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Of course the lieberal demoncrat media leaves out the most important part
which is that morale is low because of the lack of support for the war at
home. Soldiers come home after fighting for our, and Iraqis, freedom to be
spit on by demoncrats that supported the war at the beginning. 75% supported
the war when it began now only 40% do because of typical Kerry like
flip-flopping. The 35% that have jumped ship are destroying the spirit of
the brave American gladiators.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_
us_military_health
U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Report Low Morale By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A majority of U.S. soldiers in Iraq say morale is low,
according to an Army report that finds psychological stress is weighing
particularly heavily on National Guard and Reserve troops.
Still, soldiers' mental health has improved from the early months of the
insurgency, and suicides have declined sharply, the report said. Also,
substantially fewer soldiers had to be evacuated from Iraq for mental health
problems last year.
The Army sent a team of mental health specialists to Iraq and Kuwait late
last summer to assess conditions and measure progress in implementing
programs designed to fix mental health problems discovered during a similar
survey of troops a year earlier. Its report, dated Jan. 30, 2005, was
released Wednesday.
The initial inquiry was triggered in part by an unusual surge in suicides
among soldiers in Iraq in July 2003. Wednesday's report said the number of
suicides in Iraq and Kuwait declined from 24 in 2003 to nine last year.
A suicide prevention program was begun for soldiers in Iraq at the
recommendation of the 2003 assessment team.
The overall assessment said 13 percent of soldiers in the most recent study
screened positive for a mental health problem, compared with 18 percent a
year earlier. Symptoms of acute or post-traumatic stress remained the top
mental health problem, affecting at least 10 percent of all soldiers checked
in the latest survey.
In the anonymous survey, 17 percent of soldiers said they had experienced
moderate or severe stress or problems with alcohol, emotions or their
families. That compares with 23 percent a year earlier.
The report said reasons for the improvement in mental health are not clear.
Among possible explanations: less frequent and less intense combat, more
comforts like air conditioning, wider access to mental health services and
improved training in handling the stresses associated with deployments and
combat.
National Guard and Reserve soldiers who serve in transportation and support
units suffered more than others from depression, anxiety and other
indications of acute psychological stress, the report said. These soldiers
have often been targets of the insurgents' lethal ambushes and roadside
bombs, although the report said they had significantly fewer actual combat
experiences than soldiers assigned to combat units.
The report recommended that the Army reconsider whether National Guard and
Reserve support troops are getting adequate training in combat skills. Even
though they do less fighting than combat troops, they might be better suited
to cope with wartime stress if they had more confidence in their combat
skills, it said.
Only 55 percent of National Guard support soldiers said they have "real
confidence" in their unit's ability to perform its mission, compared with 63
percent of active-duty Army support soldiers. And only 28 percent of the
Guard troops rated their level of training as high, compared with 50 percent
of their active-duty counterparts.
Small focus groups were held to ascertain troop morale.
The report said 54 percent of soldiers rated their units' morale as low or
very low. The comparable figure in a year-earlier Army survey was 72
percent. Although respondents said "combat stressors" like mortar attacks
were higher in the most recent survey, "noncombat stressors" like uncertain
tour lengths were much lower, the report said.
The thing that bothered soldiers the most, the latest assessment said, was
the length of their required stay in Iraq. At the start of the war, most
were deployed for six months, but now they go for 12 months.
Asked about this, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a Pentagon
news conference that the Army's 12-month requirement is linked in part to
its effort to complete a fundamental reorganization of fighting units.
"I've tried to get the Army to look at the length of tours and I think at
some point down the road they will," he said.
Of course the lieberal demoncrat media leaves out the most important part
which is that morale is low because of the lack of support for the war at
home. Soldiers come home after fighting for our, and Iraqis, freedom to be
spit on by demoncrats that supported the war at the beginning. 75% supported
the war when it began now only 40% do because of typical Kerry like
flip-flopping. The 35% that have jumped ship are destroying the spirit of
the brave American gladiators.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_
us_military_health
U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Report Low Morale By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A majority of U.S. soldiers in Iraq say morale is low,
according to an Army report that finds psychological stress is weighing
particularly heavily on National Guard and Reserve troops.
Still, soldiers' mental health has improved from the early months of the
insurgency, and suicides have declined sharply, the report said. Also,
substantially fewer soldiers had to be evacuated from Iraq for mental health
problems last year.
The Army sent a team of mental health specialists to Iraq and Kuwait late
last summer to assess conditions and measure progress in implementing
programs designed to fix mental health problems discovered during a similar
survey of troops a year earlier. Its report, dated Jan. 30, 2005, was
released Wednesday.
The initial inquiry was triggered in part by an unusual surge in suicides
among soldiers in Iraq in July 2003. Wednesday's report said the number of
suicides in Iraq and Kuwait declined from 24 in 2003 to nine last year.
A suicide prevention program was begun for soldiers in Iraq at the
recommendation of the 2003 assessment team.
The overall assessment said 13 percent of soldiers in the most recent study
screened positive for a mental health problem, compared with 18 percent a
year earlier. Symptoms of acute or post-traumatic stress remained the top
mental health problem, affecting at least 10 percent of all soldiers checked
in the latest survey.
In the anonymous survey, 17 percent of soldiers said they had experienced
moderate or severe stress or problems with alcohol, emotions or their
families. That compares with 23 percent a year earlier.
The report said reasons for the improvement in mental health are not clear.
Among possible explanations: less frequent and less intense combat, more
comforts like air conditioning, wider access to mental health services and
improved training in handling the stresses associated with deployments and
combat.
National Guard and Reserve soldiers who serve in transportation and support
units suffered more than others from depression, anxiety and other
indications of acute psychological stress, the report said. These soldiers
have often been targets of the insurgents' lethal ambushes and roadside
bombs, although the report said they had significantly fewer actual combat
experiences than soldiers assigned to combat units.
The report recommended that the Army reconsider whether National Guard and
Reserve support troops are getting adequate training in combat skills. Even
though they do less fighting than combat troops, they might be better suited
to cope with wartime stress if they had more confidence in their combat
skills, it said.
Only 55 percent of National Guard support soldiers said they have "real
confidence" in their unit's ability to perform its mission, compared with 63
percent of active-duty Army support soldiers. And only 28 percent of the
Guard troops rated their level of training as high, compared with 50 percent
of their active-duty counterparts.
Small focus groups were held to ascertain troop morale.
The report said 54 percent of soldiers rated their units' morale as low or
very low. The comparable figure in a year-earlier Army survey was 72
percent. Although respondents said "combat stressors" like mortar attacks
were higher in the most recent survey, "noncombat stressors" like uncertain
tour lengths were much lower, the report said.
The thing that bothered soldiers the most, the latest assessment said, was
the length of their required stay in Iraq. At the start of the war, most
were deployed for six months, but now they go for 12 months.
Asked about this, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a Pentagon
news conference that the Army's 12-month requirement is linked in part to
its effort to complete a fundamental reorganization of fighting units.
"I've tried to get the Army to look at the length of tours and I think at
some point down the road they will," he said.
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