Has Two Decades Of War Eroded The Morale Of America’s Troops?

Phil Klay, Defense One/The Atlantic: Two Decades of War Have Eroded the Morale of America’s Troops

After nearly 17 years of war, service members have seen plenty of patriotic displays but little public debate about why they’re fighting.

South of Fallujah’s Route Fran were hundreds of insurgents who’d spent months digging trench lines, emplacing roadside bombs, barricading streets, training with their weapons, reading the Koran, and watching videos of suicide bombers to inspire them for the fight to come. North of Route Fran were the roughly 1,000 men of 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, preparing themselves for the assault. Route Fran itself was a wide, four-lane highway. On November 9, 2004, the highway was wet—it’d rained the previous day—and the sky was gray and foreboding.

“You just know that this whole company crossing this road,” marine Justin Best later told a reporter, “someone’s gonna get hit.”

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WNU Editor: A long thought piece.

How Is The Morale Of America's Troops?

The Atlantic: Two Decades of War Have Eroded the Morale of America’s Troops

After nearly 17 years of war, service members have seen plenty of patriotic displays but little public debate about why they’re fighting.

South of Fallujah’s Route Fran were hundreds of insurgents who’d spent months digging trench lines, emplacing roadside bombs, barricading streets, training with their weapons, reading the Koran, and watching videos of suicide bombers to inspire them for the fight to come. North of Route Fran were the roughly 1,000 men of 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, preparing themselves for the assault. Route Fran itself was a wide, four-lane highway. On November 9, 2004, the highway was wet—it’d rained the previous day—and the sky was gray and foreboding.

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WNU Editor: There has been very little coverage on the morale of U.S. forces from the U.S. media in the past decade .... much to this blogger's compplaints. Now .... in the past year .... from veteran suicides to veteran homelessness, etc. .... there has been explosion of such stories in the media. So where was the media in the previous decade?

Shocking Morale Problems Aboard A U.S. Navy Cruiser

Navy Times: ‘I now hate my ship’: Surveys reveal disastrous morale on cruiser Shiloh

“It’s only a matter of time before something horrible happens,” one shipmate warned.

“Our sailors do not trust the CO,” another noted.

It’s a “floating prison,” one said.

“I just pray we never have to shoot down a missile from North Korea,” a distraught sailor lamented, “because then our ineffectiveness will really show.”

These comments come from three command climate surveys taken on the cruiser Shiloh during Capt. Adam M. Aycock’s recently-completed 26-month command. The Japan-based ship is a vital cog in U.S. ballistic missile defense and the 7th Fleet’s West Pacific mission to deter North Korea and counter ascendant Chinese and Russian navies.

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Update: Shiloh sailors voiced concerns about safety and readiness (Navy Times)

WNU Editor: This took me my surprise .... 'USS Bread and Water': Old and rare punishment loomed over a demoralized crew (Navy Times).

President Trump Works To Boost Morale In The Military

Washington Post: Trump delights in watching the U.S. military display its strength

Amid the often jarring inconsistency of President Trump’s foreign policy, one thing has always been crystal clear: He loves a big show of American military force.

“You gotta knock the hell out of them — Boom! Boom! Boom!” Trump said of Islamic State terrorists at a January 2016 rally in Iowa, punctuating each “boom” with a punch of his fist.

That same impulse has been apparent over the past 10 days as Trump pummeled a Syrian air base with cruise missiles, threatened military action against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program and praised the U.S. military’s first-ever use of a massive 11-ton bomb, nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” to kill Islamic State militants in Afghanistan.

“So incredible. It’s brilliant. It’s genius,” Trump said Tuesday of the missile strike in Syria. “Our technology, our equipment is better than anybody by a factor of five.”

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WNU Editor: The feedback that I am receiving from those who have served and/or are serving in the military is that President Trump knows how to boost morale in the arm forces. But on the bigger picture .... they agree with me when I say that dropping a bomb is not what I would call a long term strategy ... and a long term strategy is what is needed right now.

Why Deployed Soldiers Feel Like The `Walking Dead`

Matt Cavanaugh, War On The Rocks: THE PAINFUL PRIVILEGE: WHY DEPLOYED SOLDIERS FEEL LIKE “THE WALKING DEAD”

My birthday is today, and it hurts. I’m a deployed Army officer, living a half marathon distance from the Demilitarized Zone in Korea and 6,000 miles from home (which may as well read “1,000,000”). Service is a privilege; deployed service is a painful privilege that grinds at the soldier’s soul like cancer corrodes the body.

It’s the little things that wear you down, like the videophone calls that go wrong. We thought it would be nice to set up a “goodnight” for our 4-year-old daughter, and it was, right up until she asked, “Daddy, will you be home tomorrow?” It stunned me, and tears dripped down my face before I could form words. If I were a traveling salesman, my response might have been an excited “yes.” But I’m not; our family is still inside of the first month of a yearlong separation.

WNU Editor: At least we have the internet today .... making communications and contact a bit more realistic and regular than just sending a letter.

U.S. Military Morale At 'Rock Bottom' Again

Army soldiers and a civilian have a group discussion during the Army Master Resilience Training course held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2013. (Photo: Mark Abueg, U.S. Army)

USA Today: Army morale low despite 6-year, $287M optimism program

More than half of some 770,000 soldiers are pessimistic about their future in the military and nearly as many are unhappy in their jobs, despite a six-year, $287 million campaign to make troops more optimistic and resilient, findings obtained by USA TODAY show.

Twelve months of data through early 2015 show that 403,564 soldiers, or 52%, scored badly in the area of optimism, agreeing with statements such as "I rarely count on good things happening to me." Forty-eight percent have little satisfaction in or commitment to their jobs.

The results stem from resiliency assessments that soldiers are required to take every year. In 2014, for the first time, the Army pulled data from those assessments to help commanders gauge the psychological and physical health of their troops.

Update: US military morale is reportedly at 'rock bottom' again -- Business Insider

WNU Editor: What got my attention on low morale in the U.S. military was this report .... Air Force General: 'There Was a Huge Morale Problem' in Nuke Force (Military.com). The last people who you do not want to be unhappy are those who are responsible for our nuclear forces .... but it appears that low morale is now becoming the rule .... and for all the forces .... and throwing a few dollars here and there are not going to solve it..

U.S. Army Morale Is Still Low

USA Today: Army morale low despite 6-year, $287M optimism program

More than half of some 770,000 soldiers are pessimistic about their future in the military and nearly as many are unhappy in their jobs, despite a six-year, $287 million campaign to make troops more optimistic and resilient, findings obtained by USA TODAY show.

Twelve months of data through early 2015 show that 403,564 soldiers, or 52%, scored badly in the area of optimism, agreeing with statements such as "I rarely count on good things happening to me." Forty-eight percent have little satisfaction in or commitment to their jobs.

Update: US Army Morale Program Fail: Soldiers Don’t Feel Good About What They Do -- Sputnik

WNU Editor: Only half are unhappy with their jobs .... I expected a higher number.

A Growing Morale Crisis In The U.S. Military

A U.S. soldier takes a break during a mission to clear Route 1 of improvised explosives in Wardak province, Afghanistan, Aug. 13, 2013. The soldier, assigned to the 87th Sapper Company, conducted the clearing mission to maintain freedom of movement for military and commercial traffic. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chenee' Brooks

AMERICA'S MILITARY: A Force Adrift -- Hope Hodge Seck, Military Times

How the nation is failing today's troops and veterans.

After 13 years of war, troops feel burned out and without a sense of mission. More doubt their leaders and their job security.

For many of the war-weary troops who deployed to combat zones over and over again for 13 years, the end of an era of war in Iraq and Afghanistan is good news.

But for Marine Sgt. Zack Cantu and other service members, it's a total morale killer. For many of them, particularly the young grunts and others in combat arms specialties, it's the realization that they may never go into battle for their country and their comrades.

"Most people in [the Marine Corps] are in because of the wars," said the 25-year-old Cantu, a former infantryman at Camp Pendleton, California. Cantu has retrained as a telephone system and computer repairer, a specialty more likely to survive as the service downsizes.

"Now, everyone's coming to the realization, 'It's probably not going to happen for me,'" he said.

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My Comment: A brutal analysis on morale in the U.S. military. This is a must read.

Should This Marine Sergeant Major Have Lost His Job?

Marine Sergeant Major Loses Job After Altercation Depicted In Viral Video -- Washington Post

The debate over whether the United States should have exchanged five Taliban officials for the only U.S. soldier held in captivity by the insurgent group has devolved into this: A senior enlisted Marine just lost his job after an altercation between him and a Marine veteran was depicted in a viral video.

The scene was captured in a brief clip that has received tens of thousands of views in the last few days. It depicts Sgt. Maj. Paul Archie, a 26-year Marine who earned the Bronze Star with V for heroism in Iraq, and Marine veteran Ethan Arguello screaming at each other outside Parris Island, S.C., home of one of the Marine Corps’ two recruit training facilities. The base is one of the military’s most famous installations, in part because it is the setting of “Full Metal Jacket,” Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film.

Here’s the video in question:

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My Comment: 20 seconds of anger .... caught on video .... and then your career is over. I have kept this story on the side for the past week, but the more that I think about it, the more I wonder if this trend of always being perfect and proper in a world where social media can make a brief confrontation into a NATIONAL BIG THING is the world that we all want to live in. I do not know who these men are .... but before this confrontation they both had an exemplary record of serving in the military .... and now the career for one of them is ruined. I cannot explain it .... but this story rubs me the wrong way.

Will U.S. Military Scandals Erode The Public's Confidence In The Armed Forces?

Will Military Scandals Erode Public Confidence In The Armed Forces? -- PBS Newshour

Three of the military’s five branches are ramping up investigations into some of the most serious scandals for the armed forces in a generation. The latest involves charges that Navy trainers cheated on certification exams to teach at a nuclear reactor school. Gwen Ifill talks to Craig Whitlock who covers the Defense Department for The Washington Post.

TRANSCRIPT

GWEN IFILL: The military has increasingly been racked by scandal, as three of its five branches face allegations of cheating and fraud.

Just as the U.S. military is winding down 12 years of high-tempo operations, three of its services are ramping up investigations into some of the most serious scandals in a generation. The latest involves charges that Navy trainers cheated on certification exams to teach at a nuclear reactor school in Charleston, South Carolina.

ADM. JONATHAN GREENERT, Chief of Naval Operations: To say that I’m disappointed would be an understatement.

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My Comment: As to what is my take .... the answer is no .... the U.S. military scandals will not erode public confidence in the armed forces. Everyone knows that there are always a few bad apples in any barrel, and the U.S. military is not exempted with this rule.

Pentagon Considering To Cut 'Danger Pay'

Pentagon Eyes Cuts In Danger Pay -- FOX News

The Pentagon is considering a plan to eliminate danger pay for service members in as many as 18 countries and five waterways around the world, saving about $120 million each year while taking a cut of troops' salaries, Fox News confirms.

Senior defense officials are meeting this week to discuss the list of countries and are poised to approve a new plan. Pentagon press secretary George Little declined to discuss details but said no final decisions have been made.

Senior military leaders came up with the proposed list of locations in their regions that no longer were perilous enough to warrant danger pay, including several countries in the heart of the tumultuous Middle East, such as Jordan, where hundreds of troops have recently deployed because of the bloody Syrian civil war on its border.

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More News On The Pentagon Considering To Cut 'Danger Pay'

Improving conditions spur Pentagon move to trim danger pay list by 18 countries -- Washington Post/AP
Pentagon: 56,000 troops could lose danger pay -- Washington Times
DOD eyes trimming danger-pay regions; for some it’s a ‘slap in the face’ -- Stars and Stripes
Report: Pentagon eyes cuts in danger pay -- Marine Times

Top U.S. General Concerned On The 'Behavior' Of Some Four Star Generals

A South Korean soldier briefs U.S. Army Gen Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on points of interest at the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea, Nov. 11, 2012. DOD photo by D. Myles Cullen

Dempsey: Concerned, Not Distracted, By Misconduct -- DoD Buzz

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey wrote a letter Nov. 15 to every U.S. four-star officer to express his concern with the recent string of misconduct highlighted by the investigations into ex-CIA director Gen. David Petraeus and Gen. John Allen, the head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a memorandum to Dempsey saying ‘the fundamental mission of the Department of Defense is to protect the nation. Any behavior that negatively impacts our ability to perform that mission is unacceptable.”

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My Comment: He should be concerned .... the top brass is beginning to look foolish and not deserving with all of the scandals and misconduct that is being reported.

Low Morale For U.S. Army Officers In Afghanistan

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Nelson participates in a training exercise on Forward Operating Base Farah in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 2, 2012. Nelson is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Benjamin Addison

Less Than Half Of U.S. Army Officers in Afghanistan Report High Morale -- CNS News

A 2011 army leadership survey found that only 48 percent of U.S. Army officers stationed in Afghanistan reported “high or very high” morale.

In contrast, 25 percent of officer respondents in Afghanistan said morale was “low or very low.”

“Fifty-nine percent of leaders at [U.S.] locations report high morale, which is higher than those in Afghanistan (48%) and Iraq (43%)," the survey said. "About one-fourth of deployed leaders report low or very low morale (25%) in Afghanistan and (24%) in Iraq, compared to 15% CONUS (continental United States),” the report said.

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My Comment: That 48% number is (in my opinion) very high. The input that I am receiving is that morale is in the toilet.

Supporting Our Troops

Saluting our troops: Courtney Stodden celebrates July 4th with yet another bizarre photoshoot

Supporting Our Troops... the Courtney Stodden Way! Fame-Hungry Blonde Poses For Racy Independence Day Photoshoot -- Daily Mail

Courtney Stodden has her own way of celebrating America's independence.

The fame-hungry teenager is pledging allegiance to bikinis and bad hair on this Fourth of July.

The 17-year-old blonde has posed up for her latest provocative photoshoot - albeit one that's unusually patriotic.

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My Comment: She doesn't look 17.

The Secret Handshake With A “Challenge Coin”

The Secret Handshake -- Reuters

To watch a “challenge coin” being passed from one person to another is to witness the equivalent of “the secret handshake.” Starting and ending as quickly as a bullet, the ritual is performed out in plain sight and almost always in the presence of others.

Most “civilians” remain clueless as to what they witnessed even though it happened right in front of them – seeing nothing more than a stone-faced soldier or Marine at attention quietly facing a commanding officer, politician, or at best a nation’s President, before reaching out firmly to shake hands.

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My Comment: I never knew about this .... what a remarkable and moving story.

A 92 Veteran Breaks The Law To Lift The Morale Of Soldiers Overseas

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

At 92, A Bandit To Hollywood But A Hero To Soldiers -- New York Times

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. — One of the world’s most prolific bootleggers of Hollywood DVDs loves his morning farina. He has spent eight years churning out hundreds of thousands of copies of “The Hangover,” “Gran Torino” and other first-run movies from his small Long Island apartment to ship overseas.

“Big Hy” — his handle among many loyal customers — would almost certainly be cast as Hollywood Enemy No. 1 but for a few details. He is actually Hyman Strachman, a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife. And he has sent every one of his copied DVDs, almost 4,000 boxes of them to date, free to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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My Comment: I suspect that the reason why he has not been shut down is that no one has the guts to serve him the papers and put him through the court system.

And in this case .... that's actually a good thing.

A Canadian Analysis On America's 'Exhausted' Military

Afghan commandos sprint to board a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a mission in the Chawkai district in Afghanistan's Kunar province, Feb. 25, 2012. The commando-led mission was to conduct reconnaissance for a future village stability platform where Afghan forces and coalition special operations forces can live and work with villagers. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Clayton Weis

That Ticking Time Bomb Is America's Exhausted Army -- Brian Stewart

Domestic violence, sexual assaults, gang memberships, the U.S. military is reeling from two too-long wars.

Bad things happen when a nation tries to fight too many wars with too few troops. The blunt fact about the U.S. army and Marines — whose difficulties have become the stuff of headlines — is that they are exhausted and at their wits' end.

Armies wear out rapidly under the unique stress of combat, and for a decade now U.S. ground troops have been rotated through three, four and five combat tours lasting up to a year in each case (15 months at the height of Iraq fighting).

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My Comment: As foreign correspondents go, Brian Stewart has one of the best records in the world .... doing the foreign beat and covering conflicts since the early 1980s. His observations and analysis on the U.S. military is troubling, especially summarizing the states of what we now know that many of our returning vets are going through.

The Pork Eating Crusader Patch Is A Huge Hit With The Troops

The Pork Eating Crusader Patch.LAPoliceGearThe Pork Eating Crusader Patch Is A Huge Hit

The Pork Eating Crusader Patch Is A Huge Hit With Troops In Afghanistan -- Business Insider

With tensions at an all time high in Afghanistan following the Koran burnings, the urination video, and the killing of 16 civilians, attention is now falling on a long line of "Infidel" apparel and gear.

Exhausted from how they feel they're being perceived, troops have taken to wearing patches and carrying items that label themselves infidels, and offer translation in local dialect.

In the Muslim world an infidel means literally "one without faith" who rejects the central teachings of Islam.

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My Comment: Any bets that someone in the Pentagon (via through the White House) will be putting a stop to this.

U.S. General: Military Has A Disciplne Problem

Photo: Lt. Gen. Hertling

Army Commander Brands Lack Of Discipline With U.S. Troops As Potentially 'Cancerous' Problem -- Daily Mail

The leader of U.S. Army in Europe warned that soldier discipline has deteriorated to the point where it risks becoming 'cancerous'.

Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told a group of reporters over breakfast that only a small percentage of soldiers lack proper discipline, but he stressed his concern that it be fixed, now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and more troops are returning to their home bases.

'In some cases there are discipline problems that we have not paid as much attention to as we should,' he said, adding, 'If you allow that to go unnoticed it becomes cancerous.'

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More News On Concerns About Discipline Problems In The U.S. Military

Army General: Discipline Problem Risks Becoming 'Cancerous' -- FOX News/AP
General Calls Poor Post-War Discipline 'Cancerous' -- Military.com
Army: Lack of discipline could grow ‘cancerous’ -- Politico
USAREUR commander laments growing discipline problems -- Stars and Stripes
As wars wind down, Army general worries about troop discipline -- Government Executive

No U.S. Congressional Support For 'Pay Troops First' Bill

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta speaks to U.S. Marines assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion-7 at Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 10, 2011 DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey

Little Support For 'Pay Troops First' Bill -- Military.com

Two weeks after a Texas congressman tried force a House vote on his bill mandating that service members be paid first in the event of a government shutdown, only nine representatives have signed on.

The so-called discharge petition requires 218 signatures.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, filed the bill in March only to see it stuck in committee. During a press conference on July 14 he announced he would use a House rule that allowed members to petition to get a bill onto the floor. At that time he expressed confidence that he’d have the backing, claiming he had 190 co-sponsors.

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My Comment: I am sure that our soldiers .... especially those who are based in some obscure FOB in Afghanistan .... appreciate where they stand in Congress' food chain.