Murtha: Army 'Broken, Worn Out'

[Stephanie]

provi The Associated Press
Last Modified: 12/1/2005 12:55:37 PM


LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha told a civic group.

Two weeks ago, Murtha created a storm of comment when he called for U.S. troops to leave Iraq now. The Democratic congressman spoke to a group of community and business leaders in Latrobe on Wednesday, the same day President Bush said troops would be withdrawn when they've achieved victory, not under an artificial deadline set by politicians.

Murtha predicted most troops will be out of Iraq within a year.

"I predict he'll make it look like we're staying the course," Murtha said, referring to Bush. "Staying the course is not a policy."

Murtha, 73, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, expressed pessimism about Iraq's stability and said the Iraqis know who the insurgents are, but don't always share that information with U.S. troops. He said a civil war is likely because of ongoing factionalism among Sunni Arabs, and Kurds and Shiites.

He also said he was wrong to vote to support the war.

"I admit I made a mistake when I voted for war," Murtha said. "I'm looking at the future of the United States military."

Murtha, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, said the Pennsylvania National Guard is "stretched so thin" that it won't be able to send fully equipped units to Iraq next year. Murtha predicted it will cost $50 billion to upgrade military equipment nationwide, but says the federal government is already reducing future purchases to save money.

Murtha, who represents a western Pennsylvania district that includes Latrobe, was first elected to Congress in 1974.

Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap, said "there are some deployment concerns."

Cleaver said some guard units had to leave equipment in Iraq when they returned to the United States, which could cause training problems here.

But Cleaver also said most of the 2,100 Guard troops now deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team can't be sent back to Iraq for a second tour of duty anyway, because of regulations that limit redeployment.

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=72653

 

[Hobbit]

So, when's the lynching? I head Savage on tonight calling him a traitor and ranting for several minutes about how his Vietnam service card is just a bunch of bullcrap that apparently doesn't qualify him to make decisions.

 

[ThomasPaine]

are, unfortunately, susceptible. Namely, he has lost his faith in his country, his fellow citizens, and his fellow servicemen. It happens. I've seen it in my own family. Call it age, call it senility, call it a lack of belief in the next generation. Whatever it is refered to as, call it what it is, defeatism. I don't know why, short of the general,overall, ultimate, defeat in Vietnam, but alot of servicemen from that conflict have expressed defeatism since that time in many American foreign policy ventures. Whether it was the cold war, the gulf war, or the current war on terrorism I've listened to several Vets opinions that "all is lost", "victory is impossible", etcetera. I, as a post baby boomer know this, we will have victory, in all things we as an American people desire, if, and only if, we have the will as a people to achieve it. This naysayism is the ONLY thing in the way to stop us.

 

[Gunny]

provi The Associated Press
Last Modified: 12/1/2005 12:55:37 PM


LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha told a civic group.

Two weeks ago, Murtha created a storm of comment when he called for U.S. troops to leave Iraq now. The Democratic congressman spoke to a group of community and business leaders in Latrobe on Wednesday, the same day President Bush said troops would be withdrawn when they've achieved victory, not under an artificial deadline set by politicians.

Murtha predicted most troops will be out of Iraq within a year.

"I predict he'll make it look like we're staying the course," Murtha said, referring to Bush. "Staying the course is not a policy."

Murtha, 73, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, expressed pessimism about Iraq's stability and said the Iraqis know who the insurgents are, but don't always share that information with U.S. troops. He said a civil war is likely because of ongoing factionalism among Sunni Arabs, and Kurds and Shiites.

He also said he was wrong to vote to support the war.

"I admit I made a mistake when I voted for war," Murtha said. "I'm looking at the future of the United States military."

Murtha, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, said the Pennsylvania National Guard is "stretched so thin" that it won't be able to send fully equipped units to Iraq next year. Murtha predicted it will cost $50 billion to upgrade military equipment nationwide, but says the federal government is already reducing future purchases to save money.

Murtha, who represents a western Pennsylvania district that includes Latrobe, was first elected to Congress in 1974.

Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap, said "there are some deployment concerns."

Cleaver said some guard units had to leave equipment in Iraq when they returned to the United States, which could cause training problems here.

But Cleaver also said most of the 2,100 Guard troops now deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team can't be sent back to Iraq for a second tour of duty anyway, because of regulations that limit redeployment.

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=72653

:baby:

 

[dilloduck]

provi The Associated Press
Last Modified: 12/1/2005 12:55:37 PM


LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha told a civic group.

Two weeks ago, Murtha created a storm of comment when he called for U.S. troops to leave Iraq now. The Democratic congressman spoke to a group of community and business leaders in Latrobe on Wednesday, the same day President Bush said troops would be withdrawn when they've achieved victory, not under an artificial deadline set by politicians.

Murtha predicted most troops will be out of Iraq within a year.

"I predict he'll make it look like we're staying the course," Murtha said, referring to Bush. "Staying the course is not a policy."

Murtha, 73, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, expressed pessimism about Iraq's stability and said the Iraqis know who the insurgents are, but don't always share that information with U.S. troops. He said a civil war is likely because of ongoing factionalism among Sunni Arabs, and Kurds and Shiites.

He also said he was wrong to vote to support the war.

"I admit I made a mistake when I voted for war," Murtha said. "I'm looking at the future of the United States military."

Murtha, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, said the Pennsylvania National Guard is "stretched so thin" that it won't be able to send fully equipped units to Iraq next year. Murtha predicted it will cost $50 billion to upgrade military equipment nationwide, but says the federal government is already reducing future purchases to save money.

Murtha, who represents a western Pennsylvania district that includes Latrobe, was first elected to Congress in 1974.

Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver, spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap, said "there are some deployment concerns."

Cleaver said some guard units had to leave equipment in Iraq when they returned to the United States, which could cause training problems here.

But Cleaver also said most of the 2,100 Guard troops now deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team can't be sent back to Iraq for a second tour of duty anyway, because of regulations that limit redeployment.

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=72653

Cheap-ass political positioning----the dems are scared shitless the war thing is gonna work out and they have no idea what side of the fence to jump on nor when. Just look at Hillary do the 2-step.

 

[archangel]

are, unfortunately, susceptible. Namely, he has lost his faith in his country, his fellow citizens, and his fellow servicemen. It happens. I've seen it in my own family. Call it age, call it senility, call it a lack of belief in the next generation. Whatever it is refered to as, call it what it is, defeatism. I don't know why, short of the general,overall, ultimate, defeat in Vietnam, but alot of servicemen from that conflict have expressed defeatism since that time in many American foreign policy ventures. Whether it was the cold war, the gulf war, or the current war on terrorism I've listened to several Vets opinions that "all is lost", "victory is impossible", etcetera. I, as a post baby boomer know this, we will have victory, in all things we as an American people desire, if, and only if, we have the will as a people to achieve it. This naysayism is the ONLY thing in the way to stop us.

Not to dismiss Murthas take on the war as it relates to his service in Vietnam...every combat vet forms opinions based on personal experience...Being a VN era vet I and all of my friends and associates who served during this war(VN) blame the pull out on politicians...so they conceded to defeat not the soldiers...maybe Murtha was directing his anger on his colleagues in Congress he just did not express it correctly! :crutch:

 

[pegwinn]

The honorable Mr Murtha is to be commended for his years of service both in peace and in war. However, he doesn't seem to understand that current actions can cancel past accomplishments. Case in point, JFKerry. Case in point; Any Catholic priest convicted of child molesting. Basically he is screwing the pooch, and this dog may turn around and bite.

 

[Annie]

The honorable Mr Murtha is to be commended for his years of service both in peace and in war. However, he doesn't seem to understand that current actions can cancel past accomplishments. Case in point, JFKerry. Case in point; Any Catholic priest convicted of child molesting. Basically he is screwing the pooch, and this dog may turn around and bite.

And he has been doing such for a long time. Damn the MSM for calling him 'a strong supporter of the military.'

 

[Annie]

Today

Check this out:

http://miserabledonuts.blogspot.com/2005/12/army-broken.html

An Army Broken?
With all the eagerness of a dog returning to something it has vomited up, the conventional media has latched onto Rep. Murtha's rambling discourse about the Army being "broken" and "has done all they can."

Unmitigated crap. And I don't say this out of defensiveness or service pride - I'll tell you about how far we have had to come in a bit. First, though, a little material for you to mull over.

The US Army is quite open about how it works, what it sees for its future, what it has been told to do in the future by the civilian authorities we serve. You can see its budget, strength, recruiting, retention, doctrine and philosophy. And not just official sources. US Army Soldiers tell the world about things that go right and wrong. Also, what we do on our own. We are our own strongest critics and staunchest defenders.

What really infuriates me is that someone like Rep. Murtha knows better. Ask any veteran who served between 1975-1982/3 what the Army (or the rest of the Armed Forces for that matter) were like. Drugs everywhere, low pay, morale was non-existent, equipment was falling behind or scarce, there was no great sense of mission or purpose. Only the heroic measures of a few dedicated officers and NCOs saved us from absolutely bottoming out. We needed the Reagan Era build up (hell, even Jimmy Carter, not the brightest or strongest to even stumble across the White House threshold, realized things had gone down too far, too fast, by the last two years of his miserable term in office) but almost as important, we got our elan back - we were told we mattered, we were the shield of liberty against Soviet totalitarianism. I felt that deeply, and in March of 1985 I walked straight into a recruiter's office and signed up.

Oh my Lord - I had joined an Army National Guard that was about to get dragged into readiness, professionalism and competence, whether it willed or no. The first field exercise I went to featured Miller High Life to wash down the first generation MREs. By 1988, things were WAY different. I remember taking a 14 hour convoy from central Illinois up to Ft. McCoy, WI. We went straight to the field site, tactically, and didn't come out for 12 days. When we did come out, it was just in time to take a strictly graded Physical Fitness Test, clean up, pack and convoy home the next morning. The look on some of the old-timer's faces was something I will NEVER forget.

But the Gulf War (I) showed that we still had a ways to go. The National Guard Brigade called up to go fight in Desert Shield/Desert Storm never made it. We still had work to do. Bosnia, 1996-onward showed that we were awfully close. I was part of the Army Reserve serving in Operation Joint Guard/Joint Endeavor (my time was FEB 1997-NOV 1997). We didn't do too badly - even the Regular Army folks said as much. But we weren't finished yet.

The Guard and Reserve had been getting shoved through two of the worst places God made (to steal a line from Lawrence of Arabia) JRTC and NTC. I thank the Almighty I only had to go through JRTC, and not both. The same beat-you-to-your-knees-training that the Regulars had to do. It helped. You never get so good an insight into your strengths and weaknesses as when you have been worn down to exhaustion, attacked constantly and been living in a frickin' bayou the whole time...in July.

As anyone who has read this blog knows, The Inner Prop and I served in Operation Enduring Freedom V (Afghanistan, March 2004-March 2005). We stood at the end of the longest sustained supply line in the history of human conflict. We were in war-torn Central Asia. Af-frickin'-ghanistan. We had decent food, e-mail, phone (OK, sometimes they weren't always working, but almost all the time) excellent medical support, good pay, regular (if slow) mail. We had a PXs at most of the larger bases, and coffee places sprang up too. We had so damned much ammunition that we needed to build a bigger ammunition supply point at Bagram, AF. We had so many vehicles that we were constantly squabbling over where to put them all - and we had enough up-armored ones too. Our supply warehouses were stuffed with clothing, boots, body armor and the like. "Living hand to mouth" is the worst lie of the bunch.

The constant stream of re-enlistments was a revelation to me. When I was the Executive Officer of the garrison at Bagram Airfield (a job I gladly traded away after 5 months) I had to find room to more than double the size of the Retention Office. I personally administered the oath of re-enlistment to an E-5 and an E-7. The E-5 was a mother of two young children and the E-7 was eligible to retire when we got home!

Broken? Hardly. Is it difficult work? Yes.

Do not mistake hard work for foundering. Respectfully, Rep. Murtha - you are wrong. Dead wrong.

posted by Major John

And Major John:

Major John

* Gender: male
* Astrological Sign: Gemini
* Industry: Military
* Occupation: Major (when in uniform)
* Location: Suburbs of Chicago : Illinois : United States

About Me

A field grade officer with a penchant for misplacing his keys and getting hurt playing rugby.
You've written a hit musical! How will you avoid having fame go to your head?

By realizing that particular situation is impossible, and that I am obviously in some sort of fever-hallucination
Interests

* The blogosphere
* rugby
* history
* family
* coffee oh wonderous coffee

Favorite Movies

* Raising Arizona
* Full Metal Jacket
* 2001
* Lawrence of Arabia

Favorite Music

* Bach