Here is a piece of news that should come as no surprise to anyone who is paying attention to what is happening to the men and women of our Armed Forces. Do you think the increase in the number of suicides over the past 6 years is an indicator? Or perhaps the simple fact that services members have deployed up to 6 times with no end in sight.
What gets me is that I know official pronouncements always lag behind reality. Especially in a "suck it up and drive on" environment. If the military has admitted that the Special Forces are stressed, then many of the soldiers are broken...far too many.
Once again I point out that in order to fix this problem there must be a radical change in U.S. foreign policy. Endless war is not the answer. Al Qeada is well in its way to losing the masses of the Arab world because death and war has been their only answer. Their lose does not necessarily translate into Muslims embracing the West. Hearts and minds are not won with guns. An emphasis on life softens hearts and wins minds. Nothing less will do.
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press – Tue Feb 8, 3:12 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The elite troops of U.S. special operations forces are showing signs of fraying after nearly 10 years at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, their commander said Tuesday.
Adm. Eric T. Olson says that while the number of special operations forces has doubled to about 60,000 over the last nine years, the total of those deployed overseas has quadrupled. Roughly 6,500 special operators are in Afghanistan and about 3,500 are in Iraq, although those numbers can vary as units move in and out of the war zone.
Olson said the demand for the specialized units in Afghanistan is insatiable, forcing troops to deploy to war at a rate that is off the charts. And he said he does not see that demand declining in the next several years. Click here to read full article.
