Soldier's E-mail Changes House Defense Chair's Position on Afghanistan

[Tuesday Afternoon]

By Julie Percha | ABC OTUS News – Fri, Sep 21, 2012 6:01 AM EDT

Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Sitton knew there was the threat of casualties when he deployed to Afghanistan for his third tour of duty, but he said he was "totally on board with sacrifice for [his] country."

What he didn't agree with, though, was his chain of command, who mandated Sitton's 25-man platoon to take twice-daily patrols through fields littered with explosive devices. The platoon was averaging an amputee a day, Sitton said, and since the patrols didn't have an end goal, he didn't see the point of risking such extreme danger.

Sitton was so concerned with his platoon's safety and morale that in June, he wrote a measured letter to Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., who chairs the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

"I feel myself and my soldiers are being put into unnecessary positions where harm and danger are imminent," Sitton wrote in an e-mail. "There is no endstate or purpose for the patrols given to us from our higher chain of command, only that we will be out for a certain time standard."

more at link:
http://gma.yahoo.com/soldiers-e-mail-changes-house-defense-chairs-position-100136414--abc-news-politics.html

[Tigress DEM]

1. What would be better is to remove BOTH the troops and the IEDs. nt

[Egalitarian Thug]

2. About time. K&R.

[robinlynne]

3. Weren't there very similar circumstances in Vietnam? And the soldiers refused?

[HopeHoops]

5. We don't even belong in the Middle East. We don't belong in Germany for that matter.

Korea I can see. That makes senses. Waterways near Iran I can sort of see, but I'm more inclined to go isolationist on that one. We've got men and women stuck in hell pits all over this planet without good reason, but when it involves regular and consistent bodily injury and death, what's the purpose? Seriously, what's the purpose? How do you justify that to the troops and their families?

I'd like to see a, well, Draconian rollback of deployment. If we're going to keep a standing army (not what the Constitution in general or 2nd Amendment in particular intend), then lets keep them safe and well trained in case there's an event that requires rapid deployment of motivated, well trained, and not disillusioned soldiers. Okay, yes, I'm going isolationist here. Why the hell do we need to behave like an empire? We can't even take care of ourselves. The local powers at be can fight it out. That's how it's been for all of recorded history and that's how it always will be. Borders change. Control changes. Factions come and go. Our country was not created to be the world's police force.

On Edit: AND PASS A DAMN GI BILL, DAMMIT!

[upi402]

6. The higher-ups will just blame those below

Just like the Bushco torture camps - the criminals creating and promulgating these hell-holes just blame the peons and send them to prison.

[LiberalAndProud]

7. "I just think we're killing kids that don't need to die."

Some life lessons take longer for some to learn than others. 81 years old and he just now figured this out.

My head hurts.