No, really. It is. Seriously.
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Today’s testimony before the House was not quite as riveting as yesterday’s Senate session for Petraeus, but I did catch this little tidbit that had me wondering. Rep. Buck McKeon asks Gen. Petraeus to speak to troop morale and this is what he had to say:
Congressman, first of all, let me just say that …I don’t want to start off by generalizing about morale…I want to start off by explaining morale is an individual event. And morale depends from soldier to soldier, and for me as well, on the kind of day that you’re having out there in the theatre. And it’s a roller coaster existence. Now, having said that, as there is actually something called “The Mental Health Assessment” which is done every year, the last one in the late fall, I believe it was. And after several years of a generalization of morale as going down, morale actually went up.
Really? Up??? Five years in, a backdoor draft of stoploss and 3, 4, and 5 tours of duty and the troops are feeling better now? Well, that didn’t compute for me, so I had to go find this “Mental Health Assessment” (.pdf) and sure enough, on page 24, there’s the statistics Petraeus quoted:
Soldiers ratings of unit morale were significantly higher in 2007 than in 2006 after controlling for sample differences of (1) gender, (2) rank, and (3) months in theater. Figure 2 shows the raw percentages (top graph) and adjusted percents (bottom graph). Notice in the bottom graph that the adjusted percent of Soldiers who rate unit morale high or very high in 2007 is close to double the estimate from 2006.
Ah, there’s the rub. If you factor out the women, the NCOs and those who have done multiple tours of duty over several years, things are looking great! By the way, I admit I was never a math major, but that last sentence about the morale being close to double this year…well, that’s true if 7.4% was half of 13.1%. Either way, that’s only 1 out of every 7 troop members who consider their morale high. Is that something to celebrate?
Or maybe Petraeus wanted to get out in front of this NY Times article:
Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond.
Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health.[..]
Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once, and more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times, according to a separate set of statistics provided this week by Army personnel officers. The percentage of troops sent back to Iraq for repeat deployments would have to increase in the months ahead.
The Army study of mental health showed that 27 percent of noncommissioned officers - a critically important group - on their third or fourth tour exhibited symptoms commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorders. That figure is far higher than the roughly 12 percent who exhibit those symptoms after one tour and the 18.5 percent who develop the disorders after a second deployment, according to the study, which was conducted by the Army surgeon general’s Mental Health Advisory Team.
And that doesn’t even begin to talk about happens when they finally do return home. That’s why it’s so important for us to support Sen. Jim Webb’s Dwell Time Amendment. Hear that, McCain? You want them to stay until the job is done, you have to take care of them to do so.
No Trackbacks To “Petraeus Says Troop Morale Is Up“
Classic army double speak.
“Petraeus Says Troop Morale Is Up”
Yea, because Bush’s term in coming to an end.
Actually Petreaus is recognized as one of the few generals who “got it” when we invaded Iraq. He did nearly everything right to help the Iraqi citizens win their country back after we eliminated Hussein. Too bad he is stuck having to defend morons like Bush, Cheney and all the other bozos who got us into this mess.
Question for General Betray-Us:
How does it feel, to have taken authority as truth rather than truth as authority?
Time to start talking OUT LOUD about the draft. Then you’ll see the chicken-hawks start to cross over the aisle.
So far it’s been “somebody else’s war”. The chickenhawks haven’t had to bother themselves with the senseless killing and the mental strain placed on military and their family and friends. Hell, chickenhawks don’t have real friends anyway, and none of their family would aspire to a less than six figure annual income.
So yes…talk the draft. Talk it loud and clear. Talk it up a LOT now that the election is drawing near, and watch how many of those so opposed to the occupation decide it’s time we put an end to this bullshit.
This is the most insulated society we have ever had to a war that is killing our nation.
Petraeus Says Troop Morale Is Up
“No, really. It is. Seriously.”
And I believe him. He’s never lied about this endless war.
As cheney would say..”So?”. This is a vouluntary army and military tours of duty(be it in Iraq or Hawaii) are based upon time in the military(including re-enlisting for more than
minimum), so tho I have great admiration and respect for those serving, once their “time”
is up, they can, if they choose, not reinlist and instead tell the Army/Marines/AF/Navy
to go to hell.
Well, it’s evident Petreaues has watched Frontline’s “Bad Voodoo Brigade” - filmed during the Surge by members of the Natl Guard brigade on its fourth tour over there. Must viewing.
A little off topic but needs to put out there. Today on Tweety, Harold Ford Jr. and I don’t know the name of the female guest, put out that Condi Rice would be a FANTASTIC
VP on McCain’s ticket. Rice was in over her head as Natl Security Advisor and now as Sec’y of State she is drowning! She (Rice) hasn’t a clue on what she is doing. And the American public needs to be reminded of how she reacted in the buildup to 9/11. The problem was, she didn’t react. Completely ignored any warnings. McCain may be a little slow on the uptake but surely he wouldn’t seriously consider Rice for ANYTHING!
correction: Petraeus has NOT watched….
I’ll take Phil Donahue’s word on that.
General Petraeus, I admire your honesty. Hell, I like you. You can come over to my house and f*ck my sister.
*punches Pvt. Joker in the stomach*
Hulk @ 5:
You have pretty well “nailed it”….A DRAFT is the language that is needed; then, as you
indicated, just see how much support that would get from the hypocritical Repugs.
There is, however in my opinion, a need for the “younger” generation to get involved
and realize that they have an obligation and need to make sacrifies. As it is in Israel and
other European countries, young folks between the ages of 18 and 21 are required
to preform some sort of service for our country; be it military or civil.
Permanent occupation=victory.
-Sen. Johnny 100 Years McCain
I hear the stock market and jobs are up too. Oh, wait. That was gas prices and unemployment.
Another question just as relevant that should have been asked of Petraeus would be to ask the general how many of the soldiers, both in Iraq and in the United States, have been afflicted with PTSD due to being stationed in Iraq. If his reply is that he does not know, a congressman should ask him is it not his duty to know about the physical and mental conditions of his soldiers?
Yep, He’s right … and pigs fly and we’ve all got monkeys flying out of our butts.
These guys don’t want to admit anything is wrong, hell, lets see:
Since Bush Corporate oversite has been loosened, so what do we see?
♠A huge increase in Mine disasters
♦ An FAA that checks the passengers thoroughly, but the planes … Meh.
♦ An FDA that doesn’t work, we aren’t allowed to get drugs from Canada but all the rest of our drugs are coming mostly from overseas
♦ A GAO that only can find problems in government accounting long after billions are wasted or lost
♦ A Military endeavor in which a pallet of money (8 billion dollars worth) is sent to Iraq and is lost and cant be accounted for.
♦ A Military Industrial Complex that give away no-bid contracts to friends sometimes for billions more than their worth.
Need more?
I repeat what I have said before - no one agrees, but that is ok.
This is a continuation of a war crime. Why should we be worried about the moral of those who are committing it?
Let me understand - people are more worried about the happiness of war criminals than they are the war crimes? (Wars of aggression?)
Even the left is in on this …. sick.
Crew is angry
[ I’m going to let this slide,but in future please don’t post in all Bold or all Caps. Thank You. Site Monitor]
The long term damage this asshat is doing to the military is incalculable. To have the civilian leaders fuck over the troops is actually kinda expected, but when one of their own (Petraeus) sells them out so publicly like this, it really really damages the esprit de corps that is truly the underlying mechanism that makes the military run.
How do you think the troops will feel when they hear Petraeus tell everyone that morale is up, knowing that he knows that he’s lying and knowing that they are going to hear about it, and obviously he doesn’t care?
I did 5 years in the Navy and while I wouldn’t push it on anyone, I would have proudly recommended it to anyone who was interested, including my own son when he becomes of age. Now however I couldn’t in good conscience recommend anyone put their lives in the hands of these people. Like I said, long term damage.
♣Bangkok Bob♠ @ 17:
Don’t forget the two trillion dollars that Rumsfeld announced that the Pentagon had “misplaced” on September 10, 2001. Have not heard a thing about it since.
Erroll @ 16:
I agree totally…and while at it, Gen. P. might have been asked as to the status
of health studies being conducted as to the affects of DU(Depleted Uranium) on
our fine men and women.
anon @ 18:
I agree. Invading Iraq and overthrowing its government was a war crime. Each day we stay there without their (a legitimate government’s) invitation is a war crime.
You have to give these guys the highest award for being lowdown slime,tearfully look you right in the eyes and lie their dick off, not blinking a bit. Now that is world class slime!
xoites defends Constitution @ 20:
Oh, fiddle-dee-dee.
A billion here, a billion there…pretty soon I guess we are talking about REAL money??
Troop Morale Up = You enjoy serving in Iraq, private, and that’s an order!
Filthy Harry @ 20:
anyone who turns thier lives over to the ignorent muthera fluckering lifers who run the navy deserve the shitty four yrs of pure horseshit they will get!
xoites defends Constitution @ 21:
Hey x, nice to see you back. But I must’ve missed this one.Would you be so kind as to give me a link on that one please. You really sparked my interest on this one. Tx
Abbybwood @ 25:
That was not billion, that was TRILLION.
A stack of crips new $100 bills equaling one million dollars is 8 inches tall.
A billion is 100 feet taller than the Washington Monument.
One trillion is several hundred miles past the moon.
Human beings are totally unequiped to deal with a number that large in any way that makes tangible sense.
mudshark @ 28:
I have not read these links yet but i do vaguely recall the story when it hit. Then the planes hit. Someone reminded me of it today.
http://www.ratical.org/ratvill.....Loses.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories.....5985.shtml
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....251738.DTL
http://benfrank.net/patriots/n....._trillions
xoites defends Constitution @ 30:
Thank You xoites. Nice to see you back here again.
Thank you. :)
It appears however that it was 2.3 Trillion. I was wrong.
xoites defends Constitution @ 32:
nahhhhh pay me no mind.YW.
the CBS link covers it pretty well.
: )
tyree @ 27:
Given how the civilian leadership broke the military with the COLLUSION of the military leadership, I’d have to agree with you. But when I was in, I had a ball. And I wouldn’t say anyone who joined with good intentions deserves to be treated like shit. Lets face it, how many poor kids joined cause they thought they were going after Osama yet found themselves in Iraq?
Filthy Harry @ 35:
not many on a destroyer id bet!
VietVet8666 @ 23:
Very well said. Unfortunately, I very much doubt that even if Obama is elected president, if he will have the United States become a member of the International Criminal Court. Even among the Democrats, the term American Exceptionalism will still remain the motto of this country. After all, the United States cannot have its leaders being tried for war crimes. Those type of crimes are reserved for the “bad” countries, not the United States.
If troop morale is up, it’s because they anticipate voting these idiots out of office, and then having a Dem admin send them home.