115 complete graduation early as war duties beckon(1 month early so they deploy early)

[maddezmom]

Source: El Paso Times

By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 04/14/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT


One hundred fifteen soldiers received their Sergeants Major Academy diplomas a month early on Friday so they can more quickly join the fight against terrorism, providing needed resilience to an Army increasingly engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Command Sgt. Maj. John Kurak, from Washington, D.C., one of the graduates from the Army's highest-level course for noncommissioned officers, is headed to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment at Fort Carson, Colo. "The unit I'm being assigned to is scheduled to deploy in support of the surge (into Baghdad) sometime in early September," Kurak said.

The early graduation is "related to (President Bush's) increase in troops," said academy Command Sgt. Maj. James E. Dale. "There are a lot of supply soldiers, for all the obvious reasons, and there are a lot of combat arms soldiers."

Although the soldiers will miss a command post exercise, most of them already have 20 or more years of experience, and both Dale and academy commandant Lt. Col. Stanford Wayne Suits say they were ready
for duty.

"They've completed all the required classwork, but they will not have the opportunity to combine all that training into one exercise," Suits said. "They're guys whose skills are pretty badly needed right now."



Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/spanish/ci_5664684

[Aviation Pro]

1. Let's see, what are they going to truncate next?

Robin Sage (Phase 3 of the Special Forces Qualification Course)? Florida Phase of Ranger School? How about the end-of-course for flight school?

This maladministration has broken the Army I was so proud to serve in for two decades. Goddamn them straight to hell.

[TomInTib]

3. I was thinking same...

Looking back on all of those miserable days spent at Coronado, I cannot think of a phase that we could have done without.

This is akin to going to graduate school and getting a PhD without writing a thesis (except it is a lot messier).

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. So how soon till they send them with NO training?

Cloy Richards was sent on crutches to his second deployment. So it's not a leap to assume they will send the untrained, since they do send the injured.

[LibDemAlways]

4. Pretty soon they'll be signing up high school juniors and

announcing that they can just skip their senior year and become cannon fodder immediately. Disgusting.