Military families, please help me out.

10/16/03 | The Unveiled Lady

[The UnVeiled Lady]

My child is listening to the Bush bashing and swears that HIS contacts with the military say that morale is low, suicides are up, the Iraqi's don't want us there and everything is bad.

I have said that I have heard different and he said but they are letters from you don't know who. He is right, but I know that freepers out there DO HAVE FAMILY OVER THERE. You have someone with personal knowledge that you know and trust.

Please share with me, personal knowledge over there. The truth, either way. Thanks

[grumple]

Service members bitch by nature. It's the whiners who are disgruntled because they have not yet garnered the concept of the price of Freedom. Weed out the difference between the two and you will locate your morale problem. However, the hatred should not be directed at Bush, whom most will use as a scapegoat. The problem lies with the lack of military support from the international community. Tell him to think more for himself and consider the larger picture rather than the focus on one individual. And President Bush has tried to get more support from the military community so the blame is largely misplaced. You will have many inexperienced service members who do not have an understanding of the world picture when it comes to this war. And inexperienced youth tends to think they know more than everyone and thusly believe their voices should be the first to be heard. When in reality, they should sit down and shut up because their "me me me" antics generally only prolong things. Sorry to be blunt and to the point, but it's a reality. God bless!

[Darksheare]

Wonder how much of this is normal military griping that the press is inflating into a whale, and how much may be legit?
I remember what the normal military grumbles were, Merrmites too hot/cold, coffee is scared water, boots suck, uniform too hot/cold, the tray-pac scrambled eggs violate Geneva convention, we're doing too much, we're doing too little, we're bored S*!tless, we're low on ammo, we've got too much dunnage- call logpac, we've lost the road, there's no roads there, we can't dig here it's too hard/soft/sandy/clay/mud/environmental officer is looking, why do we have to dig here, etc etc etc.

I know some press types that would hear any of the above and salivate at it. And then write an article about how everything is falling apart.

[FRMAG]

I have one son who is an Army SSG. He is currently assigned to a fairly major installation at the division level. In the interests of OPSEC I will not elaborate nor would he want me to.

His division in particular has troops deployed all over the map and he personaly has been deployed twice and returned. His take is that the troops not deployed are the ones with poor morale as they are having to take up the slack at the home installation for all the deployed troops.

There is an insistence that he keep his soldiers fully trained up but the equipment needed for that hands on training is deployed so the training mission is shot to hell and gone.

His company wanted to take the troops to the range for semi annual weapons qual. Could not do it as there was no funding for ammo to do so. All the ammo they have on hand is the basic load for the unit and the individual soldiers and they are not allowed to touch that.

So, its not only the reserves that are over stressed. Keep in mind the vastly increased need for perimiter security at our installations and the MPs who are not deployed have to be augmented and where do folks think the warm bodies with M4s in hand are coming from?

Just another take. BTW before anybody turns on the flame I'm a retired 1SG with 26 total years of service.

[mystery-ak]

You are dead right....best post IMHO....Mike(hubby) is 1sgt, IANG, in Balad...he sees very little of this whining...maybe it has a lot to do with their chain of command....stay safe.

[Redwood71]

"I don't blame them for being disgruntled."

---

They are paid for year round and I'll bet they spent the money. They certainly are not turning down the Tricare benefits or the commissary/aafes bennies. They signed a contract to backfill the regulars, honor the contract. And if you think "Rummy" isn't happy to liberate some people and stop the mutilation of women and children in torture chambers or just plain decapitation of fingers and ears, then you are out there with your lying congressional buddies that played their card when they signed on with the decision to use force so they would look good to be patriotic. If these reservists that are so badly mistreated haven't got the integrity to honor their word, then, maybe you're right, they aren't needed to represent a country that has more guts than they do. They don't have the tools. They need to learn French. They'd fit right in.

[The UnVeiled Lady]

How old is your "child?" 22

[M0sby]

Tell your child that the majority of the whiners are RESERVISTS, who had other jobs, and never expected to be in a real war. Professional soldiers are doing just fine over there.

Ya know...that's a "jerk" thing to say!
My RESERVIST hubby just walked in the door LAST NIGHT after being gone for almost a year and HE never complained about doing his job once!

As someone else said, you shouldn't LUMP anyone together in one group no matter who they are..their have been PLENTY of people complaining from all quarters..they always do! RIGHT? So, get it right... We reservist families are PROUD to be contributing to the job for the good of the country...we do so WITH OUT living on or near bases for support/medical/etc...and lots of times live in cities where it SUCKS to be in a military family.
AND WE ARE HAPPY TO DO IT!
IT IS OUR JOB!

Let's do what we can to suppor this kid..NOT TRASH MEMBERS OF THE SERVICE!

/rant

[mystery-ak]

You tell him....Im sick of this piling on the reservists....they are true professionals who are taking pride of their missions.....glad your hubby is home.

[M0sby]

HEY LADY!
THANKS FOR THAT!
THis is a bunch of HOOOEY!!!
What is with the "dumping"...can't we just go back to the "good old days" of service branch rivalry?

Holy COW!

What is the POINT HERE?

Ya know when those "kids" from the Army went on the TV and complained I was one who defended them as being "kids" who have the same "complaints" that there are in every WAR (from ALL BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY) and someone was just there to "MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT"!

My goodness...
Why would people want to polarize reservists vs active...once deployed, they're all ACTIVE as far as I can tell!

Tell MIKE he's welcome for the birhtday wishes and THANKS again for his (extended) service!

[Freedom2specul8]

There was a female doctor reservist in kansas, who refused to go to the persian gulf war. She was "against" war and for peace...and yes, her education was paid for by US. She went to prison for failing to perform her military duty.

[mystery-ak]

How right you are....bullets make no distinction....there was a major attack on Camp Anaconda Wed night that lasted over 2 and a half hours...2 gi's wounded...no mention of that on the news....

[M0sby]

YOU KNOW!!!
THAT WAS CRAPPY!
Yep, we spend the money...we're rich dontcha know!
Yep we go to the comissary...which BTW is over an HOUR away because reservists don't necessarily live on or NEAR a base!
Yep, we TRY to find out which of our regular medical providers take TRICARE and then WE SWITCH doctors so we can be covered (and switch again if the Doc stops taking TRICARE)...
We tell our kids the SAME things that active duty families tell their kids...
"no I DO NOT know when your daddy will be back"...
"yes, I MISS HIM TOO!"
"I know he has not seen your brother laugh/crawl/smile/eat..he will soon...
and when he gets back he will watch you RIDE YOU BIKE with no training wheels son!".
And these little kids DO NOT have other military kids to identify with!

We DO NOT look for support from our comminuty because WE DO NOT live in military towns!

We come to places like FR because we KNOW that at least the people on this forum understand that we are SO DAMNED PROUD of our COUNTRY that we would do it no matter WHAT the cost!
AND WE WILL DO IT AGAIN WHENEVER WE ARE CALLED!!!
Yes, I say WE... it is our WHOLE FAMILY!!!
*AND Free Republic is a place where I EXPECT to be SUPPORTED!

SPEAK FRENCH...MY ASS!

What an INSULT!

You can call out the complainers ALL YOU WANT... just don't lump them all in the SAME GROUP.. they are not complaining anymore than anyone else! It's how it is ...RIGHT?

[Freedom2specul8]

Here's more info on her..

Yolanda Huet- Vaughn
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Yolanda+Huet-+Vaughn&btnG=Google+Search


Appeal No. 80,362: Yolanda Huet-Vaughn, M.D. v. Kansas State Board of Healing Arts

"Saying that Huet-Vaughn acquiesced in the judgment imposed against her by the Board of Healing Arts by voluntarily paying a $5,000 administrative fine, the court in a 5-2 decision dismisses her appeal of the fine and reprimand which were imposed as a result of her court martial for desertion during the Persian Gulf War. Writing for the majority was Justice Bob Abbott. Justice Fred N. Six in a dissent that is joined by Justice Tyler C. Lockett agrees that she acquiesced in the fine; however, they believe the court should address the reprimand as a separate sanction to which she has not acquiesced. "

http://www.kscourts.org/kscases/ojasumm/1999/19990416.htm

[VeniVidiVici]

My wife just reenlisted two soldiers (reservists) who spent 18 months in the mideast and arrived home within the past few months.

Are some going to get out? Of course. The point is that (once again) only the bad gets in the news while the good is ignored.

[Eagle Eye]

Lighten up on the Reservists.

Some have been deployed longer than their AD comrades. Some have been de-mobed, sent home, then redeployed. Some have had their UIC's changed so that they could be deployed past the limits. And the living conditions for many are atrocious.

Been there, done it, and I'm wearing the t shirt.

[Eagle Eye JR]

I am told that Reservists are seeking out Media over there to complain in the hope that they will be sent home.

My neighbor's husband is in the reserves, he was supposed to be home over the summer but they keep moving his return back. As far as I know right now, he should be home at the end of November. If I was over there that much longer than what they told me, I'd be complaining too!

[Redwood71]

"YOU KNOW!!!"

---

Yes I do know. I have been working with reservists in backfill and deployment positions for over thirty years. I am not talking about the reservists that do their job. I am talking about, and to the original writer, Conservababe, about the growing lack of responsibility I have seen, and heard, from reservists I assist in getting them trained for combat. I worked with reservists during Storm besides long before and after. This select group of reservists I am identifying complains because they are losing money because they are activated. They love the easy money, the education bennies, the medical bennies, the commissary and aafes priveleges, but they hate like He** to be placed in the position that they signed up for, to do their job during war. And that, is what we do, war!

Don't put yourself into the same group that is doing the complaining if you are not. I didn't say it was all reservists. But the number is growing, and that is a failure of the member when someone puts his/her name on a contract, looking at the bennies of it, and not the drawbacks, and then complain when the little things happen. If the mentioned things you identified were such a problem, that why would anyone sign the contract. The issues are not by the efforts of the military, these are signer issues. It is by the failures of the members that did not think before they saw dollar signs, and then found out it was not as easy. Would you buy a car unseen? They shouldn't have either.

Now, because they don't have the intestinal fortitude to honor their committment, because of problems they have with a system that was easily definable for them, you want me to be concerned about their having to change doctors because their doctors dropped Tricare or they choose to live away from their committment (remember, they signed the contract)? I would think the dying and injured regulars, and reservists, that are trying to do the job in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and other places, don't really care. They need working troops, not opportunists.

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the frank appraisal, Archy. Another difference with Vietnam is that we don't have a McNamara in charge, handcuffing out troops with stupid tactics and rules of engagement.

[davidosborne]

Soldiers complain period.... if they really did not want to be there they should not have signed up.... It is important to emphasize that we no longer have draftees so all things considered soldiers are and should be allowed to complain using the appropriate channels. Some young soldiers do not understand the effects of voicing they complaints "publicly" while they are serving oversees and should be counselled appropriately..

David

[archy]

Thanks for the frank appraisal, Archy. Another difference with Vietnam is that we don't have a McNamara in charge, handcuffing out troops with stupid tactics and rules of engagement.

We still maintain several general officers left over from that way of doing business in Somalia and Serbia, among other places. They seem to be on their way out, but there's still a climate remaining that'll require some time to dissipate.