Is there no end to the outrage? First, inadequately armored helmets, vests and Humvees. Now we learn our combat troops lack clotting supplies to keep their wounded comrades from bleeding to death (6/9, A-1). Some have bought these themselves.
We beg each politician who struts into Iraq or Afghanistan for a photo op to take vital blood-clotting bandages for the troops. We will certainly include these in the care packages we mail.
Perhaps we Kansas Citians could initiate a collection drive through a church or nonprofit agency. Literally, a heart-to-heart gift.
Bruce and Reta Jo Mitchell
Kansas City
jack
Thanks for the response. Hope your son doesn't get assigned to the new organization. That job would be about as dangerous as things can get. If he has any info on the "bandages" please let me know. Thanks
Posted by: Engineer | June 14, 2006 at 03:40 PM
engineer: Thnax for asking. He hasn't said a word about this one way or another. He's getting a four day pass for Father's Day. Thank you Brigade Commander. I will try to remember to ask him then.
Right now he is mainly focussed on what the Army is going to do with the people in his unit. Officially his unit, 3rd BCT/1st AD, was deactivated when they returned from Iraq in January. But it has been kept intact at Fort Riley. All transfers to other units have been "frozen" for quite some time now.
The fears of the troopers, and the heavy scuttlebut, is that they are a kind of secret reserve unit that can be reactivated and redeployed on a moment's notice. I think that is highly doubtful.
With the deactivation of the unit it has been stripped of most of it's combat gear. It would probably take a couple months just to get the gear together to make it an effective unit again.
I think more likely is the other scuttlebut. One of the new Brigades the Army is forming is at Fort Riley. It is due to go to Iraq in August. It is composed almost entirely of troopers fresh out of boot camp. They have virtually zero experienced noncoms.
The rumor mill at Fort Riley is that, since there are a bunch of PFCs due for promotion, a lot of them will be moved to the new Brigade and end up back in Iraq. So much for a year between tours.
Needless to say, most of the troopers in the now non-existant 3rd BCT have transfer requests in for any job and any place they think will keep them out of the "sandbox". My son included.
My son has been requesting transfer to Korea. He is also looking at re-applying to flight school. On a percentage basis, helicopter crews are taking a lot of casualties in Iraq and Afgansistan. So, few are requesting training.
Now the helo groups are becoming severely under strength. He is hoping that might get them to quit refusing him because of the dry skin between his fingers. His thinking is that things may have calmed down enough by the time he completes two years of schooling that he can ride it out.
My geuss is that, if he can get Korea, he will try to serve out his hitch there while taking online college classes. If that is the case, he is clearly "one and done".
Sorry for the book in response to a question that needed a one line answer. For I think fairly obvious reasons, the one in the Army is a major focal point of my life at this time.
Posted by: jack | June 14, 2006 at 11:42 AM
jack
Do you, or your son, have anything on this?
Posted by: Engineer | June 13, 2006 at 10:51 PM