posted on October 18, 2003 02:35:45 AM new
The fact that troops were deployed to fight and risk their lives and health and sanity on the basis of lies
'aside';
Rest assured that some efforts are made to keep them well.
Some troops take rest and relaxation into their own hands. An artillery battery at Kirkuk Air Base in Iraq built this water slide along the side of an old Iraq bunker.
http://www.stripes.com/morale/dayonestats.html
Stars and Stripes collected 1,935 questionnaires from servicemembers in Iraq between Aug. 10 and Aug. 31. The people who returned a survey make up a group known as a convenience sample, which means they represent the views only of those filling out the survey and do not necessarily represent the views of every servicemember in Iraq. As a result, there is no margin of error within these results. A number of steps were taken to verify accurate inputting of information. Some percentages may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
1. How do you rate the overall living conditions at your base?
No.
resp.
93
excellent
Pct.
5%
578 good 30%
719 average 37%
370 not good 19%
158 poor 8%
2. How often do you have access to any post exchange facilities?
470 more than once a day 24%
320 once a day 17%
369 once every few days 19%
580 once a week 30%
108 never 6%
3. How do you rate the post exchange facilities?
42 excellent 2%
361 good 19%
802 average 41%
470 not good 24%
208 poor 11%
4. How would you rate your health since you arrived in the Middle East?
188 excellent 10%
694 good 36%
730 average 38%
251 not good 13%
60 poor 3%
5. How would you rate the health care services available to you in the Middle East?
142 excellent 7%
533 good 28%
714 average 37%
355 not good 18%
154 poor 8%
6. How would you rate your chain of command's ability to give you the materials you need to accomplish your mission?
130 excellent 7%
534 good 28%
563 average 29%
393 not good 20%
299 poor 15%
7. How concerned is your chain of command about your living conditions?
288 very concerned 15%
356 above average concern 18%
462 concerned 24%
504 somewhat concerned 26%
308 not concerned 16%
8. How effective is your command at making improvements?
215 excellent 11%
576 good 30%
567 average 29%
361 not good 19%
202 poor 10%
9. How likely is it that you will stay in the military after your current obligation is complete?
340 Very likely 18%
245 likely 13%
353 possible 18%
333 not likely 17%
611 very unlikely 32%
10. How do you rate the mail delivery system in the Middle East?
84 excellent 4%
379 good 20%
620 average 32%
471 not good 24%
369 poor 19%
11. How worthwhile do you think fighting this war was for America?
542 very worthwhile 28%
359 probably worthwhile 19%
395 worthwhile 20%
390 little value 20%
211 not worthwhile at all 11%
12. How clearly defined is your mission?
400 very clear 21%
282 mostly clear 15%
523 clear 27%
348 mostly not clear 18%
326 not clear at all 17%
13. How do you rate your unit's morale?
53 very high 3%
252 high 13%
653 average 34%
540 low 28%
412 very low 21%
14. How closely is what you're doing now related to your training?
170 identical 9%
391 very close 20%
560 close 29%
396 not close 20%
379 nothing to do with training 20%
15. How much training did you receive for your current mission?
260 more than enough 13%
665 enough 34%
386 some 20%
225 very little 12%
379 learning as I go 20%
16. How do you rate your personal morale?
146 very high 8%
365 high 19%
720 average 37%
368 low 19%
281 very low 15%
In Iraq, some servicemembers live like princes while others sleep in the sand
“At camps across Iraq, access to e-mail is now at least possible, though soldiers complain about long lines and security firewalls that block access to common programs like Yahoo! and Hotmail. Most soldiers say they can get to a post exchange at least once a week. And most occasionally see television news or Stars and Stripes.”
posted on October 18, 2003 02:52:13 AM new But the PNAC Jihad Continues.
The Pentagon Unleashes a Holy Warrior
"Ladies and gentleman, this is your enemy," Boykin said to the congregation as he flashed his pictures on a screen. "It is the principalities of darkness It is a demonic presence in that city that God revealed to me as the enemy." The Los Angeles Times, 16 October 03, by William M. Arkin
posted on October 18, 2003 05:16:25 AM new
What's the matter you didn't like the responses from the troops, so you have add your own little negative spin...
Unlike you, I have served and those are pretty good responses....
posted on October 18, 2003 05:46:04 AM newUnlike you, I have served and those are pretty good responses....
Considering those responses are from a mostly conservitive mostly male population they are not that good. They are better than say a Vietnam era survey would been.
These men are in combat zones and among hostile populations they are not on puddle jumpers were men could gripe without fear of being court marshaled by Mullah Rumsfeld.
"We will pay any price and bear any burden to advance the cause of human liberty."
Tom Delay
I think what Delay meant to say was "We will cut any tax, grease any campaign contributor and gerrymander any state to advance the cause of a Republican congressional majority."
(Congress failed to support the troops)
"The House also narrowly defeated an amendment by Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.) that would have shifted $3.6 billion from the Iraq reconstruction fund to the U.S. military to pay for the medical and dental screening of military reservists, for family assistance centers, for pre-paid phone cards for the troops in Iraq, for the transportation of troops on rest-and-relaxation leave, for the construction of more water treatment and power plants for the deployed troops, and for the repair and replacement of damaged equipment. The amendment died, 216 to 209"
Washington Post
posted on October 18, 2003 07:36:38 AM new
No 'Spin' 12.
You read the facts!
I saw footage of US soldiers being 'briefed' a couple of weeks ago.
'Muslims hate christians....and even if you're muslim then they'll hate you because you're american' (or words to that effect)their trainer told the new troops.
posted on October 18, 2003 12:09:04 PM newWrong once again and as usual... just can't stand it that you and the rest of the anti-'s are wrong wrong wrong....
Once again no substnce from a righty. Care to point out what you are talking about? Or is just pointing and screaming wrong your idea of presenting facts?
posted on October 18, 2003 06:35:34 PM newWhy is the Pentagon Sidestepping A Law That Protects Our Soldiers?
Editor's Note: There was a late development in the story reported below. At 6:20 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 29 -- hours after the story was posted and long since an ad based on it was submitted to The New York Times for publication on April 30 -- the Pentagon abruptly switched its position on medical testing of troops, the subject of this story. While the Pentagon’s announcement is a step forward -- and we are pleased that they have felt the heat -- it's no great victory for the troops. The Pentagon is still not admitting culpability: it clearly violated the law at the expense of soldiers’ health. It has not promised to undertake the legally mandated medical exams for troops still being deployed. And, as doctors have testified, the post-deployment exams will be of questionable value because the pre-deployment data is not comprehensive.
FORT STEWART, Ga., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot cement barracks here while they wait -- sometimes for months -- to see doctors ... One document shown to UPI states that no more doctor appointments are available from Oct. 14 through Nov. 11 -- Veterans Day...
One month after President Bush greeted soldiers at Fort Stewart -- home of the famed Third Infantry Division -- as heroes on their return from Iraq, approximately 600 sick or injured members of the Army Reserves and National Guard are warehoused in rows of spare, steamy and dark cement barracks in a sandy field, waiting for doctors to treat their wounds or illnesses...
Some of the soldiers said they have waited six hours a day for an appointment without seeing a doctor. Others described waiting weeks or months without getting a diagnosis or proper treatment...
A half-dozen calls by UPI seeking comment from Fort Stewart public affairs officials and U.S. Forces Command in Atlanta were not returned.
