Citizen Soldiers Dying More in Iraq

[velocity]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Reservists-Death-Toll.html

December 31, 2003
Citizen Soldiers Dying More in Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 3:02 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Citizen soldiers of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve are suffering an increasing share of American military deaths in Iraq, according to Pentagon statistics.

Of the 38 deaths reported by the Pentagon for December, 10 -- or about 26 percent -- were citizen soldiers, according to an Associated Press review of Pentagon reports. That is up from 13 percent in November, the deadliest month of the war with 83 American deaths.

The most recent were Staff Sgt. Michael J. Sutter, 28, a National Guard member based in Grayling, Mich., and Spc. Michael G. Mikalakis, 18, a guardsman based in Fairfield, Calif. Both died Dec. 26.


..more at AP..

Maybe if * equipped them with the better vests and protection as the active soldiers this would not be a problem.

[Mika]

1. Its a disgrace

From the NYT link

``It's one more strain on the reserve'' component of the military, said Michael O'Hanlon, a defense analyst at the Brookings Institution, a private think tank. ``We are living a gamble to keep the reserve component intact'' at a time when reservists are coping with the double worries of being called to active duty for long periods and facing grave dangers in Iraq.

Another piece of the American pie that _Bush is destroying.



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[Mari333]

2. and tommorrow my Army Reserve Stepson is leaving for Iraq

he leaves tomorrow. Has to be on base at 11 pm...he leaves for Iraq on January 6th.
I am going to take his picture tomorrow before he leaves. Hes just a kid. Hes 21 years old, and his unit is composed of kids.
He has no clue.
I cannot stop him, he thinks it will be safe. He is being told by his superiors he will be safe.
When he drives away, we may never see him again.
And no one cares in this country. Because we arent allowed to see one casket, one wounded soldier, and one true vision of whats really going on..let alone the TRUTH about the LIARS who sit in the white house.
Many more will die and be wounded in this godforsaken war.
For nothing, for nothing, for nothing, for nothing.