REALLY BAD PLACE TO BE:

BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW

U.S. forces take cover as the are fired upon while inspecting the site of car bomb, July 30, 2006, in Mosul.  (AP Photo/Mohammed Ibrahim)

The Crime Against The 172nd

#1: The News Report

#2: Those Who Love The Soldiers Organize To Fight Back

#1:

“The Soldiers Got Angry”

Extension Wreaks Havoc Upon Stryker Soldiers’ Lives;

“‘We Could List A Million Ways That People Are Getting Screwed,’ Forney Said”

August 03, 2006 By Sean D. Naylor, Army Times Staff writer [Excerpts]

BAGHDAD

The extension to the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team’s Iraq deployment has sown chaos in the personal lives of many soldiers in the brigade’s cavalry squadron and imposed tremendous logistical burdens on the unit, problems that could have been avoided, soldiers say, if only the Defense Department had given them a little more warning.

The 172nd deployed to Iraq in August 2005 and the bulk of the unit was due to return to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, early this month.

But the Pentagon announced July 27 that it was extending the 172nd’s deployment for up to 120 days and moving the unit to Baghdad to counter the worsening violence in the Iraqi capital.

Soldiers in 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment received word of the extension July 27 as they were preparing to depart Combat Outpost Rawah, in central Anbar province, where they had spent most of the previous 12 months.  The news hit many hard.

Many of those still in Iraq were within a day or two of leaving. Stryker crews had celebrated their last missions “outside the wire.” There was an end-of-semester atmosphere at COP Rawah, with soldiers playing practical jokes on each other as they prepared to head home.

Then came the news that rather than flying home into the arms of their loved ones, they would be heading into the heart of the violence in Baghdad, where more than 1,600 people died in July as sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi’ites spun out of control.

Some soldiers greeted the news with disbelief and tears, others with shrugs.

Capt. James Foster, 4-14’s chaplain, said he believes the soldiers will be physically and emotionally ready for their missions in Baghdad, but he acknowledged that some are still coming to grips with the reality that they’ll be in combat for up to another four months. 

“It’s kind of like a grieving process,” he said.  “A lot of shock and denial, then you kind of get angry.  The wives got angry back home.  The soldiers got angry.  Everybody’s going through these phases.  Some go through them faster than others.” 

[And some of them see through this lame, dismissive bullshit about “phases” and a “grieving process,” and know you have as much to do with genuine religion as a $3 crack whore has to do with true love.  Oh, sorry, you’re just doing your job, babbling about how the soldiers will be “emotionally” ready for their missions. 

[That’s your real job, you piece of shit, coming out with meaningless happy talk.  No, you’re a friend of Satan.  Your Satan’s’ boon companion.  If you had one spark of real religious feeling, you’d be defending the troops and giving out some loud and righteous wrath to the reporter about how your soldiers are getting fucked over.  But no, you won’t say anything like that, will you?  Because your nothing but one more brasskissing lump of worthless vomit.  May you burn in hell for all eternity, you shit-eating sanctimonious supercilious fraud.]

The extension might well doom the marriages of several soldiers in the squadron, according to Foster and other NCOs.  [Of course Devil Captain Chaplin wouldn’t mention that, would he?  Maybe that’s just a “phase” too.]

“Some (marriages) have already been strained to the max, so when you throw another straw on the camel’s back, it’s hard for the family members to accept,” Foster said. “Some were holding on to come home and maybe work things out, and may not take that opportunity now.”

Stoehr agreed. “I had a few guys (with troubled marriages) that sucked it up all the way to the end,” he said, but the last-minute extension appears to have been the breaking point for their wives.

The extension “is creating more problems with the families,” he said. “Sometimes the wives just don’t understand, and it’s hard.”

Almost every 4-14 soldier had made plans for the next several months that the extension has disrupted. 

In some cases, the extra months spent in Iraq will cost soldiers opportunities they will never be able to get back.

Sgt. Ryan Forney, who works in the 4-14 tactical operations center, was excited at the prospect of attending the birth of his first child.  “My wife’s due Oct. 29,” he said. “I was hoping to be able to go back and help her with the last couple of months of her pregnancy, seeing as I’d missed the first six months.”

When his wife heard about the extension, “she was pretty angry and upset,” said Forney, who like all the squadron’s soldiers was able to take two weeks rest and recuperation leave at home during the deployment.

“She’s trying to be supportive of me,” he said, but was finding it hard because the 4-14 has not been told either what its mission will be in Baghdad, or given a firm return date inside the 120-day extension window.

There are also numerous financial costs involved.

Many soldiers and their families had bought plane tickets in anticipation of the block leave the brigade had scheduled for September.

Because the 172nd is the first brigade to go through the Army’s three-year unit manning cycle, most of the unit’s soldiers were due to change duty stations or leave the Army upon their return. 

Now many are unsure of whether jobs they had lined up in either the Army or the civilian world will be waiting for them when they get home. In some cases, these soldiers had already put down-payments or security deposits on new homes in areas where they had planned to move.

Even soldiers whose next jobs the Army has promised to hold open until they return can get caught in this trap.

Hart is due to assume a new position in Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Va., and had put a $2,000 security deposit on an apartment near the command, with a view to moving in at the beginning of September.

Although Human Resources Command says the job will still be waiting for him when he redeploys, it makes no financial sense for him to pay rent for the next four months for an apartment he’s not living in.  But his would-be landlord has refused to refund his security deposit. Army legal officials in Alaska are working on his behalf to try to get the money back.

There are smaller complications that will end up costing soldiers money.

“We could list a million ways that people are getting screwed,” Forney said.

By the time the Pentagon ordered them to extend in Iraq, 4-14 soldiers had mailed most of their personal gear home, and given away comfort items like televisions and pillows to soldiers newly arrived in Iraq, retaining only the uniform items and toiletries they would need for their last week in Iraq.  Now they have to buy replacement items out of pocket.

Forney spent $250 on books for online courses he had registered to take via Troy State University in Alabama.  “I’m going to eat that,” he said.

Another frustration, he said, was the knowledge that the soldiers likely would not be returning to Wainwright until Alaska’s bitter winter has set in.

“Getting back in the middle of winter is going to be a pain for everybody.  There are unique challenges to an Alaskan unit going back in the middle of winter as opposed to the summertime,” Forney said, explaining that moving house and retrieving belongings from storage would be hard when the temperature is 20 degrees below zero. Forney said.

But the Pentagon’s late decision to extend the 172nd’s deployment has done more than extract an emotional and financial toll on individual soldiers.  It has also made the job of getting ready for whatever missions the brigade will be ordered to conduct in Baghdad much harder, said 4-14 officers.

Three days prior to the order to extend, the squadron had turned its theater permanent equipment; that gear that a unit receives upon arriving in theater; over to 1-14, the Stryker unit originally tapped to relieve 4-14 in Rawah.  That included trucks that carry the squadron’s heavy loads, engineering equipment used to construct defenses, and individual soldier items like all the M14 rifles for the unit’s squad designated marksmen.

“The line elements were left short of war-fighting equipment,” said Capt. Sean Skrmetta, executive officer for 4-14’s Headquarters and Headquarters Troop.

The process of getting new equipment has been complicated by the fact that the squadron had already closed out the codes it used to order gear through the logistics system, Skrmetta said. 

New codes are being issued to the unit, but the process can take up to 15 days, costing the squadron precious time.

“Where the squadron really got hurt was the supply side of the house,” Skrmetta said. “All that stuff we’d given out and we can’t get it back.”

He cited a long list of items that 4-14 had handed over to 1-14, including protective eyeglasses, Nomex gloves, chemical lights and stationery.

Even the gear the squadron retained had been stripped and prepared for transport back to Alaska. Troops had removed the sights from all 4-14’s M240B and .50 cal machine guns. Now the soldiers have to remount the sights and re-zero the weapons.

“That’s a painful process that generally takes a long time,” Skrmetta said.

Much of the frustration within the unit is due to the fact that even though the situation in Baghdad had been deteriorating over a period of several months, senior leaders waited until the last possible moment to change their orders.

The soldiers “didn’t like the fact of getting almost one foot onto the plane and being told, ‘You have to go back,’ ” Stoehr said. “Had we known at least a month out, it would have been much better.”

“Even if we could have known a week earlier, it would have made a huge difference to us,” said Capt. James Vogelpoehl, a 4-14 battle captain.

Some officers also expressed confusion about why, if it was so important to keep the brigade in country and send it to Baghdad, no one in the chain of command could tell them what the mission there would be.

#2:

BRING HOME THE 172^ND STRYKER COMBAT BRIGADE!

[http://www.bringhome172nd.org/stryker/]

[Thanks to D for sending in, and to Katherin GY for organizing the content.]

[Excerpts from: http://www.bringhome172nd.org/stryker/]

On July 26th, the men and women of the 172nd Stryker Combat Brigade prepared to end their unit's deployment to Iraq.  This unit of 3,800 Americans had endured the fight for a year, distinguishing itself as an essential and effective factor in bringing stability to the North of Iraq.  A small number of the brigade had taken the first steps back on U.S. soil, arriving to their base near Fairbanks, Alaska, while many others were already in Kuwait waiting to board homebound planes. 

With these successes behind them, their flak vests packed, personal items sent stateside, and their Stryker Armored Vehicles turned over to other newly-arrived units, this battle brigade was able to breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to Go Home.

The following day, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld gave his approval to extend the 172nd Brigade's deployment in Iraq.  Instead of greeting their loved ones, the Strykers will help to fight the insurgency in Baghdad.

Below are the voices of some of the people affected by this re-deployment...

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“They Do Not Deserve To Be Back In Iraq Thrown Further Into The Muck”

Submitted Sat 29 July , 10:05 PM CST

This site is a blessing and I hope it gets used well.  Your words are so true.  We try too hard to go with the flow, not make waves, and do what we are asked to do.  While it is true our loved ones involved in this situation signed up for the military and don't have much of a say on their own, that should not be true of the family members behind trying to support their efforts.

My son is part of the 172nd Stryker Brigade.  We are very proud of him for all that he has done.   And all of the members of this brigade deserve better than they are receiving. 

These individuals are people, not pawns on a gameboard and they are being treated poorly by the military (in my opinion). 

After all their efforts and accomplishments, loss and gains to date, they deserve a heros welcome and to be at home safe in their own beds.  They do not deserve to be back in Iraq thrown further into the muck. 

This treatment is very disrespectful to our soldiers and their families.......and I haven't heard any apologies or sympathy from the White House with respect to this extension.

While I know I must be strong for my son and try to put my best face forward, I am just so angry with the fact that this was allowed to happen.   I personally have contacted my sons Commander as well as Donald Rumsfeld and CNN regarding this issue. 

I feel that we are owed some answers as to how this can be allowed to happen. 

I also want to know how anyone can convince themselves that these soldiers can possibly on their best game after 365 days plus of this war already.  Lack of sleep, long shifts, and daily stress take a toll on one's body and mind. 

How can they be expected to continue to do this for 120 more days effectively?   Who in their right mind thought this is a smart move?  Especially in light of the fact that they were on their way home, packed and emotions released when all of a sudden they were thrown back in to war.

My son was to be on the plane the same day they were cancelled and told they were staying.  Our family has taken a huge loss due to this and I am sure this is minor compared to what our son is feeling.

He had pre-paid for a vacation to the tune of $2000. for his 30 day leave and was ready to go meet the love of his life.  That has all been put on hold now. 

God willing it will happen for him 5 months from now, but he should not be having to put his plans on hold.

Thank you for helping to keep the pressure going.  My family very much appreciates it and we will continue to be a thorn in the side of those who have extended this tour until our son is home safetly.

Please do not post our name on your site for the protection of our son.

Thank you again.

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Submitted Sat 29 July , 10:25 PM CST

Response to the 10:05 posting:

I totally agree with this woman and I feel for her in a way that means to comfort.  And I also feel the pain that her son has of waiting to meet the love of a lifetime.

My friend was on his way home to me, I know he is the one I want to give my whole heart to; my fear is that I may never get the opportunity now.  I second this woman’s opinion in everything she said.

I thank her for putting it the way she did…

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“My Fiancee Is Stronger Than I Am, He's Putting Up A Good Face, But I Know A Little Part Of Him Has Broken Too, Even If He'd Never Admit It...”

Submitted Sat 29 July , 11:25 PM CST

My fiancee is in the 172nd Stryker, he loves his job, he loves what he does...

He was only hours away from his flight home when they told him he wasn't coming anytime soon.  I got the call at 3am my time, through the awful connection he told me the news.  We have been waiting a year to get married, it was supposed to happen right after he came home, in August, we had everything planned, our families were going to be there from all over the country, I'd even had relatives in Maine and NY coming, they'd already bought tickets.

Now it's not happening.  I know we are going to get there eventually, but we were so close.  I know to expect changes with the Army, they extend our soldiers all the time.  But to do it so close to when they were supposed to be home, when some were already home!

I had gone to bed, that night I found out, so happy, knowing that he was coming home, and I woke up in a different place.

I know I sound over-dramatic, but it's just...words can't really explain the way I feel. A friend of mine said I need to have strength for my man, but I have been strong for a year now, and it's run out...

I don't have it as bad as others, we don't have any kids, I don't have to tell my children that daddy's not coming home when I promised.

And I had even heard of a woman whose husband and her were moving away when he got home, so she had sold the house recently and now that they are not coming back, she has no home.

My fiancee is stronger than I am, he's putting up a good face, but I know a little part of him has broken too, even if he'd never admit it...

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“Our Soldiers Have Done Their Time, Do Right By Them And BRING THEM HOME NOW!”

“They Feel Like They Have Been Royally Screwed, And So Do Their Families”

Submitted Sun 30 July , 12:20 AM CST

Our 172nd stryker brigade are being treated like garbage.

is this the thanks that our sons and daughters get after a long hard year of watching best of friends die and dragging their bodies off of the back of vehicles, is this what they get after watching friends being blown up by suicide bombers and ied's, and losing their limbs and other devastating injuries?

they are tired, they have fought hard, gone without meals, lived in the desert in the sweltering heat.  they are mentally and physically tired.  and then they wait until most of them have one foot on the plane out of that place, and come and tell them that they can't come home 

why, a dog shouldn't be treated this way.

why does our government want tired and worn out soldiers to go in and "clean up" baghdad?

that's just plain foolish.  it's dangerous now, to put them in the most unstable part of iraq after what they have been through.

wouldn't it make more sense to have a fresh stryker brigade in there?

i stay in contact with a lot of soldiers, as well as my own soldiers, and their morale is at rock bottom.

they feel like they have been royally screwed, and so do their families.

yes, we are mad!!! and have every right to be.  our soldiers and their families are greiving over this.

hearts are broken and minds are tormented.and then, the audacity of the pentagon to so call, leak this news to CNN first. how dirty is that?

when i called washington d.c. , i was told that these soldiers wanted to stay and help in baghdad, and i was wondering, hmmmm, now i wonder which soldiers they are talking about. because it certainly isn't the 172nd.

how much longer are the american people going to stand by and take all of this B.S. off of george bush and donald rumsfeld?

our soldiers have done their time, do right by them and BRING THEM HOME NOW!

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“What Happened To This Brigade Is Immoral”

“(Don’t Forget That’s Why We Have The ‘Right To Bear Arms.’  It’s In Case Our Government No Longer Represents Us.)”

Submitted Sun 30 July , 9:20 PM CST

My daughter's husband (they were married on his leave in Feb. and still waiting to live together for first time) is in the 172nd Stryker Brigade in question. 

I just flew her up there at the end of June with her to help her prepare their first home.  She and I spent lots of time and money getting their place ready, and I left her alone there to wait for her husband's return.  She's from Arizona, and now she faces the brutal winter alone, not knowing how to prepare it having planned on his being there to help. 

She will probably come back to Phoenix to stay with us, and that will cost her airfare, and she'll be paying rent and utilities while she's gone on a place she apparently doesn't yet need.  She'll have to spend money for airfare again when he finally comes home or at least to pack up her stuff. 

We were all waiting with such excitement in the last few days only to have our world shattered.

I have spent hours over the last few days trying to console my daughter who is unable to eat much, sleep much, and has severe abdominal cramping from the gutwrenching emotions she is feeling. 

I've had a lump in my throat that occasionally makes me feel nauseated. 

This is almost as bad as hearing that they died. 

It's not much less severe than that. 

We are grieving and just learned the men that replaced them will stay in Mosul, while these emotionally and physically exhausted young men were told "be ready to hit the streets of Baghdad" in a few days.