Demorolisation of the troops

[buster2209]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/oc...mili-o17.shtml

Morale crumbling among US and British troops in Afghanistan

By James Cogan
17 October 2009

Several reports from the frontlines of Afghanistan this month provide an insight into the growing demoralisation among US and British troops who have been sent to kill and be killed for the neo-colonial occupation. The articles suggest that many soldiers believe that the war is not justified and not worth dying for.

On October 8, the London Times published the comments of US Army chaplains and personnel from two battalions of the 10th Mountain Division that are in the final three months of a year-long tour of duty in the province of Wardak, to the south of Kabul. Out of 1,500 troops, 19 have been killed in action, one has committed suicide and at least 100 have suffered severe injuries. Patrols have been hit by at least 180 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or mines. More than 100 others were detected before they exploded. The troops rarely make any contact with Taliban guerillas and are operating among a civilian population they strongly suspect supports the anti-occupation insurgents.

Captain Sam Rico, chaplain with an artillery battalion, said, “Everyone you meet is just down. They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern. They are tired, strained, confused and just want to get through.”

Captain Jeff Masengale, chaplain with an infantry battalion, told the Times: “The many soldiers who come to see us have a sense of futility and anger about being here. They are really in a state of depression and despair and just want to get back to their families. Divorces are skyrocketing. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is off the scale. There have been hundreds of injuries that send soldiers home and affect families for the rest of their lives.”

Staff Sergeant Erika Cheney, a mental health specialist, said, “They’re tired, frustrated, scared. A lot of them are afraid to go out [on patrol] but will still go.”

A 20-year-old soldier, Specialist Raquime Mercer, commented, “We’re lost. That’s how I feel. I’m not exactly sure why we’re here. I need a clear-cut purpose if I’m going to get hurt out here or if I’m going to die. The soldiers’ biggest question is: what can we do to make this war stop? Catch one person? Assault one objective? Soldiers want definite answers other than to stop the Taliban, because that seems almost impossible. It’s hard to catch someone you can’t see.”

The frustration, fear and casualties among the occupying troops can lead to hatred and a desire for revenge against the occupied people. That has been the source of countless atrocities in colonial wars.

Specialist Eric Petty told the Times, “The soldiers are angry that colleagues are losing their lives while trying to help a population that will not help them. You give them all the humanitarian assistance that they want and they’re still going to lie to you. They’ll tell you there’s no Taliban anywhere in the area and as soon as you roll away, 10 feet from their house, you get shot at again.”

Similar sentiments emerged in an October 3 Times report on British troops operating in the Sangin district of Helmand Province during the Afghan presidential election in August. The unit, the 2nd Rifles, had lost 100 dead or wounded out of 500 combat troops since April. The author noted that the casualty rate compared with that experienced during the intense fighting in Europe in the final years of World War II.

Patrols are attacked as close as 500 metres from the walls of the British base but, as in Wardak province, the troops in Helmand rarely make any contact with the Taliban insurgents who have savaged their ranks with IEDs, mines and sniper fire.

A corporal commented, “When we first came here we were whingeing that we weren’t getting enough action. How we take those words back now—massively.” Another young soldier said, “I can’t see how I won’t get hit before the tour is through.” The Times correspondent noted that “no one ever volunteered for a patrol they did not have to do and I didn’t meet one soldier there who spoke of ‘winning’.”

Eight years after 9/11, propaganda about fighting a “war on terrorism” has evaporated. The soldiers are on the frontlines of a bloody counterinsurgency that has only one objective—to prop up an American puppet regime. The majority are economic conscripts. Under conditions of poverty wages and growing unemployment, enlisting in the military is one of the few ways for many youth to get a secure job and adequate income.

The illegitimate character of the wars is undoubtedly a factor in the number of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans coming home with psychological illnesses. Studies suggest that between 20 and 30 percent of all those who have served in the conflicts suffer some degree of PTSD. It is linked to suicide, homelessness, substance abuse, crime and imprisonment among veterans.

A staggering 20,000 former British soldiers are in prison or on parole, with the proportion of prisoners who are veterans increasing by 30 percent over the past five years. A representative of the British probation officers’ union, Harry Fletcher, told the Guardian last month, “There is overwhelming evidence that support is not available of sufficient calibre when soldiers leave the service. The preponderance of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression is also alarming.”

I can PERSONALLY testify to that

According to figures cited by the British Mirror, 67 ex-British soldiers have committed suicide since 2001 after returning from Afghanistan or Iraq and 31 suspected cases are still unconfirmed.

Earlier this month, 28-year-old Dylan Kemp, a Royal Marine commando, hung himself shortly after returning from seven months of intense combat operations in Afghanistan. He had been arrested for road rage and reportedly assaulted his girlfriend. His friend told the Mirror, “Afghanistan tipped him over the edge. He said in his note he was sure many more squaddies [soldiers] would end up in a messed-up state like him. He was just so full of anger. His mental scars couldn’t be healed.”

The suicide rate among serving US military personnel is also continuing to rise. By the end of September, there had been 117 suicides in the Army and 38 in the Marine Corp, with a further 35 deaths still under investigation. Suicide among Marines, who form the bulk of the 17,000 additional troops that the Obama administration rushed to Afghanistan earlier this year, has increased by 20 percent this year. The majority of Marines and soldiers who have taken their own lives had served tours in one of the two war zones.

I was in Iraq in 03. I put my discharge papers in as soon as I got back.

Same shit, different shit hole.....

[customloaded]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/oc...mili-o17.shtml



I can PERSONALLY testify to that



I was in Iraq in 03. I put my discharge papers in as soon as I got back.

Same shit, different shit hole.....

Just please tell me you were not SAS and rode in Bradley fighting vehicles to Secure a animal vaccine factory?

[buster2209]

Just please tell me you were not SAS and rode in Bradley fighting vehicles to Secure a animal vaccine factory?

No, would it be a bad thing if I did?

[customloaded]

No, would it be a bad thing if I did?

Yes Sir, it would. One of the funniest, lamiest, and absolutely stupidest things I've had the pleasure to watch....trust me!!!

Also, welcome to the forum. I like what I've read of your posts so far!!!

U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division 2002-2009 Invasion of Iraq 03' and OIF 1, 3, 5.

[buster2209]

Yes Sir, it would. One of the funniest, lamiest, and absolutely stupidest things I've had the pleasure to watch....trust me!!!

You have peaked my interest, care to elaborate?

[customloaded]

P.M has been sent...ten character minimun has been meet! Ding!!!!

[buster2209]

P.M has been sent...ten character minimun has been meet! Ding!!!!

Sent you a reply..... love war stories, especially the surreal ones!!

[redeye202]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/oc...mili-o17.shtml



I can PERSONALLY testify to that



I was in Iraq in 03. I put my discharge papers in as soon as I got back.

Same shit, different shit hole.....

I know what you speak about. My,different shit hole,was 40yrs. ago. It sucks when those in charge keep changing the reason why you are there, todays reason is___________,fill in the blank. No one can go to war,be in combat,and not have their lives changed forever,no one.

[Adam-12]

That's the irony of "Support our Troops": the powers that be don't support you. They don't give a damn about you. At a time when we're at zero risk of invasion or even a serious strike, they send you to die or come home broken so they can give sweetheart deals to their cronies and wag their wangs on the campaign trail. If they supported you, they'd bring you home until a real threat existed.

A good friend of mine is a shrink who specializes in PTSD. She mostly works with soldiers and cops and she's really good. (If anyone in the Pittsburgh area would like contact information, PM me.) She doesn't talk about specifics, but has shared some general things I never would have realized, like:

* One of the toughest moments for a returning vet is getting his discharge papers, which include a count of "confirmed kills." Normal humans don't take naturally to killing, justified or not. It's a hard thing to come to grips with.

* A common cause of "panic attacks" in PTSD is the gas station. The smell of diesel permeates military bases, and smelling it again brings it all up again.

* The suicide count is probably low, because it doesn't include the guys who hit a bridge abutment doing 100, or go in other ways that aren't obviously suicide. The military tries hard to undercount them on purpose.

* The commonest story in veterans with PTSD isn't about deadly firefights. It's about being screwed over by a superior. For example, he gives an order. You follow it. Something goes wrong. He denies ever giving the order. Usually, the next thing that happens is you cold-cock the SOB and get hauled off by MPs--and your buddies never get to hear the whole story.

It seems to me like the only thing the military cares about PTSD is that it lowers re-upping.

[ReconLdr]

That's the irony of "Support our Troops": the powers that be don't support you. They don't give a damn about you. At a time when we're at zero risk of invasion or even a serious strike, they send you to die or come home broken so they can give sweetheart deals to their cronies and wag their wangs on the campaign trail. If they supported you, they'd bring you home until a real threat existed.

A good friend of mine is a shrink who specializes in PTSD. She mostly works with soldiers and cops and she's really good. (If anyone in the Pittsburgh area would like contact information, PM me.) She doesn't talk about specifics, but has shared some general things I never would have realized, like:

* One of the toughest moments for a returning vet is getting his discharge papers, which include a count of "confirmed kills." Normal humans don't take naturally to killing, justified or not. It's a hard thing to come to grips with.

* A common cause of "panic attacks" in PTSD is the gas station. The smell of diesel permeates military bases, and smelling it again brings it all up again.

* The suicide count is probably low, because it doesn't include the guys who hit a bridge abutment doing 100, or go in other ways that aren't obviously suicide. The military tries hard to undercount them on purpose.

* The commonest story in veterans with PTSD isn't about deadly firefights. It's about being screwed over by a superior. For example, he gives an order. You follow it. Something goes wrong. He denies ever giving the order. Usually, the next thing that happens is you cold-cock the SOB and get hauled off by MPs--and your buddies never get to hear the whole story.

It seems to me like the only thing the military cares about PTSD is that it lowers re-upping.

There is not a block on the DD 214 which denotes the number of kills...