More pissed-off letters in Stars and Stripes

Guard, Reserves extended too

In recent weeks there has been no shortage of articles regarding the extension of 1st Armored Division soldiers in Iraq, and rightly so. Their families have every right to be disappointed over the lack of foresight that has their soldiers stuck in Iraq.

Stars and Stripes has documented the lengths to which the Army is going to ease the burden on these active-duty families and answer their questions. The article “DOD funding programs to ease 1st AD burden” (May 16) noted that a “$36.2 million cash influx” has been specified to aid them. Good for them. They deserve every penny.

But in all the coverage of this infamous extension, I’ve yet to see any coverage of the many National Guard and Reserve units which have had their tours extended and will end up being deployed longer than the 1st AD.

The 94th Military Police Company from Londonderry, N.J., has been in theater for nearly 13 months and deployed for almost 18 months. There are other MP companies that have been deployed for nearly as long and are still serving here.

As it stands right now, we will have to finish at least three more months before we get home, but no one will tell us for certain.

We did 11 months in Iraq. Now we operate north out of Kuwait.

At home, my wife is dealing with gas prices of almost $2 a gallon, loneliness and the fact that the Army is treating her husband, his fellow reservists, and his unit like a throwaway asset. She has no reason to believe the Army will do anything differently.

We’re under our fourth command since deployment, and we have watched the first three, all active units, pack up and head home. I’d really like to know exactly when the Army is planning on letting us go.

But I suppose it’s too busy looking after active-duty units right now, so my wife will have to wait with the rest of the Guard and Reserve wives.

There are other units besides the 1st AD stuck here that have been barely noticed and deployed for an absurdly long time.

Sgt. Matt Fixler
Camp Buehring, Kuwait

From asset to liability

I’m writing in regard to injured soldiers. I’m currently in the 1st Armored Division at Baghdad International Airport. I injured my knee in July. It took our medics quite a while to try to get things done. I felt like I had to prove my knee was injured.

I’ve had physical therapy and a steroid shot with no effects. If anything, it hurts more.

I’ve had X-rays, but for this kind of injury I need a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or a scope.

I settled into the pain with the mind-set that in May I’d be back in Germany and would be able to go to Landstuhl and get my knee looked at. Then I’d have an answer to what was wrong.

But then I was extended. I was disappointed. Who wouldn’t be? And I had knee pain and the knowledge that I’d now have to stay in Iraq longer than I was supposed to with a bad knee. I live in constant pain. It goes away for a hour or so and then comes back. This has been nonstop since July.

My knee is getting worse and worse. It’s buckled on me four times. Last week I was pulling maintenance on my Humvee. I was taking a tire off when I slipped. I bore all the weight on my bad knee. I felt terrible pain from my thigh to my foot. Ever since then, it hurts badly. When I get off my shift, it’s swollen.

Since then, I’ve been put into the tactical operations center and have been taken off my vehicle. It’s a nice thing to do, but a little late.

I’ve gone from being an asset to being a liability. What happens if my camp comes under mortar fire and I have to run to seek shelter? Say I make it without falling but my buddy gets hit. I have to run out to get him, but what can I do? If I pick him up and run for shelter, my knee is going to give out for sure. Now there are two soldiers out there instead of one providing medical care to the other.

I joined the Army of my own free will. But had I known how the Army would turn its back on me when I got hurt, I might have made a different choice.

Some of my greatest memories are from the military, but since Operation Iraqi Freedom they are some of my worst.

The worst part of this whole situation is that I’m not the only injured soldier out here. There are more like me.

We’re all in the same boat in an Army in which numbers are the most important thing. I’d think they’d care about the soldiers more than the mission. Without the soldiers, you have no mission.

Pvt. 2 Dugger Dean
Baghdad

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=22274

the 3rd ID were the first to get hit with extensions around May 03. I think they were extended twice before any of them started heading home. Everything this soldier is saying is true, but it's nothing new. Bush's little war was botched up from the get go.