Troop Morale - Reality vs. Republican Wish-Think
In today's WaPo, Tom Rick, military correspondent, asked an officer with 2 combat tours in Iraq about morale. As Republicans keep shouting at us, by trying to pull the guys out and end the war, we're ruining their moral. Then again, none of the old troika (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld) actually served in a war, let alone many of those Republican mouthpieces.
From someone who served in Iraq - what is or isn't a morale builder:
Ten Worst
1. getting blown up
2. buddies getting blown up
3. re-securing a town we secured year before last
4. "Taps"
5. the "catch and release" detainee program
6. colostomy bags
7. civilian young men who won't look me in the eye when I'm in uniform
8. any scene from any shopping mall anywhere in America
9. editorials pointing out that casualties are "light by historical standards"
10. lies
From someone who served in Iraq - what is or isn't a morale builder:
Ten Worst
1. getting blown up
2. buddies getting blown up
3. re-securing a town we secured year before last
4. "Taps"
5. the "catch and release" detainee program
6. colostomy bags
7. civilian young men who won't look me in the eye when I'm in uniform
8. any scene from any shopping mall anywhere in America
9. editorials pointing out that casualties are "light by historical standards"
10. lies
Ten Best
1. Iraqis willing to fight for their country
2. good sergeants
3. clean, dry socks and T-shirts
4. cigarettes and chai without body armor
5. the USO at the DFW airport
6. meeting an Iraqi leader from my last tour who's still alive
7. "nothing significant to report"
8. sleep and KBR macadamia nut cookies (tie)
9. dead generals (this one is hypothetical, at least for the past six years, but Ridgeway said "It's good for the troops' morale to see a dead general every once in a while.")
10. truth
Labels: iraq, troop morale
posted by Anonymous at 10:42 AM
1 Comments:
i once asked a vietnam vet in my class about dissent "hurting the morale of our troops." he threw back his head and laughed and laughed and laughed. when he finally recovered, he said, "that's the stupidest bullshit nonsense...NO ONE pays a whit of attention to anything anyone says at home, they are thinking about survival and getting the heck out of there, morning, noon and night. what, do people really think soldiers LOVE being in a hellish environment 24 hours a day?!"
'nuff said. i was always curious about the idea that soldiers just love being there, love the whole thing...i would be hoping that someone would get ME out of there. if it took dissent to do that, well, "bring it on!"
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