Members of Guard unit weary of role in Iraq (sleep deprivation, shortages)

[Barrett808]

Members of Guard unit weary of role in Iraq
Short supplies, lack of manpower affect Minnesota group
BY JANNA GOERDT
Duluth News Tribune

When the 216th Air Defense Artillery Echo Battery left Cloquet, Minn., in August 2004, it left as one unit ready to join Operation Iraqi Freedom.

What the National Guard unit couldn't know is that they would soon be split — with half the soldiers sent to guard an American contractor's compound in Saudi Arabia and the other half sent "to hell," according to soldiers now guarding the Daura oil refinery near Baghdad.

There, soldiers describe pulling 48- to 72-hour shifts and being out on patrol or guarding the base when sleep deprivation clouds their judgment. They describe equipment shortages — of everything from flashlights to laser-sighted scopes to medicine for insect bites. And they describe a frenetic pace coupled with shifting missions that they believe has needlessly endangered their lives and left them soured on the military.

"I'm just tired of letting my troops get pushed around," wrote Staff Sgt. Doug Heller of Duluth in a series of e-mail interviews. He corresponded with the Duluth News Tribune despite recent orders not to speak to the media. His messages provide a look at the ordeals of serving in Iraq and its impact on one unit.

"All I'm asking for is the people to realize that their friends, families and loved ones have been through hell," Heller wrote. "If there is a way for me to prevent this from happening in the future, I will try anything, at the cost of my rank."

It's an unusual move for active-duty soldiers to speak out about their mission, said John Marshall, combined Honor Guard Commander in Duluth. Marshall served in the Army and was injured in the Persian Gulf War.

"The situation must be pretty bad for them to talk," Marshall said. "By doing this, they are sticking their necks out."

(more)

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/12596415.htm

[bluestateguy]

1. Troops must be allowed to criticize the commander in chief & their govt.

Not to disobey orders, but they should be allowed to criticize the president and the government without fear of reprisal.

[Kagemusha]

2. They already are except for officers, the military just hides the fact

And because these aren't draftees, Congress is not really doing much to stop the military from making a mockery of legal guarantees to protect free speech by enlisted men.

[Lindacooks]

3. What in the fucking hell are national guard troops doing guarding

an American contractor's compound in Saudi Arabia? Isn't this an improper use of American soldiers?