By Bradley Graham and Dana Milbank

Thursday, October 16, 2003; Page A01

A broad survey of U.S. troops in Iraq by a Pentagon-funded newspaper found that half of those questioned described their unit's morale as low and their training as insufficient, and said they do not plan to reenlist.

The survey, conducted by the Stars and Stripes newspaper, also recorded about a third of the respondents complaining that their mission lacks clear definition and characterizing the war in Iraq as of little or no value. Fully 40 percent said the jobs they were doing had little or nothing to do with their training.

The findings, drawn from 1,935 questionnaires presented to U.S. service members throughout Iraq, conflict with statements by military commanders and Bush administration officials that portray the deployed troops as high-spirited and generally well-prepared. Though not obtained through scientific methods, the survey results suggest that a combination of difficult conditions, complex missions and prolonged tours in Iraq is wearing down a significant portion of the U.S. force and threatening to provoke a sizable exodus from military service.

(snip)

But Stars and Stripes raised questions about what those visiting dignitaries saw in Iraq. "Many soldiers, including several officers, allege that VIP visits from the Pentagon and Capitol Hill are only given hand-picked troops to meet with during their tours of Iraq," the newspaper said in its interview with Sanchez. "The phrase 'Dog and Pony Show' is usually used. Some troops even go so far as to say they've been ordered not to talk to VIPs because leaders are afraid of what they might say."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32521-2003Oct15.html

[Rose Siding]

1. Wheee! Milbank calling Bush a liar to his face.

(NOT whee that everyone is so miserable)

This is especially caustic considering Bush's current mission of bypassing nat'l media and taking his "message" (read: lies) to the locals. May have ticked Dana off a little bit there. :D

[Don_G]

2. Here's Another Source

With a little more detail in Part 1 (of 5).

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0310/S00105.htm

[flamingyouth]

3. Shocking!

Wow, I almost fell off my chair reading this. Who wouldn't want to be in a hate-infested hell-hole fighting for your life each and every minute?

[saigon68]

7. Asked and ordered to commit war crimes

A few of these people have morals and self worth. They don't believe they should rough up old women and shoot down unarmed civilians. Machine gun whole families.

when they get back--- LIKE MY-LAI the truth will be revealed!!!!

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

8. Stars and Stripes

Well this seemed like a good topic for my first post.. First i'd like to say hello to everybody, and the article is right on point. The giant sucking sound the military hears is not only coming from the White House, but the many(probally 75%) of troops who will beat feet rather than re-up, compounding the many failures of this admin

[Spazito]

9. Welcome to DU!

It is a great site!

[5thGenDemocrat]

10. IVFP

Welcome home and welcome to DU.
John
US Army 1974-76

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

12. Thanks Guys

I found out about this webpage on the back page of the excellent book "The Bush Dyslexicon" you guys are a breath of fresh air after all the hot air (Both desert and Bush) i've sucked in latley.. any advice for a newbie :)

[proud patriot]

13. Welcome Home

Glad you made back and Thank you for your service .
Feel free to ask questions as they arise , this is
a pretty friendly group and are always ready to offer
a helping hand.

Welcome Underground :hi:

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

15. Thank You Very Much

I am very Happy to be home. I can hardly wait for the day that we all can rejoice when our last brave son or daughter, husban or wife, or best friend takes that last freedom bird home into our arms again

[prolesunited]

14. Welcome home!

and welcome to DU! :hi:

I'm sure it will be interesting to hear your perspective. How long were you there and how long have you been home?

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

16. Hi

I arrived in Kuwait in late Feb after about a month of training(i am in the reserve) i ended up in a city called Ad Diwaniyah, 100 miles s/o Baghdad. I have been home 'bout a month. I would love to answer any question, but believe me(as false mail to 100 newspapers show) besides helping the people of iraq on a one on one level, our troops feel a sense of hopeless imprisionment, and can't wait to get home

[tabasco]

11. Welcome to DU

from another vet. It is apalling how the Bush administration has shown callous disregard for our troops. Thank you for your service and I look forward to more of your posts.

[tom_paine]

23. Welcome to DU, Iraq_vet!

:toast: :toast:

As a fellow vet I want to thank you for your service to the country. It's not your fault that you enlist to defend the interests of the Old American Republic, but that while you were in service, the nation was seized by the Busheviks, who are looting it and turning it into a One-Party Empire (mostly by wiping their asses on the Constitution and Bill of Rights that we swore an oath to uphold and defend).

tom_paine
USAF 1981-1985

[saigon68]

24. WELCOME HOME

I am one of the trouble makers here, (LOL) I am a veteran's service officer who represents veterans, to counsel, support and help them apply for VA benefits.

I deal with the bureaucracy a lot. I have respect for every veteran, although, there are many I don't agree with politically.

Thank you for your service.

We need the input of veterans here, more than ever. our country is in trouble in the world.

I was in Sweden and Denmark 2 months ago, and everyone I talked to (I have relatives there) was appalled at our brutality and arrogance in Iraq. I told them it wasn't the soldiers, it was our "fearless leader and his coterie of thugs " that were responsible.

We need you here to let the readers know that the vets are not monsters.

Thank you for your service, your insight and your comments. They are appreciated by me very much !!!!!

[newyawker99]

25. Hi Iraq_Vet_For_Peace!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Oh, execellent.

This provides a window of oportunity for the Freeper Mercenaries to see some action in Nam^H^H^HIraq 'n Iroll. One will do it for $200. The other needs a babysitter for the kids. They said that they could get some bikers for a case of beer. Cost-effective.

[dArKeR]

5. When will the network anchors call Bush a liar?

[leesa]

6. Never?

If most are saying this isn't what they were trained for, though, it means they STILL don't get it. They probably think that the begining of the war was justified. They probably still don't have a problem with invading a defenseless country to steal their oil. It appears most Americans are comfortable with that ethic.

[RamboLiberal]

17. Here's link to Stars and Stripes article - this is 7 day series

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=18086

<snip>

Of those surveyed:

Many Reserve and National Guard respondents said they were unhappy with a number of things, just as letter writers from those units had said in letters to the newspaper. They said they often felt like second-class soldiers who don’t receive the same equipment, support and treatment as their active-duty counterparts.

When asked how worthwhile they thought the war in Iraq was for the United States, the split among all those responding was 67 percent saying it was “worthwhile,” “probably worthwhile” or “very worthwhile,” with 31 percent saying it was of “little value” or of “no value at all.”

Asked about their personal morale, 34 percent overall rated it as “low” or “very low,” 27 percent said it was “high” or “very high,” and virtually all the rest called it “average.” Perceptions of their unit’s morale ranked heavier on the “low” side. This question of personal morale elicited widely different responses among the services. Reservists ranked their morale as the lowest by far. Marine and Air Force respondents tended to rate their own morale on the high side, while Army respondents were fairly evenly divided between high and low morale, with most falling in the middle, or “average.”

Of all troops surveyed, 72 percent rated living conditions “average” or better. But disparities existed throughout the region. One Army unit could have three hot meals a day and another unit with the same mission subsisted on MREs and rationed bottles of water. Some units, although they had been in Iraq for months, still hadn’t had a day off or access to a hot shower. Other troops had been in Iraq a few weeks and were already being allowed to leave on morale trips.

[Skittles]

18. YA THINK ????

those poor soldiers

[cliss]

19. Welcome home Iraq Vet,

and welcome to the DU. This is my place of therapy, where I can share my thoughts, and be in a place where others feel the same way I do.

I would like to recommend the web site CounterPunch. They have many interesting articles, and my favorite writer is Stan Goff. He's a retired major (?) for Special Armed Forces. He has a lot of very interesting things to say about the Army, and of course the war in Iraq.

[dArKeR]

20. Bring'em On - Commander and Shit!

[starroute]

21. How well are US troops prepared for the Iraqi winter?

I see from the Iraqi climate page at Global Security that the rainy season starts in November and brings violent rainstorms and flash flooding, with a possibility of heavy snowfalls in the northern mountains. Nighttime temperatures in Baghdad in January average about 40 degrees but sometimes drop below freezing, while in Mosul the lows are regularly about freezing and can get down to the teens. The desert occasionally gets even colder.

In the other thread on this story (which was locked), someone quoted a description of soldiers who are still sleeping in an open field under camouflage netting. What happens to these guys as winter moves in?

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/climate.htm

[denverbill]

22. Demand military votes are counted in 2004!

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

26. Pride

Thanks all for the warm welcome! The more i talk to people like you guys, the more i feel more pride than despair about being there, it makes all the things that were dealt with seem worth it in the end.
What is great is that people are drawing the distinction between our troops and the mission in general. A vast majority of troops are like me, joined very young with a sense of pride and patriotism, to have an opportunity for college, or get the self enrichment that few things can provide like military service.
Sadly, added to the equation is this mess. Its tough being there in general, add that to the piss poor planning, contempt for troops and families, huge abuse of reserves and active, and its no wonder why morale is in the shitter. Oh the hawks will say how great morale and living conditions are, all blurted from the safty of washington.We will see what happens when the retention #'s come out. By the way, every reservist there is prohibited from leaving, even after there contracts are up, and after retirement letters have been put in, so how the f*ck can you say that retention is great when nobody is allowed to leave? sorry to rant.

[trogdor]

27. Welcome to DU!

Stop-loss is the main reason the Army gets to crow about being able to maintain numbers. Wait until this is over, and you'll see people leaving en masse. They'll have to implement a staggered exit schedule to prevent units from emptying all at once.

I get my 20 year letter in March. I'll be gone before the snow melts. I hope.

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

29. Stop Loss

Is a Major Army Clusterf*ck the way it is run. My Battalion was co-located with a active Army BN.We saw PFC AND SPC with 3 years in ETS and go home, or people go to PLDC or BNOCC, PCS Etc. Meanwhile we are sitting there way past our ETS (8 yrs), just a huge double standard. Hope everything works out for you.

[BLUEBOY]

28. Gee what about all the "progress letters"?

Boy this sure looks different then those "things are lovely this time of year in Iraq" form letters that where sent to all those small town papers. Hmmm, gee me thinketh that some one is LIEING!!!

[dbt]

30. Welcome, Iraq_Vet_For_Peace!

And welcome, dumpbushnow!

How fucked is a Commander-In-Chief with a level of dissatisfaction among the troops so extreme that it gets a series in Stars and Stripes?

:wow:
dbt
(Thanking all Veterans for their service, especially the ones who find their way home to DU!)

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

32. Double Phucked

Also there was a scathing review of Admin Policy in the Army Times Editorial, an unprecedented occurance. And Thank You for your comments!

[JoFerret]

31. Gephardt pointed out the obvious

the other day in the Dem. debate when he pointed out that this army that has served so magnificently is the clinton army - being systematically downgraded and destroyed by BushCo and the Rumfrock.

[Iraq_Vet_For_Peace]

33. Sick of Clinton Army bashing

I am. i would like to illustate this in the context of my two deployments, Bosnina and Iraq. Contary to public opinion, morale was very high going to Bosnia. We were not lied to and we had a clear mission. As opposed to Iraq, where the rationale for the war changes everyday, troops have no idea when they are going home, and are for the most part poorly fed, equipped and lodged. BTW, chickenhawks loved to say Clinton lied about the length of the Bosnia Mission. WTF do they have to say about this debacle and the lie a minute policy. OY VEY you gotta believe sometimes the neo-cons and Clinton bashers have balls!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

35. I'll have to add my hearty welcome home and to DU! So glad you

made it back home safe and sound. I have a friend who's a full birs and he is still in Kuwait. He was a good Dem and is still climbing the ladder in hopes of being able to make a difference.

Sorry that this admin sent you over there in "our" name. Now to get the rest of our children home.

[David__77]

34. Rightists are trying to discredit this.

The "Fox News" was going on about how they could not agree with this poll because they instead believe the gushings they solicit.

Of course troops are disillusioned. They are there because of an evil conspiracy by neo-conservatives and the political ambitions of one foolish man. It's a tinder box.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

36. Rummy was very quick to disparage the report...

He was also quick to support the Jexus vs. Islam General...


???

[roguevalley]

37. Whimper!

Poor Anne. It's worse than I thought. :-D

Welcome IraqVet. Its good to have you home
safe. I hope your unit got back in one piece
too. We appreciate your perspective on things
over there, there is so many lies being blown
around.

Hugs,

RV, who had one in Kosovo during the conflict
and knows something about suffering as well.
(Ye also serve who sit and wait. And chew your
finger nails down to the bone.)