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07/08/2003 Archived Entry: "Hackworth: 'Shoestring Logistics - The New American Way'"
Hackworth: 'Shoestring Logistics - The New American Way'
Hack is highly respected among the military, because he's of the old school - you step up for your men and make sure they get what they need, when they need it. From what he's hearing, it sounds like this administration put those troops on the ground and turned their backs. Distressing.
Even though Iraq presently costs you and me over three billion bucks a month and Generals are living in palaces, the kids are complaining about the basic stuff so important to grunts: hot chow, decent water, mail and spare parts to keep vehicles, aircraft and weapons going. They’re ragging about eating lots of dust and their Hobo Junction living conditions. Some combat units haven’t gotten mail in over 40 days, while for months many have been chowing down MRE’s -- which after a few weeks are like eating bark from a tree -- with a side of hot drinking water laced with enough chlorine to make even a lifeguard squeamish. And for those in the combat arena, spare parts are harder to obtain than a cold drink.Relatives are responding by sending whatever they can to help -- Kool-Aid and WD-140 and decent rifle lubricating oil because the standard issue gun oil sucks.
The reason the troops need this kind of support from home is that the Pentagon went into Iraq too light, expecting it would be Slam Bam Goodbye Saddam followed by a victory parade down Fifth Avenue. Rumsfeld, Wolfawitz and their tech-loving crew believed their own simplistic propaganda and now our soldiers are paying the price on a complicated insurgency battlefield without the logistical depth to do the job.
Replies: 3 people speak up
Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld not only believed their own propaganda, they also don't give a shit about the soldiers out there.
They didn't take the time to plan post Saddam Iraq, they were too busy having oily wet dreams.
If BushCo foolishly decides to leave these kids out there in these circumstances, being gunned down every day, there won't be any room for aWol around this country.
Posted by Memorybanker @ 07/08/2003 05:44 PM NY
Your link doesn't work.
Posted by Perdita Durango @ 07/09/2003 07:36 PM NY
I wouldn't rely on Hackworth for much. He's gotten himself in with the lunatic fringe.
Hack was the guy who publicly shamed Admiral Boorda to the point that Boorda committed suicide over whether Boorda deserved to wear a medal. But folks who know say that Hackworth has worn medals he wasn't entitled to-- and that Boorda had done nothing intentionally wrong.
Check here http://www.airborne-ranger.com/ranger/wannabees/Hackworth.html and here http://slate.msn.com/id/2381/sidebar/51012/
Word to the wise is all.
Posted by joel @ 07/11/2003 01:04 AM NY
