One Soldiers Opinion

So I was a little anxious to get started and after my introduction I thought "why not write again?" As I said in Mission, I am a Soldier serving in faraway places...that could mean anywhere, so don't assume anything. I have been a Soldier for a long time and have witnessed my profession change numerous times. I am in the active Army and some of my comments and acronyms may be new to some, so I will try and explain as best I can. One of the numerous reasons I am doing this is to encourage others to reply to my posts with educated responses directed at learning your profession and sharing with others. I have extensive knowledge of the Army and want very badly to see it change for the better both during and after the GWOT (Global War on Terror) is over.

Let's start with the GWOT and the numerous challenges facing us currently and in the near future. First, the GWOT will eventually end and professional Soldiers who are "deployment Leaders" will force this Army into serious disrepair. We must be exceptional at leading in each environment or those "deployment Leaders" will become liabilities in the future. Secondly, our mindset is still in the 1990's. We do year-long rotation's over and over again, yet during training, we try and reinvent the wheel on everything we do. We start our training at a snail's pace and by the end of the training cycle, we are back to the level from where we redeployed. We must advance. We have smart, adaptive junior leaders who absolutely excel in the combat environment, but are leashed by some senior leaders who still believe in the "discipline means we all look the same" mentality. This must end. Discipline is subjective and probably always has been, but the school house mentality has reared its head during the GWOT. Discipline, to me, doesn't mean that the Soldiers look the same; it means that when told to shoot, they put all their training into action and kill the bad guy who is trying to kill them. Third, give us the required equipment to do our jobs. Soldiers buy equipment from online vendors because they either don't have it or can get better stuff from civilian stores. Afghanistan is at the foot of the most rugged mountain chain in the world...the Himalayas. Our equipment is made by the lowest bidder and is made for desert warfare. News Flash!!! We aren't fighting in the desert very much there anymore. We have more Soldiers in the north and east, in the Hindu Kush mountains on foot, than in the desert south. Iraq is different...patrolling in vehicles isn't humping the mountains, so the current Army gear works there in most instances...not all. But, "big Army" is "one-for-all-and-all-for-one" and Soldiers in Afghanistan are getting the same equipment as those in Iraq. Hmmm....

In the past year, our Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Rumsfeld has resigned, as has the Secretary of the Army Harvey and the Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander (and arguably the finest General officer in many, many years) GEN Abizaid has submitted his retirement paperwork without much fanfare (some say over his disgust of Iraq). What does this say to the Soldiers about the status of our Army? To me it says "Get out before the utter failure of our decisions weighs us down." Is that the big Army message? If so, what about the little people? Am I offered a chance to "pop smoke" before it snowballs downhill and runs me over? Of course not.

I don't want you to think I am being negative about the Army overall. I love the Army and what I do everyday. I get a chance to see young men, who enlist during a time of war, fully knowing they are to be put in harms way, fighting the enemies of the US in full-up gunfights. Unbelievable courage and honor spew from these Warriors. After some horrible exeriences, they head back to the FOB (forward operating base) and talk shit to each other and laugh like school kids. Many are wounded and horribly disfigured but still support their buddy's in the field. Young men, who have more on their plates than I did as a young Soldier, volunteer for the toughest of training and beg for more. These are incredible young men who deserve everything we have to offer and we do our best to deliver it to them everyday.

When all is said and done, and I am retired and fat, I want to look into the mirror each morning with the midset that I gave everything I had to the Army. I want to feel honor, not just remember it, but taste it everyday. I want one Soldier to remember what I taught him and when he is where I am, tell his young Soldiers that his old boss taught how to be a Soldier. If that happens, I will know success.