WP: Reserve Tours Are Extended (Army orders 1-yr. stay)

[kskiska]

Army Orders 1-Year Stay In Iraq, Nearby Nations

Tuesday, September 9, 2003; Page A01

With U.S. forces stretched thin in Iraq and the Bush administration still searching for additional international peacekeepers, the Army has ordered thousands of National Guard and Army Reserve forces in Iraq to extend their tours in the country to a year, months longer than many of the troops had anticipated, Army officials said yesterday.

While defense officials have had authority since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to activate Guard and reserve troops for two years, most to date have been called up for only a year of total service, which has included weeks or months for training in the United States before heading to Iraq as well as debriefings once they returned home.

The new order, requiring 12-month tours on the ground in Iraq or surrounding countries, means that many Guard and Army Reserve troops could have their original year-long mobilizations extended for anywhere from one to six months, Army officials said.

The order comes after months of concern inside and outside the Army that an over-reliance on Guard and Reserve forces by the Bush administration in the war on terrorism could adversely affect retention and recruiting. Some officials have expressed concern that this could break the Guard and Reserve system, which augments the active-duty force with critical engineering, military police, civil affairs and psychological operations specialists.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45553-2003Sep8.html

[alfredo]

1. Bush is destroying the military.

I think this disregard for our military has to be a class thing with bush.

[FauxNewsBlues]

2. And when/if they return home....

Their manufacturing job will be there to greet them (sarcasm)

Impeach the chimp!

[kskiska]

4. Along with their wives

(more sarcasm)

[Bozita]

3. "Compassionate Conservatism" for the US military

I wonder how many of these NGers are losing homes and cars due to financial problems.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Bush to the military in 2000: "Help is on the way!"

They voted for him, now they got him!

What a clusterfuck!

I'll say that recruiting will go down the tubes.

[WillyT]

28. Yep, Recruiting Down The Tubes, And The Odds Of A DRAFT Went...

From 1000\1 to 100\1, or worse!!!

Bush can't afford politically to even utter the word 'draft' between now and Nov. 2004. But give him another 4 years, and a never ending war on terra with shrinking international support...

On secong thought, make it 10\1.

Think that might drive voter registration in the next year???

:grr:

[InkAddict]

10. Don't Cha Know, Iraqi Freedom Ain't Free

and your ass-ettes are next! (even more sarcasm)

[karlschneider]

6. Napoleon Bunnypants reminds me of a friend of mine from high school

He inherited something like 10 million bucks just after we graduated.
First thing he did was to buy the 7-Up bottling company over in Tulsa.
Micro-managed the place into bankruptcy within a year. I felt kinda bad for the guy, but he fucked it up all by hisself. He ended up as a ticket agent at American Airlines for a while then finagled a job running the Better Biz Bureau - and dropped dead from a massive heart attack about 5 years ago at the breakfast table. No pretzel was even needed.

Tulsa University's economics classes used his 7-Up adventure as an example of horrible management for years...ironically I was in one of them, Econ 201 or somesuch. Maybe they still do.

I hope I live long enough to see how history records the misadventures of the moron chimp in the White House.
:eyes:

[webtrainer]

7. Unidentified Army guy says they are . . .

"maximizing their deployment opportunity"

This is bad for the Guard/Reserve troops and families, their US-based time on active duty doesn't count anymore. The clock only starts ticking once they arrive in either Iraq or Kuwait.
Makes the year in service up to maybe a year and a half!

I support the troops to take action by voting against those that want to use the "dynamic situation in theater"-talk as the reason to need more people there for a longer period of time than previously thought. Take a look at the last few paragraphs of this article and you might start to feel a cold draft blowing from the north.

[bvar22]

8. If they had any sense,

they would follow the example set by their glorious leader....just say NO! and go AWOL. What could be simpler? bunnypants* did it, and now he gets to play president, and spread death, destruction, and terror throughout the World.

[DannyRed]

9. How do these

reserve rotations affect the economy, one wonders?

[LeftCoast]

11. Does anyone know, legally how long NG/AR and Army must serve?

Can they just keep these guys there forever?

[peterh]

13. I’m only going from a weaken memory on this…

But, I was 4 yr active and 2 yr inactive reserve…could have been called up anytime in those 2 years in case of war or something.

Those that did 2 yr active went to a 4 or 6 yr inactive and same thing as above.

Those in active reserve (aka, weekend warriors) can be called to active duty of a (I believe) maximum of 2 years where options then come into play.

That’s just the way I remember it…could be wrong…

[Dhalgren]

12. This is a determined, intentional, methodical destruction

of the United States. The Bush gang is doing this purposely, with methodical, one-mindedness. These things are no accident - it is not coincidence; the destruction of the US budget, the distruction of all US world aliences, the distruction of our liberties and freedoms, the distruction of our military, the distruction of our healthcare system, our social security system, our education system, the economies of all of our states and the national economy, too, the distruction of our environment, the piling on of immence debt to two or three generations into the future, the distruction of any national unity.

This is a planned attack from what would probably be deemed a "domestic" enemy. We have to fight this now - it's probably already too late, but sometimes life isn't the most important thing.

[Mountainman]

24. You said that in a very clear and understandable way

yet it gets to me how many people still don't get it. When ever some right winger tells me how glad he/she is that Bush is in the White House all I can say to him/her is that they haven't suffered enough yet. I know there will come a point in all their lives when they will say that things for them personally aren't going right and then they will rethink their political views. Bush does not care about most of us and it takes many of us a long time to find that out.

[reprobate]

14. The troubles will be more than a destroyed military.

Without a military that can project power across the globe, the PNAC goal of world domination is no more than a pipedream. Without a military to project power we become no more than a second rate country.

Add to that an economy that is contracting daily, asian countries that no longer trust the strength of our bonds, and a goodly portion of the planet that will look for pay back and you soon will have a nation that can intimidate no one.

George W. Bush will go down in history as the man who single handedly destroyed the United States of America.


USA
1789-2003
RIP

[SidDithers]

26. Why does the inability to project military power...

Make you a second rate country? Why are you worried that "you soon will have a nation that can intimidate no one"? Interesting choices of words.

I'm just wondering why, maybe, being solely a member of the world of nations, as opposed to the supposed leader of the free world, would be such a bad thing?

Sid

[teryang]

15. This is a great thread

This is a plan to destroy the United States of America. Always has been. The constitutional form of government exerted too much control over private corporate interests and was threatening the relative power of a very small class of elites. When the country is reduced to the status of Mexico and other latin American states they will be satisfied. The object is to reduce non elites to the status of bonded servants or vagabonds.

You can be kept on active duty indefinitely once you are mobilize during a war or national emergency. You serve at the discretion of the President. Think about the officers who have been mobilized who served in non paid positions merely to get the retirement benefits at age 60. Pretty bad bargain wasn't it? I couldn't see the risk benefit analysis of it, so I resigned some time ago.

The incidental damage being done to the armed forces, the destruction of the nations finances and Constitution, the damages done to international law and traditional alliances all support the notion that the bush junta is the greatest threat to national security in the new century.

Increasing the size of active duty forces increases the power of the armed forces as opposed to the defense contractor secretaries so it is avoided by all means. Also it increases the power and changes the political orientation of veterans groups and military families who become more activist and demanding of government resources. This regime doesn't want to pay people, it prefers to direct defense dollars and social security money into corporate coffers.

[symbolman]

16. What a coincidence!

That's exactly how long BUSH WAS AWOL.. the troops just love that, he's their hero..

Maybe they should see this ad we're working on at Take Back the Media called ARMY OF ONE -

http://www.takebackthemedia.com/onearmy.html

I'm a Veteran, he's screwing us into the ground and he needs to pay with is Job.. think he'll spring them right before the election?

Oh, and don't forget that BUSH co is Now deflecting the fault of these poor troops being over there on FOREIGN POWERS that won't step up to the plate and accept their responsibility of lapping up all that spilled milk over there..

Monsters. Traitors. INVOKE the WAR PROFITEERING ACT.

[sandnsea]

17. Why we don't need more troops

Makes perfect sense to me. They just fucked over the guard. Bastards.

[Democat]

18. Bush only cares about the U.S. military for one day every 4 years

Election day.

[trogdor]

19. When I get my 20-year letter, I'm GONE!

I reached retirement eligibility this past Saturday. I'd be an idiot to stick around.

[hadrons]

20. I hope that 20-year letter comes quick ...

'cause its only going to get worse

I also hope you enjoy retirement, at this point I'm not sure I'll have one when the time comes

[Corgigal]

21. I hope you can get out

I have two friends, both active duty Navy who can't get out now.
Everything is on hold but I hope you get out of there.

[trogdor]

27. So do I.

As far as I know, I'm not stop-lossed, just the poor, unfortunate souls who are in theater. I did quite enough for king and country.

[FlashHarry]

22. Rumsfeld = General Dreedle

Somebody asked in another thread if anyone'd read "Catch 22" lately.

And, gee, I wonder why they did this on a Friday, with no formal announcement...

[NNN0LHI]

23. Wonder why the Chimp didn't mention this in his rah, rah speech Sunday?

[NNN0LHI]

25. Captain Yossarian reporting for duty, Sir n/t

[VolcanoJen]

29. Kick!

:dem:

[VolcanoJen]

30. Kick!

:dem: