Given the state of the war in Afghanistan: entering its ninth year with record violence, worsening conditions, and increasing numbers of American soldiers accomplishing less and less, it should hardly come as a surprise that morale among the soldiers there is falling.
A survey taken by the Army shows morale at the platoon level markedly lower than in either 2005 or the 2007 surveys, though they said that suicide prevention training was improved.
The survey also noted that morale levels among troops got progressively worse as the number of tours of duty they had increased, with those on their third or fourth tour in Afghanistan much worse off than those with fewer deployments. The problem was not only combat fatigue; multiple tours of duty appear to have done serious damages to many of the soldiers’ marriages.
The survey also showed that the number of mental health staff in Afghanistan was not nearly as high as the 700:1 ratio sought by the Army.
They think troop morale is low now, just wait until Obama escalates the war – a new generation of murderous, deranged PTSD cases is being mass-produced for deployment to a street near you.
Amen. As a journalist, I've been seeing a lot of what Obama plans to do.. sad to say that our troops are in a world of hurt in the long run.
Firefight, excuse me while I have a Vietnam flashback.
I believe that morale is plummeting because the soldiers who are deployed in Afghanistan very quickly come to see the war for what it is: immoral, unjust, and aggressive. Unfortunately, do to an establishment controlled MSM, the average American doesn't seem to have a clue. The MSM: the establishment controlled lap dog that never barks a warning.
Did you read the article? Their families are falling apart.
And the scary thing is that someday when they do get home they'll become your local cops. Oh yea this is gonna come back to bite us hard.
When it's over it'll be the anti-war extremists (WAPO) that cause America to lose, they are lilly-livered liberal cowards, a 5th column!, when the truth is that it is the war supporters who are cowards, afraid to take a hard look at history, 9-11, and just who they think they are serving. Yup, they submit to the terrorists by killing our liberties, killing our court system, excusing torture and staying silent about another 1000 cuts to the nation.
It is not surpising that young people that got duped into enlisting into an aggressive force, fighting and sometimes dying in an unjust war on behalf of ungrateful elite, may suffer low morale.
Morale is down? – wow – the troops are 'cannon fodder' in a war that can NOT be won – and their morale is down? Anyone surprised by that? – or why the suicide rate in the military is at an all time high? It is a tragedy that domestic politics determines our foreign affairs. NO one has ever won in Afghanistan – it is "the graveyard of soldiers" and "the graveyard of empires." Mao was correct when he observed that "it is easy to defeat an arrogant enemy." We are incredibly arrogant and stupid to think that we are going to win a war in Afghanistan – when 'winning' has NOT even been defined – and when NO one has ever won in that country. Bring the troops home NOW!
As they were in Korea and in Vietnam and now in Afghanistan – the generals are WRONG!
Morale is only going to get worse as the conflict drags on interminably. It's not like the Taliban have anything else to do or anywhere else to go…