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| Iraq |
| Combat fatigue? In some ways Iraq duty helps Army |
| 2004-01-21 |
| EFL from Christian Science Monitor Can it still be considered journalism if it provides a positive hopeful message? I thought hopeful writing was pandering and flagwaving by definition. WASHINGTON – Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, who commanded the Third Infantry Division as it spearheaded the assault on Baghdad, now has the daunting job of making sure his old unit and the Army as a whole are ready to roll again. With the US military under greater strain today than it has been for decades, turning around units back from the front is an urgent challenge. Tens of thousands of tanks and other vehicles are encrusted with desert sand and dust, and weary troops are eager for home. Yet the demands of fighting, while exacting a toll, also benefit armed-force preparedness in ways that are often overlooked, senior Army officers and military analysts say. War-zone deployments hone combat and leadership skills, improve unit cohesion and often boost retention rates, at least initially. At the same time, they test the military’s equipment and organization, acting as a catalyst for change. "The majority of the Army will have a combat patch for the first time since Vietnam," says General Blount, now in charge of Army readiness, at his Pentagon office. "We were already the best army in the world. Now we’re the most experienced." Over the next four months, he notes, eight of 10 active duty Army divisions - with 220,000 troops will be rotating in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade, for example, heads to Iraq this month with combat veterans from Afghanistan reportedly making up 75 percent of its 2,000 paratroopers and most of its key commanders. Real-world missions are nurturing leaders and building postwar peacekeeping skills that are difficult to train for, military officials and experts say. "It’s hard to get an unruly mob to train with," says one US official who specializes in ground forces. Moreover, although the deployments are placing unprecedented demands on the all-volunteer military, recruitment and retention are generally holding up, official statistics show. In the 2003 fiscal year, all four services met their recruiting and retention goals, with the exception of a retention shortfall in the Army reserves. Indeed, contrary to popular belief, deployments have historically had a positive effect on retention, at least initially. .... In part through such policies, today’s large-scale deployments are accelerating the Army’s reorganization in several ways: Unit manning. Bonuses and stop-loss policies designed to keep units together at war are moving the Army toward a new personnel system. In contrast to today’s practice of individual assignments, the new system aims to create units that will stay together for about three years. More expeditionary, modular brigades. Once back from the combat zone, units such as the 3rd Infantry Division will systematically reorganize to create more brigades with new, more standardized capabilities. For example, the Third will go from three brigades to four, each with a mix of armor and infantry as well as enhanced intelligence, military police, civil affairs, and air capabilities. Even as divisions reorganize, Blount says, the units will be able to meet any sudden contingency. Already this week, about 4,000 troops from the division’s 3rd brigade are at in California for a training exercise reportedly designed to simulate combat on the Korean peninsula. "We’re an expeditionary Army, and we’ll be deploying a lot," Blount says. Clark, Kerry and Gore know all this their war heros. Her’s some more positive news from an unlikely source - the IHT has: Bringing the Afghan experience to Iraq. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #1 That patch is your gold watch bro's. Thankee! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-1-21 11:48:01 PM |