Reply #19: The NG in Iraq now are very unhappy. [View All]

[lebkuchen]

I’m a National Guardsman for the 105th Personnel Service Division out of Lincoln, Neb. My unit is stationed at Camp Wolf, Kuwait. We were deployed on Feb. 2. We arrived in Jordan in April, and half of us were moved a week later to Kuwait to throw mail. When our unit came back together in June we had a fragmentary order to go home. But the order was revoked, and we ended up replacing an active Army unit. We were told then that our return date was Dec. 1. We now hear that we’ll be here for a full year. We’re under 3rd Personnel Command.

My unit works in-processing and redeploying for theater. We’re doing a great job and working hard to treat each soldier with care and consideration. They’ve spread our 44 soldiers out to replace an active unit that had more than 50 soldiers and to replace a National Guard unit that had more than 60 soldiers. We’re running 24/7 operations for these two units, and four of our soldiers are also on the redeployment side working validation for another unit. We’re spread so thin and working so hard.

The knocks on our morale are devastating. We’re physically able, but mentally and spiritually we’re dying. If Army National Guard retention is anything of importance, we need to have faith in our government and leaders. But we can’t see anyone taking a stand for soldiers.

This isn’t a simple board game of “Axis and Allies.” This is a game with real people with families. We’re not robots. There are students out here missing more than a year of college. Officers say that PERSCOM (Personnel Command) refers to moving soldiers as “drug deals.” You do this for me and I’ll make sure your soldiers go home, etc.

My duty is to serve my country despite her faults. I won’t be able to ETS while here, and I accept that. I’m here to serve out of obligation and duty. But are there any checks and balances on those making decisions here? Everyone keeps saying it’s up in the air, including those responsible for deciding who goes where. It feels as if every decision is off the cuff. There should be plans in place and decisions made before the rubber hits the road.

We’re slowly becoming frantic. I hear people say that they’re going to begin hurting themselves or others if they can’t go home. The helplessness our soldiers are feeling is indescribable. It’s past the point of, “Suck it up and drive on.” We just want somewhere to drive on to.

Camp Wolf, Kuwait


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