Mission changing, top commander says

[unhappycamper]

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,, answers questions from soldiers following his address at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Monday.


Mission changing, top commander says
Adam Lynn; Staff writer
Published: 08/10/10 1:11 am | Updated: 08/10/10 1:12 am

After nine years of constant combat, the U.S. military is shifting focus from executing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to helping the troops who’ve fought them adjust to life outside the war zone, the nation’s top officer said Monday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told several hundred troops that he’s dedicated to making sure service members get the assistance they need to make a successful transition.

That’s especially important as major units, under new Pentagon policy, begin spending twice as much time at home as they did deployed, Mullen said.

“I believe for some time that we have held in an awful lot of our problems” to concentrate on the combat mission, said the chairman, who first advised President George W. Bush and now President Barack Obama.

Those problems, including increased suicide rates and homelessness among veterans, will become more pronounced as units spend more time at home, he said.

[lunatica]

1. It's good to see Admiral Mike Mullen recognizes a bad problem

But I wonder what will really happen. They take our youth and fuck them up badly and up to now they've just let them go back into society crippled by their endless wars. They've actively fought against recognizing, much less addressing the problems of Agent Orange, the toxic vaccines of the first Gulf War and alarming rise of suicides and mental disorders that accompany their glorious wars.

One wonders why the generals who have the President's ear don't persuade him the war is costing far more than it's worth. :sarcasm:

The soldier will always be considered cannon fodder. I think this was nothing more than a photo op.

edited to add sarcasm gif