Upper Left

...that I hate what they're doing to my Army? The social engineering in recruiting and force structure, the endless, pointless missions,the impossible standard set by asking every soldier to be a "hero," when soldiers know that most heroes are dead or disabled. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Which is why it's no wonder that we see stories like this...

AP: The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan — about 50 percent more — according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.

From a far too slightly different angle, most of these suicides could be seen as institutional murders so predictable that they're essentially deliberate.

Labels: Afghanistan Fatalities, Army, Suicide, US Military

...that I hate what they're doing to my Army?

The number of U.S. soldiers testing positive for heroin in Afghanistan rose more than tenfold from 2002 to 2010, according to the Army. Eight soldiers died of overdoses in 2010 and 2011, Army reports also show.

Talking about my service, I sometimes joke about my gratitude to the country that sent me to the drug and prostitution capitals of the world, and yes, I opened wide in wide-open Amsterdam and the girls on TuDo Street could always hook you up with some herb before you went upstairs, but that exposure had tragic consequences for the guys who couldn't resist opiates, and we weren't stationed at ground zero for the world heroin trade.

This was completely predictable. The war planners must have known going in that the cost would include the threat of addiction and death by overdose by some number of young American men and women who otherwise would have lived their natural lifespans without exposure to heroin.  They had to know.  They had to count it an acceptable cost.

One more reason to bring 'em home and keep 'em home until there's a mission worthy of their service and sacrifice.

Labels: Afghanistan, Army, Drugs, Heroin

…that I hate what they're doing to my Army...

For the second year in a row, more American soldiers—both enlisted men and women and veterans—committed suicide than were killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Excluding accidents and illness, 462 soldiers died in combat, while 468 committed suicide.

When the problem's getting worse, it's time to do something different.

Taking our troops out of combat zones until we find a mission worthy of their sacrifice might be a good start.

Labels: Afghanistan, Army, Iraq, Suicide, Withdrawal

…I still hate what they're doing to my Army...

The Defense Department's Medical Surveillance report from November examines "a large, widespread, and growing mental health problem among U.S. military members."

****

The Army was hit hardest by the most common and long-lasting problems -- post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol dependence and substance dependence, according to the report.

Support the troops. Bring 'em home until we have a mission worthy of their service.

Labels: Army, Deployments, Mental Health, PTSD, Withdrawal

…about what they're doing to my Army. Via Richard Allen Smith at Vet Voice…

The Army plans to phase out all incandescent lighting within five years as one of many newly announced steps it is taking to cut energy consumption at its facilities 45 percent below 2003 levels by 2020.

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"Energy security, sustainability and efficiency are national security imperatives," Katherine Hammack, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and the environment, said in a news release. "This policy supports the Army's global missions in a cost-effective, safe and sustainable manner that will benefit Army soldiers, families and the entire nation."

…and elsewhere...

Sgt. Sherri Gallagher of Fort Benning, was named the U.S. Army’s Soldier of the Year, the first woman to receive that honor.

Good for Sgt. Gallagher, good news for the Army.

Heck, good for news for America.

Labels: Army, Conservation, Energy Independence, Good News, Sgt. Sherri Gallagher, Soldier Of The Year

…that I hate what they've done to my Army.

A 350-page report issued in July after a 15-month investigation into the Army's rising suicide rate found that levels of illegal drug use and criminal activity have reached record highs, while the number of disciplinary actions and forced discharges were at record lows.

The brass seem to put the bulk of the blame on our misadventure in Iraq. For once, I think the brass are on to something.

Afghanistan ain't helping, either.

Labels: Afghanistan, Army, Deployments, Discipline, Iraq, Morale

…I still hate what they've done to my Army...

...the report said that the pace of constant deployments in two wars had forced a lowering of recruiting and retention standards. Many new recruits were granted waivers, it said, for behavior that would have kept them out of the service in earlier years. Of 80,403 waivers granted since 2004, the report found that 47,478 were granted to people with a history of drug or alcohol abuse, misdemeanor crime or “serious misconduct,” which it defined as felony.

At the same time, the report found that there was a decrease in soldiers forced to leave the Army for misconduct. “This has likely resulted in the retention of over 25,283 soldiers who would have otherwise been separated in previous years,” the report said.

I've never been fond of the "Army of one" campaign. Individuality isn't a particularly valuable trait in military life. When the Army works, it's all about uniformity, conformity, common effort toward a defined goal.

Saddled with a unit full of drunks and felons, though, I imagine some soldiers are better off sticking to themselves.

Labels: Army, Deployments, Enlistment Waivers, Military Recruiting, Military Retention

…since I've mentioned how much I hate what they're doing to my Army. NPR offers this painful reminder...

There were 197 Army suicides in 2008, according to the Army's numbers. The total includes active- and non-active-duty soldiers.

Last year, the number was 245. This year, through May, it's already 163.

As with Vietnam, deaths after return are beginning to rival deaths on the battlefield. This is predictable. I'm not sure if it's preventable.

I fear not.

Labels: Afghanistan, Army, Iraq, Suicide, Veterans, Vietnam

…isn't so family friendly. Col. Lang...

The US military has convinced itself that bullshit and bullets are equally potent.

Just another of the things I hate about what they've done to my Army.

Labels: Army, Col. Pat Lang, Propaganda, Quotations, US Military

…about what they're doing to my Army, culled from an important piece by William Astore.

Suicides have hit record highs in the Army.

Cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression, having reached an alarming 300,000 in 2008, continue to escalate.

Traumatic brain injuries from IEDs and other explosive shocks may already exceed 300,000.

Divorce rates among active duty troops continue to climb.

An epidemic of domestic violence and crime has been linked to returning veterans and to the difficulty of readjusting to "normal" life.

If that's not enough, Astore, a retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel, also looks at declining enlistment standards and the decimation of our corps of commissioned and non-commissioned officers.

They broke my Army, and all the magnetic ribbons in the world can't patch it up.

Labels: Army, Divorce, Military Recruiting, PTSD, Stop Loss, Suicide, Veterans

…that I hate what they're doing to my Army?

Military divorces edge up again in 9th year of war

Army suicides set to hit new high in 2009

Colonel Lang raises a good point...

There are a lot of village and towns in Afghanistan, even if one only considers Pushtun villages. The active army is stretched pretty thin. The suicide and attempted suicide rate is becoming a serious matter. People with families can not be pushed emotionally beyond a certain level of alienation from home and hearth. Perhaps it was not such a good idea to build the force around middle class married soldiers.

Perhaps, in fact, it was a terrible idea.

Labels: Afghanistan, Armed Forces, Army, Divorce, Escalation, Suicide

...I've got nothing, really, outside the obligatory expressions of shock and sympathy. That's because I know nothing, really, except the broad outlines you all know.

One of the things I specifically don't know is why Major Hasan would do such a thing, regardless of his name. Neither does anyone who says they do at this point.

But I am shocked, and my heart goes out to the Fort Hood troopers and their families directly affected by this tragedy.

Labels: Army, Fort Hood

Col. Pat Lang...

McChrystal was summoned from England to a 25 minute meeting with the president aboard Air Force 1. He showed up in field uniform? He owns a set of Greens (Class A uniform). He wore it in London to the IISS meeting. The man does not seem to know his place.

I'd been a little disturbed by the photos of McChrystal on the President's plane myself, but attributed it to my general dislike of the contemporary cammo uniforms. I prided myself on being a strack soldier back in the day. I had my fatigues pegged the week I got out of basic training and had my own tw's tailored because I couldn't get my G.I. khakis altered to my satisfaction. Jungle fatigues were more problematic - the cargo pockets made it hard to get them pegged like regular olive drabs, but there was a ready solution - more starch.

Today's fatigue uniform is a puffy, baggy mess. If you starched and pressed them as crisp as the uniforms we wore way back when, they'd be covered with molten blobs of velcro. The institutionalization of sloppiness is just one of the things I hate about what they've done to my Army.

But Col. Lang makes a good point that may have affected my irritation with the photos as well. Imagine the reaction if President Obama had conducted the meeting in jeans and a tee-shirt. It seems disrespectful, if not insubordinate, to select a fatigue uniform for a meeting with the Commander In Chief.

It seems particularly so given the typically wrinkled, always baggy uniforms of today.

/end curmudgeon

Labels: Army, Col. Pat Lang, General McChrystal, President Obama, Uniforms

…but I still hate what they're doing to my Army...

US soldiers are now being forced to steal water in Iraq. With supplies tight, and the number of trucks carrying potable water even tighter, troops have resorted to stealing water from civilian contractors. Many have also reportedly suffered from dysentery because they were forced to drink untreated water from Iraqi wells.

Hat tip to Gordon.

Labels: Army, Contractors, Iraq

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Fantasyland)...

...And the real concerns is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward...

Back in my day we called it "Basic Training."

My Drill Sargeant wasn't much of a philosoper, though.

Labels: Army, Michele Bachmann, National Service

…how much I hate what they've done to my Army? Well, I hate it a lot...

WASHINGTON – Suicides among U.S. soldiers rose last year to the highest level in decades, the Army announced Thursday. At least 128 soldiers killed themselves in 2008. But the final count is likely to be considerably higher because 15 more suspicious deaths are still being investigated and could also turn out to be self-inflicted, the Army said.

Damn.

Labels: Army, Suicide

…how much I hate what they've done to my Army? Via VetVoice...

Army substance abuse counselors are swamped. Domestic violence among military families is a concern. Suicides are up. Entrance standards have been lowered considerably. And, as of a year ago, 58 percent of the West Point class of 2002 had already left the Army…

It's broken.

Damn.

Labels: Army, National Security

…dictates that I recycle this one. The Brilliant and Beautiful Bride of Upper Left thinks it's one of my best. Who am I to disagree?

From July 3, 2004...

I was a soldier once...

...and one of the lasting effects has been to make Independence Day a bit more meaningful to me. 33 years ago (37 now) today I was on a plane bound for the air base in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. We took off on July 3 and about 24 hours later, landed on July 5. That year, there was no Independence Day for me. The international date line swallowed the 4th of July whole.

A year later, I celebrated the 4th as a civilian for the first time in three years, and every year since, it's given me pause as I've reflected on that trans-Pacific voyage and the events that followed. I served at a time when the war was over for a lot of people - people who accepted Nixon's strategy of slow withdrawal. Thousands were coming home, after all. Still, many of us were still going over. We were the 'left overs,' the 'clean up crew.' We were the men John Kerry was speaking for in his famous Senate testimony, the ones who risked being among the last to die for a war that had by then been widely recognized as a mistake.

Today, the Brilliant and Beautiful Bride of Upper Left and I journeyed across the county to visit the traveling reproduction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly known as The Wall. As I walked along the panels carrying the 58,228 names of those who died in Vietnam, the black tablets grew larger, and at the very apex, filling three of the tallest panels, I found the names of those who died while I was in country. Hundreds and hundreds of names. Among them the name of one of my basic training sergeants. A case, I prayed, of mistaken identity, hoping, but not at all certain, that there must have been another Sgt. Luis Campos, and the gruff bear of a man that taught me to use a rifle with confidence and a bayonet with ferocity retired comfortably without facing another tour in Vietnam.

Whether he was my Sgt. Campos or not isn't so important, really. I was lucky. My battalion took losses, but my company came through unscathed. I saw bodies, but not of those I knew best, those I called friends. Still, each of the names on that wall, and especially on those three tall, silent panels, was more than a stranger. They were, they are, my brothers, every one.

I missed a 4th of July in 1971. They've missed every one since. Tomorrow, I'll put on a uniform and travel north to parade with a veteran's drill team in a small town celebration, and come home to burn some meat and drink some beer with my family. It's bound to be a good day. I have 58,228 reasons to celebrate, because they can't, and I owe them.

Happy 4th.

No wall this year, and no parade, but many more reasons to make the day memorable. Hope yours is a good one.

Labels: 4th of July, Army, Iraq Fatalities, The Wall, Vietman

…that I hate what they've done to my Army? Well, I do...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. soldiers are committing suicide at record levels, young officers are abandoning their military careers, and the heavy use of forces in Iraq has made it harder for the military to fight conflicts that could arise elsewhere.

Labels: Army, Iraq, Military Readiness, Military Retention, PTSD

Army soldiers to see shorter war tours

Not short enough.

Not few enough, either.

Florida lawmakers pass "take your guns to work" law

Hmmm. I imagine an armed bartender could do pretty well, tips-wise...

Clinton, Obama skirmish over Iraq

Near as I can figure, she's mad because he hasn't stopped the war yet, even though he says he will. Of course, he didn't start it. Didn't even help.

A-Rod whiffs 4 times as Royals top Yanks

And they say I never report the good news.

Labels: Army, Barack Obama, Baseball, Florida, Guns, Hillary Clinton, Yankees