Another Example Of Disdain For Our Troops, Our Vets & Our Honor

Tell the Troops

The military and the DOD, especially the Pentagon, have a long standing tradition of treating people like objects, logistical problems to be handled and as if they were stupid. Additionally, they treat our troops with disdain by not informing them of what decisions are being made at the top of the chain of command. Keeping our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in the dark about the extension of tours of duty in combat areas doesn't help morale, especially when the word is already out at home.

So when the parents, spouses, siblings, extended family members and friends are the ones to tell the troops "over there" that President Bush is planning to play games with there rotation back to the "world," it demonstrates how false his words are when he mockingly pays homage to their courage, dedication and sacrifice.

The hypocrisy of the Bush administration is eloquently stated and prominently displayed when we examine the manner in which our troops, veterans and their families are mistreated, ignored, denied benefits and disrespected. Our troops deserve our respect and our commitment to their well-being, as well as our commitment to fulfilling the promises made to them for treatment of wounds, rehabilitation, medical care from the VA, and assurances that we will not allow them to be deserted by their own government.

Ask any veteran if he/she thinks the promises made to them when they enlisted have been fulfilled. I think the best anyone might get is a "sometimes." However, being a member of a large veterans' organization and having contact with several others, I think the overall response will be a resounding "NO WAY IN HELL!"

So we need to pressure our own government to be honest with our troops... tell them when they can expect to come home. Tell them when their tour of duty is going to be extended. Tell them that they will receive the best of care if they are wounded while serving. Tell them that they can have complete confidence that their medical needs will be provided by a fully-funded, adequately staffed and totally competent VA system.

It is bad enough for troops in Iraq to learn that their tours of duty have been extended. It is terrible for them to have to hear about it from loved ones at home rather than from their military commanders.

This is what happened to about 150 New Jersey National Guard troops who had been scheduled to return home in March after having served in Iraq for a year. Their tours of duty were extended for up to 125 days as a result of President Bush’s decision to send more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq.

A day after Mr. Bush announced the troop increase in a televised speech, the National Guard in New Jersey told family members that their relatives would have to stay on. The news quickly made it back to the troops in Iraq through anguished phone calls and e-mail.

Not until Sunday — four days after Mr. Bush’s speech — were the troops notified by their Army commanders, after Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey made two phone calls to Army officials.

Mr. Corzine, who had learned of the lapse from outraged family members, said that Pentagon officials expressed regret and blamed the delay on a “breakdown in the chain of command on the ground in Iraq.” The governor rightly called what happened “unacceptable.”

But given all that has gone wrong with the misguided American adventure in Iraq, the foul-up is hardly surprising. It’s one more sensitive issue that has been insensitively and unfairly mishandled.