AP: troop morale declines in Afghanistan

Stars & Stripes runs an AP article on declining morale among troops in Afghanistan;

Both surveys showed that soldiers on their third or fourth tours of duty had lower morale and more mental health problems than those with fewer deployments and an ever-increasing number of troops are having problems with their marriages.

The new survey on Afghanistan found instances of depression, anxiety and other psychological problems are about the same as they were in 2007. But it also said there is a shortage of mental health workers to help soldiers who need it, partly because of the buildup Obama already started this year with the dispatch of more than 20,000 extra troops.

Is it really surprising, if it’s true? The media reports only the bad aspects of the war while ignoring the gains, the President can’t bother himself to actually make a decision about how to end this conflict, Congress virtually ignores the troops while they focus on a domestic agenda and buying patronage.

I remember jerk-assing around before Desert Storm while the politicians kicked us back and forth. COB6 and I were 15 km. inside of Iraq nine days before the ground war began when we got jerked out while the politicians gave each other reach-arounds. The Iraqis took advantage of the opportunity to fire a couple of Frog missiles at us while we were going back to Saudi Arabia – they didn’t hit any of us, but it certainly made us feel like we were retreating.

That kind of horseshit plays with troops minds – they want to win, they don’t want be pawns in a tug-of-war of egos and agendas.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Terror War