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09/20/2003 Archived Entry: "Military Discontent Grows, Part II"
Military Discontent Grows, Part II
Bush shouldn't count on the military vote - because there may not be a whole lot of military left by this time next year.
Angry protests mounted this week among families of Army National Guard and Reserve troops as the full impact of a new policy requiring those forces to serve year-long tours in Iraq began to hit home across the country. In Kansas, family members of soldiers in the 129th Transportation Company, an Army Reserve unit, set up a Web site and almost immediately gathered 8,000 signatures on the Internet demanding that the Army scrap 12-month tours.
In Michigan, the wife of a soldier in the 1438th Engineer Detachment, an Army National Guard unit, said three-quarters of her husband's fellow soldiers are planning to quit as soon as they return from tours in Iraq that could be extended by four months under the new policy.
And in Florida, Sen. Bill Nelson (D) said after meeting with angry National Guard families in Orlando and Tampa that he would put a hold on the nomination of James G. Roche to become Army secretary if the policy is not modified.
[...]
The gathering storm of protest comes after months of concern inside and outside the Army that an over-reliance on Guard and Reserve forces by the Bush administration in the war on terrorism could adversely affect retention and recruiting. Some officials have expressed concern that this could break the Guard and Reserve system, which augments the active-duty force.
The National Guard comprises eight Army combat divisions and has a total strength of 350,000 troops. Guard units fall under the command of governors until their services are required under federal law by the Defense Department. The Army Reserve, with a total strength of 205,000 troops, consists primarily of combat support units in engineering, military police services, medical support, transportation, civil affairs and psychological operations.
[...]
Retention may be another matter. Reservists and their family members predict that the new policy is likely to have a devastating impact as individuals drop out of the Reserves after they return. It has been impossible to gauge the effect on retention thus far, they say, because there is a wartime "stop-loss" provision in effect on mobilized units that bars reservists from leaving the force even after their service requirements have been met.
Before the policy was implemented, virtually all Guard and Reserve forces had been mobilized for 12 months. Most went to Iraq or Kuwait believing their overseas deployments would last about six months. Six-month overseas tours had been the norm for Guard and Reserve troops before the Iraq war.
Under the new policy, total mobilization time for troops could increase from one to six months, because time spent in the United States no longer counts against the 12-month requirement. Most of the troops spent significant time on duty in the United States before going to Iraq.
[...]
In Kansas, Amanda Bellew, wife of Army Spec. Jason Bellew, a member of the 129th Transportation Company, said she and other family members are hoping to gather 50,000 signatures on their Web site, www.129bringthemhome.com, to present to Congress in opposition to the extended tours.
Amanda Bellew said the tours seem particularly onerous, since the 129th, made up of troops who drive and maintain heavy-equipment transports for hauling 70-ton M1 Abrams tanks, has recently been short of appropriate missions.
"We have pictures of a golf cart tied down in the middle of this trailer," she said. "They hauled SUVs for high-ranking officers on one mission, and by the time they got where they were going, all the windows [of the SUVs] were busted out, from things being thrown at them."
Replies: 3 people speak up
As a sister to a member of the 1438th National Guard unit I don't believe that that many of the troops in the unit will quit when they return home. All it is is just a bunch of them blowing off steam because they are upset that they now have to spend up to six more months active duty before they will be able to come home to their families and live their lives at home again with their spouses and children. Although it breaks my heart that they are over there it was a risk that they took when they joined the military, even if it was only the Guard. I know that many of them probably thought that they would never have gotten called up when they joined but that's the problem today is that they don't think about that instead they look at the bonuses that they get for signing up and the money they get for college instead of thinking of the risk that they take and that yes even they the National Guard can get called up to go active and have to leave home. If they cannot handle the risk of being called up then they should have never of joined, and perhaps the recruiters need to explain to the new sign ons that there is that risk instead of promoting the extra bonus and money for further schooling. I for one really do not believe that these troops will quit when they return home because I know when they get here they will be greeted as heros and they will then be proud of what they have done and remember it forever as a great but yet sad time in their lives.
Posted by Heather Downing @ 09/23/2003 10:25 PM NY
Just a short comment to for the army wife of one of the soldiers in the 1438 Eng. Det.
I can't believe you would write such a thing, instead of supporting the guys in that unit you just put them down everyone of them. Shame on you, they knew as well as your husband that he could get called up when he joined the guards, they also knew that they could be gone that amount of time, it's just that their orders were not cut for 18 months. My son is in that unit and he for one is not feeling they way you say most of them are. If your husband feels that way then shame on him and he should keep his mouth shut, and not try to bring the moral down of the whole unit. Think about what you say, show your support for your husbands unit. Don't put them down.
Posted by Tammy Downing @ 09/23/2003 10:27 PM NY
in regards to the 1438 engineer detachment of michigan i am very proud of what the unit is doing over there and support them. And i cant wait to welcome my brother when he returns home and to tell him how proud i am of him. GREAT JOB 1438 ENGINEERS!
Posted by robert downing @ 09/23/2003 11:03 PM NY
