Probably more on the way...
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=19144So the boss came to visit us on Thanksgiving, under wraps and under the American flag. Thanks for coming. Oh
thank you, kind leader, merciful leader, for taking one day out of your busy schedule to visit us. The shepherd
looking over his flock. Thanks for making the sacrifice. God knows we're making one. Re-election is coming up,
but that had nothing to do with it, now did it?
I remember your victorious landing on the ship. Oh how all those then alive, and now dead, would love to sit
down next to you, cutting their families' turkeys and filling the empty seats at the tables. Leader of the free
world, be our guest at the head of our table. Or would you like to sit in one of the many empty seats left by the
war? There's plenty of room. Enough turkey and stuffing to go around. Fat and happy, delirious and exhausted.
That's how I feel.
In a hurry? Going so soon? Have time for questions? You sure do have time for compliments. Do you ever feel
responsible? I'm tired of this. Go back home to the ranch and tell them how happy and fulfilling the trip made you
feel.
Spc. Damian Torres
Iraq
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=19124Bush visit disrupted dining
As a soldier deployed in Iraq, I hear all the complaints from individuals who
think they have it worse than the next guy. I’m lucky enough to be with
soldiers who often complain among themselves, but all they expect are good
leadership and three square meals a day.
As part of the main push during major combat, our battalion was scattered all
over the battlefield. We supported other units and paved the way (and roads)
that others would use to get to the front lines. Our D9 teams helped push units
as famous as the 101st Airborne Division from Kuwait to as far as Mosul.
We took mine blasts and got shot at as we breached obstacles and cleared
roads. Again, all we asked for was leadership and three squares a day.
During the war, Meals, Ready to Eat were naturally the way to go. They
were appreciated, even by the vegetarians who had only crackers and cheese
after the veggie meals were gone. Now that we’re stationed at Baghdad
International Airport almost 10 months later, my soldiers believe that several
comforts have finally arrived for them, like the post exchange and dining
facility. But imagine their dismay when they walked 15 minutes to the Bob
Hope Dining Facility, only to find that they were turned away from their
evening meal because they were in the wrong unit.
The one thing that they find a requirement was denied to them. They
understand that President Bush ate there and that upgraded security was
required. But why were only certain units turned away? Why wasn’t there a
special meal for President Bush and that unit in the new dance hall adjoining
the 1st Armored Division’s band building? And all of this happened on
Thanksgiving, the best meal of the year when soldiers get a taste of home
cooking.
Were the local national servers also kept out of the building because of
security reasons? Regardless, my soldiers chose to complain among
themselves and eat MREs, even after the chow hall was reopened for “usual
business” at 9 p.m. As a leader myself, I’d guess that other measures could
have been taken to allow for proper security and still let the soldiers have their
meal.
Sgt. Loren Russell
Iraq
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=18336&archive=true ARLINGTON, Va. — Amid the fanfare of his surprise visit to Baghdad on Thanksgiving, some soldiers were not all
that happy with the President Bush’s pop-in, and some felt gypped out of a Thanksgiving meal.
One soldier wrote to Stars and Stripes voicing displeasure that those under his command were told that during
the president’s visit at the Baghdad International Airport for a quick meal and meet-and-greet, they weren’t
allowed in.
“Imagine dismay when they walked 15 minutes to the Bob Hope Dining Facility, only to find that they were turned
away from their evening meal because they were in the wrong unit,” wrote Sgt. Loren Russell in a letter to the
editor, published Wednesday.
For security reasons, only those pre-selected got into the facility during Bush’s visit.This issue below interests me. See bold and ask yourself "why."
http://estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=19105 <snip>
Command Sgt. Maj. Sandra K. Townsend spoke with medical soldiers and with wounded troops Thursday at
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
“What they’re saying is they need more people,” Townsend said of medical troops during an interview Thursday.
<snip>
Hospitals such as Landstuhl already are at 80 percent manning and must be bolstered with Reserve and National
Guard troops to do their wartime mission, she said.
<snip>
The two leaders were unable to visit medical troops in Iraq, however, because President Bush’s
visit made it difficult to get clearance, she said.
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