[CTRL] Fwd: [ctrl] An Army Ready to Snap

RoadsEnd Thu, 10 Nov 2005 09:29:52 -0800

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November 10, 2005
Op-Ed Columnist
An Army Ready to Snap

By BOB HERBERT
Have you heard what's been happening to the military?
Most people have heard that more than 2,000 American G.I.'s havebeen killed in the nonstop meat grinder of Iraq. There was a flurryof stories about that grim milestone in the last week of October.(Since then the official number of American deaths has jumped to atleast 2,055, and it continues to climb steadily.)
More than 15,000 have been wounded in action.
But the problems of the military go far beyond the casualty figurescoming out of the war zone. The Army, for example, has beenstretched so taut since the Sept. 11 attacks, especially by thefiasco in Iraq, that it's become like a rubber band that may snapat any moment.
President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld convinced themselves that theycould win the war in Iraq on the cheap. They never sent enoughtroops to do the job. Now the burden of trying to fight a long andbitter war with too few troops is taking a terrible toll on the menand women in uniform.
Last December, the top general in the Army Reserve warned that hisorganization was "rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force"because of the Pentagon's "dysfunctional" policies and demandsplaced on the Reserve by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
As one of my colleagues at The Times, David Unger of the editorialboard, wrote, "The Army's commitments have dangerously and rapidlyexpanded, while recruitment has plunged."
Soldiers are being sent into the crucible of Iraq for three andeven four tours, a form of Russian roulette that is unconscionable.
"They feel like they're the only ones sacrificing," said PaulRieckhoff, a former Army lieutenant who served in Iraq and is nowthe executive director of Operation Truth, an advocacy group forservice members and veterans.
"They're starting to look around and say, 'You know, it's me and mybuddies over and over again, and everybody else is living lifeuninterrupted.' "
When I asked Mr. Rieckhoff what he thought was happening with theArmy, he replied, "The wheels are coming off."
The Washington Post, in a lengthy article last week, noted:
"As sustained combat in Iraq makes it harder than ever to fill theranks of the all-volunteer force, newly released Pentagondemographic data show that the military is leaning heavily forrecruits on economically depressed, rural areas where youths' needfor jobs may outweigh the risks of going to war."
For those already in the Army, the price being paid - apart fromthe physical toll of the killed and wounded - is high indeed.
Divorce rates have gone way up, nearly doubling over the past fouryears. Long deployments - and, especially, repeated deployments -can take a vicious toll on personal relationships.
Chaplains, psychologists and others have long been aware of themany dangerous factors that accompany wartime deployment:loneliness, financial problems, drug or alcohol abuse, depression,post-traumatic stress disorder, the problems faced by the parentleft at home to care for children, the enormous problem ofadjusting to the devastation of wartime injuries, and so on.
The Army is not just fighting a ruthless insurgency in Iraq. It'sfighting a rear-guard action against these noncombat, guerrilla-like conditions that threaten its own viability.
There are reasons why parents all across America are telling theirchildren to run the other way when military recruiters come tocall. There are reasons why so many lieutenants and captains, fineyoung men and women, are heading toward the exit doors at the firstopportunity.
A captain who is on active duty, and therefore asked not to beidentified by name, told me yesterday:
"The only reason I stayed in the Army was because one colonelconvinced me to do it. Other than that, I would have walked.Basically, these guys who are leaving have their high-powerededucations. Some are from West Point. They've done their fiveyears. Why should they stay and go back to Iraq and die in a warthat's just going to keep on going?"
Beyond that, he said, "Guys are not going to stay in the Army whentheir wives are leaving them."
From the perspective of the troops, he said, the situation in Iraqis perverse.
He could find no upside. "You go to war," he said, "and you couldlose your heart, your mind, your arms, your legs - but you cannotwin. The soldiers don't win."
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

ï¿¼


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<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "> <DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left: 0px; ">November 10, 2005</DIV><DIVstyle="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;margin-left: 0px; ">Op-Ed Columnist</DIV><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="6">An Army Ready to Snap<DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">By <A href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/bobherbert/index.html?inline=nyt-per">BOB HERBERT</A></DIV><Pstyle="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 14.0px 0.0px; line-height: 15.0px"><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4">Have you heard what's beenhappening to the military?Most people have heard that more than2,000 American G.I.'s have been killed in the nonstop meat grinderof Iraq. There was a flurry of stories about that grim milestone inthe last week of October. (Since then the official number ofAmerican deaths has jumped to at least 2,055, and it continues toclimb steadily.)More than 15,000 have been wounded in action.<SPANclass="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">But the problemsof the military go far beyond the casualty figures coming out ofthe war zone. The Army, for example, has been stretched so tautsince the Sept. 11 attacks, especially by the fiasco in Iraq, thatit's become like a rubber band that may snap at any moment.<SPANclass="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">President Bushand Donald Rumsfeld convinced themselves that they could win thewar in Iraq on the cheap. They never sent enough troops to do thejob. Now the burden of trying to fight a long and bitter war withtoo few troops is taking a terrible toll on the men and women inuniform.Last December, the top general in the Army Reservewarned that his organization was "rapidly degenerating into a'broken' force" because of the Pentagon's "dysfunctional" policiesand demands placed on the Reserve by the Iraq and Afghanistanwars.Asone of my colleagues at The Times, David Unger of the editorialboard, wrote, "The Army's commitments have dangerously and rapidlyexpanded, while recruitment has plunged."<Pstyle="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 14.0px 0.0px; line-height: 15.0px"><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4">Soldiers are being sent intothe crucible of Iraq for three and even four tours, a form ofRussian roulette that is unconscionable.<Pstyle="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 14.0px 0.0px; line-height: 15.0px"><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4">"They feel like they're theonly ones sacrificing," said Paul Rieckhoff, a former Armylieutenant who served in Iraq and is now the executive director ofOperation Truth, an advocacy group for service members andveterans."They're starting to look around and say, 'You know,it's me and my buddies over and over again, and everybody else isliving life uninterrupted.' "When I asked Mr. Rieckhoff what he thoughtwas happening with the Army, he replied, "The wheels are comingoff."The Washington Post, in a lengthy article last week, noted:"As sustained combat in Iraq makes it harder than ever tofill the ranks of the all-volunteer force, newly released Pentagondemographic data show that the military is leaning heavily forrecruits on economically depressed, rural areas where youths' needfor jobs may outweigh the risks of going to war."<SPANclass="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">For those alreadyin the Army, the price being paid - apart from the physical toll ofthe killed and wounded - is high indeed.<Pstyle="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 14.0px 0.0px; line-height: 15.0px"><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4">Divorce rates have gone wayup, nearly doubling over the past four years. Long deployments -and, especially, repeated deployments - can take a vicious toll onpersonal relationships.Chaplains, psychologists and others havelong been aware of the many dangerous factors that accompanywartime deployment: loneliness, financial problems, drug or alcoholabuse, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, the problemsfaced by the parent left at home to care for children, the enormousproblem of adjusting to the devastation of wartime injuries, and soon.The Army is not just fighting a ruthless insurgency in Iraq.It's fighting a rear-guard action against these noncombat,guerrilla-like conditions that threaten its own viability.<SPANclass="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">There are reasonswhy parents all across America are telling their children to runthe other way when military recruiters come to call. There arereasons why so many lieutenants and captains, fine young men andwomen, are heading toward the exit doors at the first opportunity.Acaptain who is on active duty, and therefore asked not to beidentified by name, told me yesterday:<Pstyle="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 14.0px 0.0px; line-height: 15.0px"><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4">"The only reason I stayed inthe Army was because one colonel convinced me to do it. Other thanthat, I would have walked. Basically, these guys who are leavinghave their high-powered educations. Some are from West Point.They've done their five years. Why should they stay and go back toIraq and die in a war that's just going to keep on going?"<SPANclass="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;">Beyond that, hesaid, "Guys are not going to stay in the Army when their wives areleaving them."From the perspective of the troops, he said, thesituation in Iraq is perverse.He could find no upside. "You go to war,"he said, "and you could lose your heart, your mind, your arms, yourlegs - but you cannot win. The soldiers don't win."<DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normalArial; min-height: 16px; "> </DIV><UL><LI align="center"style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;background-color: #e5e5e5"><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html">Copyright 2005</A> <A href="http://www.nytco.com/">The NewYork Times Company</A> </LI></UL> <IMGsrc="cid:[email protected]"><Pstyle="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px"><FONTclass="Apple-style-span" face="Arial" size="4"> <BRclass="khtml-block-placeholder"></BODY></HTML>
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