Jumping into the elevator to get back to my desk after lunch I read on the elevator news that Petraeus wants more troops in Afghanistan. Where will the bodies come from to fill these boots? The added incentives of bonuses for recruiters will create more lies, which will disenfranchise more young people from “politics” and on and on. At least the Vets for America is on the case:
Dear Friend:
Today, Veterans for America will deliver two new critical reports to every Member of Congress in anticipation of General Petraeus testifying next week in Washington.
As a supporter of Veterans for America, and we very much appreciate your help, I wanted to make sure you had a copy of these reports today, just as they are being released.
These two new reports--"The Consequences Of Churning" and "Weekend Warriors To Frontline Soldiers" -- make one thing absolutely clear: we must say no if General Petraeus suggests we stop the withdrawals of troops from Iraq. The consequences of our deployment policies are simply catastrophic and stopping withdrawals will only make it worse
Deployments now last 15 months instead of 12, and where once the Army provided two days at home for every one away, that ratio is now less than one day at home for every day served overseas. Four of the Army's Brigade Combat Teams (BCT's) have been deployed four times, 10 have been deployed three times, and almost all at least twice. Defense Department reports prove that a Soldier's likelihood of developing severe post-combat mental health problems leap 60% with each deployment.
The burden on our National Guard is also great - as it was designed primarily for domestic missions, not as an operational reserve for the most-heavily deployed elements of the active-duty Army. Nearly 200,000 members of the Army National Guard have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan - about half of whom already have post-combat mental health problems, a rate 29% higher than their active-duty counterparts.
These new reports are part of our Wounded Warrior Outreach Program - a program we have launched to give our troops a voice. We have visited bases around the country and we will continue to do so - but for those efforts, we need your help.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WOUNDED WARRIOR OUTREACH PROGRAM - PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/woundedwarrior/
Today, Veterans for America will deliver two new critical reports to every Member of Congress in anticipation of General Petraeus testifying next week in Washington.
As a supporter of Veterans for America, and we very much appreciate your help, I wanted to make sure you had a copy of these reports today, just as they are being released.
These two new reports--"The Consequences Of Churning" and "Weekend Warriors To Frontline Soldiers" -- make one thing absolutely clear: we must say no if General Petraeus suggests we stop the withdrawals of troops from Iraq. The consequences of our deployment policies are simply catastrophic and stopping withdrawals will only make it worse
Deployments now last 15 months instead of 12, and where once the Army provided two days at home for every one away, that ratio is now less than one day at home for every day served overseas. Four of the Army's Brigade Combat Teams (BCT's) have been deployed four times, 10 have been deployed three times, and almost all at least twice. Defense Department reports prove that a Soldier's likelihood of developing severe post-combat mental health problems leap 60% with each deployment.
The burden on our National Guard is also great - as it was designed primarily for domestic missions, not as an operational reserve for the most-heavily deployed elements of the active-duty Army. Nearly 200,000 members of the Army National Guard have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan - about half of whom already have post-combat mental health problems, a rate 29% higher than their active-duty counterparts.
These new reports are part of our Wounded Warrior Outreach Program - a program we have launched to give our troops a voice. We have visited bases around the country and we will continue to do so - but for those efforts, we need your help.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WOUNDED WARRIOR OUTREACH PROGRAM - PLEASE GIVE WHAT YOU CAN.
http://www.veteransforamerica.org/woundedwarrior/
