US Army

Army not expected to ease policy before fall 2009

By Michelle Tan, Army Times

Last year’s surge of five combat brigades into Iraq helped drive a 43 percent increase in soldiers being barred from leaving the service under stop-loss orders, and Army leaders predict the policy will remain in place at least through next year. However, they expressed optimism that the numbers will ebb as surge forces redeploy.  read more »

Top Army Leaders forced to take action after YouTube video from Fort Bragg Soldier's Father causes nationwide outcry over poor barracks conditions

By Matthew Cox - Army Times

The Army has cut $248 million from other programs to make immediate fixes to barracks at eight installations across the country.

The move follows an Armywide barracks inspection ordered after the father of an 82nd Airborne Division soldier posted a video on YouTube that showed peeling paint, mold and a bathroom drain plugged with what appeared to be sewage in the barracks that paratroopers from the Fort Bragg, N.C., unit were housed in after returning from a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan.  read more »

I want to know why Gathering of Eagles thinks they have the right to behave in whatever way they see fit and talk to people teh way that they do. The ignorance of these people is amazing. It makes me want to cry more then laugh. I just don't know what to make of it all. So what I want to know is what ya'll think is appropriate in terms of dealing with opposition groups like GOE and Eagles Up etc. My personal policy is ignore the idiots and if they attack me to use appropiate force in defending myself. But I'd like some other opinions...

An
army of one

Do
you hear the dead complaining?

Killing
is easy--

it
don't mean shit.  read more »

By THOM SHANKER, New York Times

WASHINGTON — 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.  read more »

Vittorio Hernandez - AHN News Writer

Washington, DC (AHN) - The large number of troops needed to fight America's war in Iraq and Afghanistan is leading to a requirement ease in the recruitment of Army soldiers. Proof of this is the rise in number of active and reserve soldiers with past criminal or misdemeanor charges, who were still accepted on the strength of conduct waivers.

In 2004, 4.6 percent of the Army recruits had a criminal or misdemeanor past. By 2007, recruits who had to secure waivers went up to 11 percent. while latest figures show the rate had gone up further to 13 percent.  read more »

Military groups disagree - Off-base troops entitled to standard equal to those on base, they say
By Rick Maze - Army Times

A decade-old policy for setting military housing allowance rates — which assumes virtually all enlisted personnel and junior officers will live in apartments and townhomes rather than single-family homes — is under fire from major military associations that are urging Congress to order a change.

The Defense Department policy used to set basic allowance for housing rates assumes that the only enlisted members requiring a single-family home are E-9s with dependents.  read more »

One of the first field problems that I ever took part in was a Battalion Field Training Exercise. My part in the event was rather insignificant. My unit was transitioning from being a Light Infantry Unit to one that utilized armored vehicles. My first duty position was as the headquarters LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) driver. Our unit had not received any vehicles yet, so I did not have much to do. In fact, since I didn't have a job, I had no reason to go into the field.  read more »

A soldier never rushes through the rain
Or speaks of pain
Especially his own
Every emotion is out on loan
And must be paid back
To Iraq
Or Afghanistan or Cuba
Whichever they left behind
And it haunts them everyday
As they beg for dimes
Begging and swaggering on the street
Scraping up together change to eat
And to drink
So they no longer have to think
Because there VA check still hasnt come in
Again
And they think that there forgotten
And they might be right
After all they can no longer fight
And they sleep in that dark alley
Watching for cops
And trying to make the nightmares stop
Every day they live with this pain
Yet still walk calmly through the rain

Soldier, You Are Not Alone!

Join Iraq Vets Against the War for a free concert for servicemembers on February 21st from 7pm to 11pm. Admission is free with a military ID. All others are $8 at the door. This is an all ages show at Tacoma's Hell's Kitchen, 3829 6th Ave in Tacoma.

Click here to download a flyer. The concert lineup includes:  read more »