Maybe another war will help them focus.
"Army morale declines in survey" by Bryan Bender | Globe Staff
WASHINGTON — Only a quarter of the Army’s officers and enlisted soldiers believe the nation’s largest military branch is headed in the right direction — a survey response that is the lowest on record and reflects what some in the service call a crisis in confidence.
Fighting unwinnable wars of occupation will do that to you.
The detailed annual survey by a team of independent researchers found that the most common reasons cited for the bleak outlook were “ineffective leaders at senior levels,” a fear of losing the best and the brightest after a decade of war, and the perception, especially among senior enlisted soldiers, that “the Army is too soft” and lacks sufficient discipline.
The study, ordered by the Center for Army Leadership at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, also found that one in four troops serving in Afghanistan rated morale either “low” or “very low,” part of a steady downward trend over the last five years.
But the most striking finding is widespread disagreement with the statement that “the Army is headed in the right direction to prepare for the challenges of the next 10 years.”
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A major concern that the survey identified was whether the Army would be able to keep top-notch leaders as it cuts its ranks, as well as fears it would be stretched too thin to meet unforeseen demands. Junior officers were particularly concerned about retaining good leaders.
The active-duty Army, which is currently about 570,000 strong, is preparing to reduce its ranks by about 90,000 soldiers in the coming years, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down and the Pentagon budget is subject to a government-wide belt-tightening.
Yeah, except Congress and the administration are doing everything they can to stave off those cuts.
“Comments on downsizing the force reflected concerns by leaders that troop reductions would significantly impact the Army’s ability to respond to future conflicts,” the study’s authors wrote....
Meaning there is no end in sight to the wars.
The Army is struggling with a host of internal challenges, including a record number of soldier suicides. In July the number of suicides doubled, to a total of 26, from the month before.
That is because our soldiers have done and seen things that are not part of the propaganda pitch.
The leadership survey is cause for special concern in an institution that is defined by its hierarchy, one where confidence in one’s superiors and a common understanding of goals and objectives are considered critical to success....
Other experts said they believe the figures are a reflection of the deep uncertainty after a decade of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The age of counterinsurgency has been declared to be over,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a military scholar at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution in Washington. “It leaves the Army a little adrift. There is not an obvious big threat. No one is talking about Iran or China as overland invasions.’’
A very interesting point from the allegedly liberal scholar that pined for and helped with the propaganda on Iraq. What he is saying is the EUSraeli empire is planning to flatten them with missiles, or even worse, nuclear weapons.
Of course, there will be no overland invasions because occupying China would be impossible and Iran wouldn't be nearly as easy as Iraq and Afghanistan (I can hear you know, reader. Easy, you call those easy).
O’Hanlon pointed out that earlier this year the Pentagon unveiled a new national security strategy that emphasized the Asia-Pacific region and preparing for securing American interests in the face of a rising China. That strategy emphasized the strengths of the Navy and Air Force.
Meaning MISSILES and BOMBS, folks!!
The Army, which has carried the brunt of the fighting in the last decade, is not expected to play as significant a role.
And the lessons of history state that you can't win a war without occupying ground.
So what could be STRATEGY the going forward, huh?
The new strategy “took away the Army’s raison d’etre and didn’t replace it with anything else,” he added. “Many in the ranks may be losing their sense of purpose.”
WWIII is just around the corner so don't worry.
For those troops surveyed while serving in Afghanistan, the picture of troop morale was mixed. Nearly half said that morale was “high or very high,” but a full 25 percent rated it as “low” or “very low.” That compares with 15 percent of those posted at bases in the continental United States.
When they put it that way morale looks pretty good. Just another shit survey and poll in my agenda-pusher is all.
The study’s authors wrote that those numbers were consistent with predictions last year that morale in Afghanistan was on a five-year downward slide. But it cited another disturbing figure from a previous internal study: One in five of those surveyed in Afghanistan reported they suffer from a psychological problem, such as acute stress, depression, or anxiety....
Related: Sunday Globe Special: US Army F***ing With Vets' Minds
That's what wars based on lies do, and all wars are based on lies.
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Maybe this would help morale:
"Bill would expand fertility coverage for veterans" by Eric Tucker | Associated Press, August 19, 2012
WASHINGTON — The roadside bomb that exploded outside Andrew Robinson’s Humvee in Iraq six years ago broke the Marine staff sergeant’s neck and left him without use of his legs. It also cast doubt on his ability to father a child, a gnawing emotional wound for a then-23-year-old who had planned to start a family with his wife of less than two years.
The catastrophic spinal cord injury meant the couple’s best hope for children was in vitro fertilization, an expensive and time-consuming medical procedure whose cost isn’t covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Robinson and his wife were forced to pay out of pocket, with help from a doctor’s discount and drugs donated by other patients.
A bill being considered in the Senate would expand the VA’s medical benefits package so other veterans, and their spouses or surrogates, don’t have to bear the same expense.
As they are gutting, I mean, cutting Medicare?
The department currently covers a range of medical treatment for veterans, including some infertility care, but the new legislation would specifically authorize the VA to cover in vitro fertilization and to pay for procedures now provided for some critically injured active-duty soldiers.
The bill is meant to help wounded veterans start families as they return home and to address a harrowing consequence of combat that can radically change a couple’s marriage, but receives less attention than post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries....
In vitro fertilization, the process of mixing sperm and eggs in a laboratory dish and transferring the resulting embryo into a woman’s uterus, costs thousands of dollars and each cycle can take weeks. It is physically taxing too, requiring hormone injections and other invasive steps, and can take multiple tries to produce a viable pregnancy.
And yet the Octomom popped 'em out like pez.
For many wounded veterans, it represents the most promising option.
Let's just pray they won't have birth defects from the depleted uranium and other poisons we have used on people.
More than 1,830 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered pelvic fractures and genitourinary injuries since 2003 that could affect their abilities to reproduce, according to Pentagon figures provided to Senator Patty Murray, the bill’s sponsor and chairwoman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
‘‘Because they served our country, they now can’t have a family, which is part of their dream,’’ said the Washington state Democrat, who hopes the committee will act on the bill after the August recess. ‘‘I think we now have a responsibility to not take that dream away.’’
Actually, I am very much pro-child and pro-life given all the death being driven by the globe-kicking elite's evil.
Combat injuries can dampen a soldier’s ability to have children in many ways, said Mark Edney, a Maryland urologist and Army reservist who treats veterans....
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Some won't even need that:
"Army promotes lesbian to general" by Matthew L. Wald | New York Times, August 13, 2012
WASHINGTON — An Army officer being promoted to brigadier general openly acknowledged her homosexuality Friday by having her wife pin her star to her uniform, thus becoming the first openly gay officer of flag rank in the US military.
The officer, Brigadier General Tammy S. Smith, 49, a 26-year veteran of the Army, was promoted in a ceremony at the women’s memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The star was affixed by Tracey Hepner, who was a cofounder last year of the Military Partners and Families Coalition, which ‘‘provides support, resources, education and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military partners and their families,’’ according to its website....
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Interestingly, the gay issue has had no effect on morale -- or so we are told.
This might:
"Top Army general accused of lavish spending; Pentagon review finds posh hotels, travel unjustified" by Lolita C. Baldor | Associated Press, August 18, 2012
WASHINGTON — The four-star general who headed US Africa Command used military vehicles to shuttle his wife on shopping trips and to a spa and billed the government for a refueling stop overnight in Bermuda, where the couple stayed in a $750 suite, a Defense Department investigation has found.
A 99-page report alleges excessive, unauthorized spending and travel costs for General William ‘‘Kip’’ Ward, including lengthy stays at lavish hotels for Ward, his wife, and his staff members, and the use of five-vehicle motorcades when he traveled to Washington.
While not approving of this power-trip looting, I'd rather know where the $2.3 trillion (yeah, that's with a t) went.
It also said that Ward and his wife, Joyce, accepted dinner and Broadway show tickets from a government contractor during a trip on which he went backstage to meet actor Denzel Washington, and that the couple and several staff members spent two nights at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
The allegations, coming after a 17-month investigation, deliver an embarrassing blow to the Army and to Ward, who had claimed a place in history as the military’s first commander of US Africa Command....
Ward, who is facing possible demotion for his activities, also could be forced to repay the government. The report said that there is an additional review going on to determine reimbursement for unofficial travel and daily travel costs that exceed approved levels. It is not clear whether he could face criminal charges.
In comments throughout the report, Ward defended the spending, saying his wife performed official duties on all the trips. But investigators, who pored over e-mails, calendar entries, and other documents, disagreed. Ward also said he was unaware that the person who gave him dinner and theater tickets in New York was a defense contractor.
The feeling here when reading this is that fascists just don't get it. Incredible.
Ward said the Bermuda layover was necessary as a ‘‘crew stop’’ and blamed his staff for making the decision to stay there rather than flying on to Stuttgart, Germany-based Africa Command.
The report by the Defense Department’s inspector general was obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
That means they were given it, but the world obtained makes it seem like they actually did some work.
A prominent complaint in the report concerned Ward and his wife’s use of staff to run personal errands, traveling in government-rented cars.
Hey, they are just being the good stewards of government we have come to expect. Turns out public service is ONE LONG PARTY!!
One alleged incident involved Joyce Ward asking a staff member to go buy her a bag of ‘‘dark chocolate Snickers’’ bars, saying the general would provide ‘‘a couple of dollars’’ for it. Another time, staff drove her to a spa appointment and on other occasions they were asked to pick up books, gifts, sports tickets, and baby items, the report said.
US officials said Ward was warned several times by staff that his activities were wrong, to no avail. Instead, he appeared to reject their concerns and find ways to get around them.
In one case, Ward’s request to use military aircraft for a personal trip was denied, so he abruptly changed the trip to an official one, adding a quick meeting, and went anyway, the report said.
During one 11-day trip to Washington, Ward spent one day visiting wounded soldiers, had a 90-minute meeting on another day, and a State Department meeting on a third day but billed the Pentagon more than $129,000 to cover the daily hotel and other costs for him, his wife, and 13 civilian and military staff, investigators found.
The report concluded he did no other official business during that trip.
Investigators said Ward often extended his overseas trips — particularly those to the United States — for personal reasons, resulting in ‘‘exponential’’ increases in costs.
Although the report includes responses from Ward to a number of the allegations, investigators often found records and statements that contradicted his explanations. At one point, Ward defended the Bermuda layover on grounds that it came up on short notice, which is why his security team had to stay there longer.
The report found records showing that the layover had been planned for at least four days in advance.
A common theme running through the report was Ward’s insistence that his wife travel with him at government cost, even though it was often not authorized and she performed few official duties. It said he also routinely stayed in high-priced suites in luxury hotels rather than in standard rooms or less expensive locales.
Related: High-flying lifestyle of the CIA's rendition men
And his staff — which can include advance and security teams — often traveled days prior to his arrival, including on the Bermuda stop, and stayed after he departed, according to the report. The cost of rooms in Bermuda for Ward and his staff came to more than $10,000, not including meals, transportation, or other costs.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to make a decision on Ward’s fate before the end of the month.
Ward also came under fire for ‘‘needless and extravagant’’ gifts he distributed to others, including farewell tokens, parties, and souvenir books.
Hey, YOU DON'T NEED that TAX LOOT in this age of austerity!
The report said he gave engraved pewter letter openers to Africa Command staff at a farewell event. He also spent about $34,000 on holiday parties in 2009 and 2010 and spent $14,000 to print a book that memorialized his time at Africa Command.
Why did the term SELF-CENTERED just cross my mind?
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I will smartly salute and move on....
"AWOL soldier gets life terms in plot to kill US troops" by Sarah Kuta | Associated Press, August 11, 2012
WACO, Texas — Naser Jason Abdo sat alone in court with his hands shackled and a white cloth secured over his mouth and neck. The soldier who went AWOL and plotted to kill other troops outside a Texas Army post remained defiant Friday as he was sentenced to life in prison, not asking for mercy and vowing to never end what he considers his holy war....
Abdo referred to Major Nidal Hasan — the Army psychiatrist soon to be tried in a deadly shooting rampage at that Army post — as ‘‘my brother.’’ He said he lived in Hasan’s shadow despite ‘‘efforts to outdo him.’’
Related: Fort Hood suspect must enter pleas before trial
Also see: Taking the Hood Off the AmeriKan MSM
Actually, it's been off for a long time. Everyone sees it for the hunk of s*** it is.
Abdo became a Muslim at 17.
Outside court, prosecutor Mark Frazier said Abdo had come close to carrying out the attack. US Attorney Robert Pitman compared the plot to recent mass shootings at a movie theatre near Denver and a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee.
Also see: Aurora Borebullshit
Sikh Shooter SITEing
So it is ABDO the AGENT, 'eh?
‘‘In the wake of the tragic events in Colorado and Wisconsin, this is yet another reminder that there are those among us who would use or plan to use violence to advance their twisted agenda,’’ Pitman said.
Yup, and they primarily reside in Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv.
Arguing for a life sentence, Frazier had said Abdo still presented a threat. The young Muslim’s mouth was covered in court, Frazier said, because he had earlier spat his own blood at agents believing he was infected with HIV. That belief turned out to be wrong.
‘‘He felt it was his duty to take lives, even after incarceration,’’ Frazier told the court.
Abdo was absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Ky., when he was arrested with bomb-making materials last summer at a Fort Hood-area motel....
Representing himself, Abdo told the court how his effort to become a conscientious objector led him to Fort Hood.
Oh, NOW I AM SURE he is an AGENT! This is ANOTHER SCRIPT, folks!
He grew up in Garland, Texas, and enlisted in the military in 2009 thinking that the service would not conflict with his religious beliefs. But as his unit neared deployment, the private first class applied for conscientious objector status, saying he wasn’t sure ‘‘whether going to war was the right thing to do Islamically.’’
He joins the Army feeling this way after more than six years of lies? Gimme a f***ing break!
Abdo’s unit was deployed to Afghanistan without him. He said he would refuse to go even if it resulted in a military charge against him.
Yeah, nothing like giving conscientious objectors a bad name, cui bono?
But his conscientious objector status was put on hold after he was charged with possessing child pornography in May 2011. Abdo told the court he felt the pornography accusation was made only because he had tried to leave the Army.
PFFFFFFFFFT!!
A month later, after his efforts to reach out to the media had failed, Abdo said he decided he ‘‘was going to go on jihad.’’ During the Fourth of July weekend, Abdo went AWOL.
In a police interview, Abdo said he wanted to carry out the attack because he didn’t ‘‘appreciate what [his] unit did in Afghanistan.’’
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Yeah, I guess morale must be low.
Related: Texas Nuggets
So where is his next assignment with his new identity?
