Poor supplies hurt soldiers

[Abigale Applewhite]

Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2003

Poor supplies hurt soldiers
Penny-pinching and privatization make life tougher for troops
PAUL KRUGMAN
New York Times

A few days ago I talked to a soldier just back from Iraq. He'd been in a relatively calm area; his main complaint was about food. Four months after the fall of Baghdad, his unit was still eating the dreaded MREs: meals ready to eat. When Italian troops moved into the area, their food was "way more realistic" -- and U.S. troops were soon trading whatever they could for some of that Italian food.

Other stories are far worse. Letters published in Stars and Stripes and e-mail published on the Web site of Col. David Hackworth (a decorated veteran and Pentagon critic) describe shortages of water. One writer reported that in his unit, "each soldier is limited to two 1.5-liter bottles a day," and that inadequate water rations were leading to "heat casualties." A U.S. soldier died of heat stroke Saturday. Are poor supply and living conditions one reason why U.S. troops in Iraq are suffering such a high rate of noncombat deaths?

The U.S. military has always had superb logistics. What happened? The answer is a mix of penny-pinching and privatization -- which makes our soldiers' discomfort a symptom of something more general.

Hackworth blames "dilettantes in the Pentagon" who "thought they could run a war and an occupation on the cheap." But the cheapness isn't restricted to Iraq. In general, the "support our troops" crowd draws the line when that support might actually cost something.


http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6537277.htm

[roguevalley]

1. If my sweet boy had died of dehydration

because of water rationing, I would take an uzi to
someone. Someone needs to sue Brown and Root or
whomever shill maggot bag who has the contract for
murder.

[pansypoo53219]

2. shades of

bad meat during the civil war. corporate profiteering is the most evil.

[HawkerHurricane]

3. In WW2

our logistics system was so efficient, we could ship pastries across the Atlantic to troops, and have them arrive still fresh. Now, we can't get basic FOOD to our men. WTF?
Yeah, privatazation works just peachy.
Take away the rear area billets in supply units, and watch the troops go hungry. And what can they do about it? The supply guys who used to be troops are now civilians, beyond military punishment. Used to be if the guys didn't get thier stuff, your Colonel went back and chewed supply sargent until you had it. Now? The suits don't care.

[SharonAnn]

5. Same is the Civil War, the profiteers who make money hand over

fist while the troops get shoddy or no supplies and equipment.

Abraham Lincoln was outraged about it then, FDR was outraged about it in WWII.

Smae old, same old. How disgusting!

[HawkerHurricane]

6. At least in WW2

the men responsible for transporting the supplies were military and therefore subject to military discipline.
Now the whole supply system is 'privatized', and are not subject to the people that they are supposed to supply.

[fortyfeetunder]

9. The resulting morale is depressing

I saw a letter from another soldier stationed in Iraq discussing the conditions-- the morale is low. His family is incensed over the whole thing and the poor guy just got an extension there for at least a year.

[SoCalDem]

10. fortyfeetunder... help us out..

we are sending "goody packages" to soldiers in Iraq.. Have your friend get us some more names.. and some women soldiers too, please:)

We sent the first wave of boxes already, but we only had 5 names..

There were several who wanted to participate, but I put them "on hold" so these 5 guys would not have all the others hating their guts for beiing so "loved".:evilgrin:


we need new names :)

we need all the information necessary to mail a package..

The names are not posted in public, people have pm-ed me and I have their names..

Nothing political is being mailed to them, so don't worry about that :)

[Bandit]

4. Isn't that Halliburton's department?

Aren't they the contracter who does troop supplies? What are they doing with all of their money if they aren't supplying the troops adequately? Dems need to get on this one but I won't hold my breath.

[diamond14]

7. rummy just sent pentagoon employees ON VACATION (link)...

....highlighted by rumsfeld at today's DOD briefing....why aren't they working 24/7 to get food and WATER to OUR troops ??? and to stop the attacks against OUR troops...the Pentagon has simply abandoned OUR troops totally....off on vacations now...


Presenter: Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld Thursday, August 14, 2003, speaking at a Pentagon Town Hall meeting (all pentagon employees)....

-snips-

Rumsfeld: It's good to see you all. My goodness, it's a packed house. Look at that. I know that many of you, as others all across the country, are preparing for some vacation, and perhaps some have already gotten a little bit of vacation. I see a few sun tans in the crowd. (Light laughter.) You -- needless to say, I hope you get or have had a well-deserved rest with families and friends.

------------
So I hope you'll get some time off; have a well-deserved rest. You deserve it, there's no question about that. Come back ready and rested, after August, so we can tackle the task of making our department a still more dynamic place of innovation and opportunity, and where we can work to make our country stronger and safer.

-------------

Have a good rest of August. Nice to see you all. Thank you.


http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2003/tr20030814-secdef0581.html

[QuietStorm]

8. the soldiers don't need food it's the amphetamine that is most important.

[gratuitous]

11. Never mind that now!

We've got a theater to staff and stage in Liberia! No time to worry about those poor scuts in Iraq or Afghanistan. And we'll be opening another front in Iran or Korea come autumn.