Stripes letters: on poor leadership, Fred Phelps, and human rights

[lebkuchen]

Leaders have failed troops

I agree with ¡§Awards being downgraded¡¨ (letter, Aug. 5).

The people who should be awarded Bronze Star Medals and Meritorious Service Medals hardly ever receive them. I have been to Iraq twice. The first time, the people with rank received the BSMs while the ¡§little¡¨ people did the work. It is basically the same this time.

I have two people in my shop who have never left this base and have been doing their military occupational specialty jobs. They are receiving MSMs. They were recommended for BSMs. Then I have soldiers who have made countless and dangerous trips delivering parts, escorting teams and providing maintenance support that may be receiving Army Commendation Medals, if they aren¡¦t downgraded to Army Achievement Medals.

No one who does not go beyond his/her job should receive an award.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom I, we worked our butts off and we received ARCOMs, but we deserved them. Now, people have the luxury of beds, trailers, fast-food restaurants, post exchanges, television, showers and air-conditioned offices and all they do is sit in their offices. Believe it or not, they will get awards for it.

I place the blame on our leaders. I feel as though they are not doing their jobs. Most of the time our leaders are letting people write their own Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Reports and awards when they should be the ones doing it.

Whatever happened to teaching the young soldier? Our leaders have failed us. They don¡¦t teach anymore. It seems that no one is out there to do the right thing. Therefore, I hung my coat up and joined the crowd. I am not re-enlisting.

If they deserve the award, give it to them. If they don¡¦t, then don¡¦t give it to them. Let¡¦s be loyal for once.

Sgt. Monique Rhodes
Camp Victory, Iraq

Keep America out of the muck

In response to retired Master Gunnery Sgt. A.R. Nichols, who wrote the Aug. 9 letter ¡§No mercy for terrorist foes¡¨: Shame on you. You say that you are an American, yet you propose that we violate the very ideal of the constitution.

Perhaps these words sound familiar to you: ¡§¡K that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same¡¨? You can not bear faith and allegiance to the ideals behind the Constitution when you suggest that we dispense with the rules of warfare and of common decency and start behaving like our adversaries. When we adopt the tactics of terrorists, we become terrorists. When we adopt the tactics of murderers, we become murderers.

Perhaps, sir, you have missed the news: Iraq did not attack the U.S. The people flying the planes on Sept. 11 were our friends the Saudis. Osama bin Laden? Saudi.

You suggest that we should dip bullets in pig¡¦s blood as ¡§this process was used to quell terrorist Muslims in the Philippines a long time ago and it worked.¡¨ Might I remind you that taking people from their homes, chaining them in ships and selling them was also a process that worked and that it was equally abhorrent.

You say: ¡§I do not care what the American Civil Liberties Union says, what the liberals and their lawyers think, or what human-rights groups want. I am an American and will defend our freedom against this scum any way I can.¡¨ Which freedom do you think you are defending; perhaps the freedom to dissent, or to petition the government and seek redress? Perhaps you believe you are defending the freedom of the press. You know, those ¡§liberals¡¨ you decry. Perhaps you don¡¦t like the human-rights groups because they focus on ¡§human rights¡¨? Perhaps you don¡¦t like the ACLU because it is ¡§American¡¨ and is concerned with ¡§civil liberties¡¨?

As an American, I will support and defend your rights specified in the Constitution and I will do so with my last breath. But as a human being, sir, you offend me!

Michael L. Davis
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

Protest at funeral shameless

I was angered to hear that a church group protested at a soldier¡¦s funeral recently. The Rev. Fred Phelps¡¦ Westboro Baptist Church picketed Spc. Edward Myers¡¦ funeral on Aug. 5 in St. Joseph, Mo. I served with Spc. Myers in Iraq in 2003. His dream was to make his grandfather (a former soldier) proud, so he enlisted and volunteered for the 82nd Airborne in 2002. In Iraq he fought for the Iraqi citizenry to form a constitution with new ideals and freedoms, freedoms that the Phelps group abused when picketing his funeral.

The protesters tarnished the day Spc. Myers¡¦ family laid him to rest.

Freedom of speech is a wonderful privilege. Courtesy should be taken into account when utilizing it. One protester had a sign that said ¡§Thank God For IEDs.¡¨ What kind of thoughtless person would display this at a funeral for a soldier killed by an improvised explosive device?

Sgt. Chris Acompora
Camp Hovey, South Korea

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=30962

[Karenina]

1. Wait til they hear what happened at Camp Casey...

:hide:

[lebkuchen]

2. And the RW whackos think liberals don't support the military

Here's Exhibit B, a photo from one of the Fred Phelps Baptist Church protests against US soldiers.



and Exhibit A, from Camp Casey.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. It won't play well. I think even most of those who feel the war is the

right thing to do and who don't like what Cindy is doing will take exception to the mowing down of a symbolic cemetery.

[lebkuchen]

4. Mowing down crosses of dead soldiers and the flag

shooting "over the heads" of those at Camp Casey.

These are provocative events that could ignite a new Civil War of which Mopal speaks, between political factions.

I have thought for awhile that gun-toting fringe radical America was ripe for another Kent State, though perhaps it won't be taking place at a university.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. On the first letter

My husband was a submariner (is, just retired), they went to war... they came back twice, the OIC got his shiny bronze star... the crwe who did most of the work, if not all, got nothing

This is a problem military wide, why? OIC need the damn things for advancement, partly.

What this is also doing is creating resentment, quite a bit of resentment

Now did the boys down in Texas mow down the crosses? Ah yes they love their counry and their military, don't they? :sarcasm:

[Karenina]

6. Stop-loss, V.A., Food stamps,

Drawdowns,(no access to family), third tours, "one weekend a month," job loss, PTSD, Infidelity, Divorce, guilt, amputations, brain damage, clerical "errors," bureaucracy, DRINGEND needs unmet, DEATH, orphaned children, all for LIES, LIES, LIES.

[lebkuchen]

8. great post

:)

[Just Me]

7. Is there a growing trend of vocal opposition to the radicalized?

Sure seems like it to me.