Soldiers battle anguish as Iraq tours are extended again

[Tinoire]

Mon, Jan. 26, 2004

Soldiers battle anguish as Iraq tours are extended again
BY HAL BERNTON
The Seattle Times

BALAD, Iraq - (KRT) - Rushing across central Iraq in a low-flying Chinook helicopter, Sgt. Rachel Green perches at the edge of an open tail ramp, a finger near the trigger of her M-60 machine gun.

Her 150-pound frame is clad in some 50 pounds of gear - helmet, flight jacket and ballistic vest beefed up with ceramic plates.

<snip>

Over the past six months, central Iraq has been the scene of the most intense clashes between U.S. and insurgent forces. Convoy after convoy has been attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices spread along the roadways.

At least once, a Russian-made, heat-seeking missile was shot at an Alpha Company helicopter, according to Haugen, the commander. Five to 10 times, insurgents unsuccessfully tried to down Alpha Company helicopters with rocket-propelled grenades. And dozens of times, the crews have been subject to small-arms fire.

<snip>
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/world/7802676.htm

[SoCalDem]

1. Jimmy (one of our adopted soldiers)

and maybe a few more of his group were extended to this August..They were supposed to come back LAST JULY.. anyway, they were told that they were leaving Iraq in a month.. YAY!!!.. But not so fast.. They will go to Germany, and THEN TO AFGHANISTAN.. The are going to report that soldiers have left Iraq, but they will not tell us that they are going to Afghanistan.. Afghanistan will probably be a staging area, and soldiers will be "rotated" there and back to Iraq..

It's a shell game, but instead of peas ..we have human beings.. :(

he told his folks that NO ONE he has talked to is re-upping.. and some are trying anything and everything to get OUT ASAP..

[Tinoire]

2. Wow. Iraq - Aghanistan! What a rotation!

Jimmy and all those like him will be in my prayers tonight.

Sigh...

Peace

[Occulus]

6. Could they be on the verge of mass action, do you think?

What's one easy way to get kicked out of the military (albeit dishonorable, but look at what we're talking about here)?

Anyone?

[militarymanusaf]

8. One real quick way is to

say that you are homosexual. The whole "don't ask don't tell..." policy is a common witch-hunt. Admit being homosexual or bisexual, and whammo instant civilian. During boot camp the recruits that want out do the same thing. The military is in such a hurry to kick them out, they don't even bother to verify it. So the military is indirectly telling personnel that with a sentence or two they can get out of the service regardless of current circumstances!

[Occulus]

13. I'd give you a gold star for that,

but you already have one. :)

[Kinkistyle]

3. The evil is complete

and it rots us, from our heads to our toes.

[Dr Fate]

4. Bush said "Bring'em on"...

...who is he, George Patton or somthing?

[dweller]

5. Dennis has made the point that this will be

a major contention in this election.
Sadly, for the soldiers it takes time for the voters to get on board.

but how much time do they have?

dp

[0rganism]

7. Hey soldiers, some of the Democratic candidates might get you out....

nudge nudge, wink wink

[militarymanusaf]

9. Don't worry, I'm one of the few service members

that will faithfully vote Democratic. The only time I voted for a republican was in 1980 when I voted for raygun. However in my defense, I was in 5th grade and it was a school pool! Hopefully I can be forgiven for my lack of vision at that age.

[tabasco]

10. I'm military and I've been a lifelong Democrat.

I wouldn't say there are just a few democrats in the service. There are very many. In some units, it seems otherwise, but I knew quite a few solid Democrats in the Army, including a Lieutenant Colonel in Afghanistan right now. (BTW - we can forgive you for being fooled by Reagan. Glad to see you've seen the light!)

[Mari333]

11. I know for a fact that hundreds of reserve units

are sitting and getting prepped at Ft Dix as we speak, my stepson among them. In Feb they will be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan...they rotate these kids around and half the time , as my son says, dont know what the hell they are doing..trying to prop up a thin army with kids from reserve units and extend their duty to prop up this bullshit invasion.
They will be transferred to Ft Campbell where they will be shipped off to Hell, and god only knows how long they will be there. I know one thing..I feel it in my bones=this will destroy anything left of the Reserves and Guard for a long time. a LONG time. These kids will come back , IF they do, so FUBAR they will be with us for a long time. Get them all the F*** out of Iraq!!!!

www.bringthemhomenow.com
www.mfso.org

[SoCalDem]

12. A sheriff pal let this slip..

Not saying where or when or even how.. But it involves 1600 marines and the operative words are Philippines and house-to-house fighting..:eyes:


see also..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1059180

[Cooley Hurd]

14. Is it safe to say that Bush has completely lost the military vote?

There's no doubt that the soldiers in Iraq know by now that the reasons they went to Iraq were complete fabrications. And they're still there, under fire every day! Morale must be l-o-w...

[SoCalDem]

15. It's hard to say.. Even though soldiers are dying every day,

this is a volunteer force and lots of them joined up and actually enjoy "kicking some butts".. Those will stay diehard * supporters, even though their little mutant in charge ducked out on his own "service".. They have been so indoctrinated, that they will never believe it...even if he said it himself, they would not believe it..

If the military goes through with their "diebold-style" online voting for the military, watch out .. W could get better numbers than Saddam.. Look for his to get 105% of the military vote :)