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The Crushing Toll of Multiple Deployments
A Marine reserve battalion that suffered heavy losses in Iraq in 2005 is sending out members for training before expected assignment in Iraq.
The 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, Fourth Marine Division, based in the Cleveland suburb Brook Park, is providing reinforcements and joining another regiment at the Marine base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., for about three months of training.
In August 2005, 14 members of the 3/25 Marines died in attacks a day apart, including nine members of Columbus-based Lima company killed by a roadside bomb. The battalion lost 48 members in seven months.
Lt. Col. Minter Ralston at the battalion headquarters said Wednesday that 40 members of the battalion were sent Tuesday.
In April, Veterans for America’s Wounded Warrior Outreach Program released two reports, The Consequences of Churning and Weekend Warriors to Frontline Soldiers, that showed that not only are these repeated deployments taking their toll on returning servicemembers with increased incidents of combat stress, but many frontline units are repeatedly experiencing higher KIA (Killed in Action) than most servicemembers who have been deployed to Iraq and/or Afghanistan.
The repeated deployment of "three deuce five" is hardly unique. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, which has already been deployed three times since September 11, 2001, will be deployed again this fall, making it one of a handful of BCT's that will have seen four tours.
According to multiple Army-led Mental Health Advisory Team (MHAT) reports, multiple deployments are having a devastating effect on our troops. MHAT V, released earlier this year, found that the likelihood of non-commissioned officers (NCO's) suffering a severe psychological wound in combat rose by 125% between the first deployments and third/fourth deployments.
Placing this stress on frontline units that have shouldered an undue burden in both combat tours and fatalities is not a sustainable military policy – our troops deserve more time to heal and, if necessary, to prepare to return to combat.
Comments (4)
Our troops absolutely deserve more time to heal, and a whole lot else that George Bush is grossly, criminally negligent in not providing as Commander in Chief.
Congress deserves equal scorn for allowing this war, providing essentially no oversight, never insisting on funding for much needed materiel for troop safety, adequate medical and psychological care, and on and on...
This war is almost forgotten here while killing goes on.
It would take all night to type what I feel. Thanks for the post.
June 9, 2008 8:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Meanwhile there seems to be a lot of interest in Kucinich's antics, like he will make any difference. It is just obscene. Why don't they introduce a resolution cutting off war funding?
Because they would prefer to posture while arguing about a hopeless impeachment effort. It lets these windbags say lots of morally correct sounding things, with no chance they might actually have to vote to cut off funding, and stick their damn necks out for a change.
Anybody out there?
June 9, 2008 8:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
If this war is so G*dD*mned vital to the nations interest then institute a draft to "distribute the load" and responsibly deploy the troops.
From Wiki:
The Iraq War of 2003 to the present has been exceptional in that the baseline of active duty troops has not been increased to fight this war, although calls ups of almost all available Reserve and National Guard forces has been required. Regular active duty troop levels remain at peacetime, post-Cold War levels. The total number of Reserve and National Guard forces in the current force structure are about 85% of the active duty troop levels. But, about a quarter of Reserve and National Guard troops are at the least ready "Individual Ready Reserve" and "Inactive National Guard" status. Also, the pressure on the National Guard and Reserves has been heaviest on Army and Marine components, which are the main forces which are currently being used in the Iraq War, while Naval and Air components have been far less taxed. (The Navy, Marines and Coast Guard also all have a much smaller percentage of their total force in reserve components than the Army and the Air Force). The are about 350,000 solidiers in the Army National Guard and about 205,000 in the Army Reserves on the highest level of readiness.
June 9, 2008 8:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Note: at the height of WWII there were approx. 12.5 million men under arms in the US Forces. This War must not be an existential threat as we were lead to believe.
June 9, 2008 8:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
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