A selection of military news stories over the recent days:
The Associated Press reports on troubles with training the Iraqi Navy and Marine Corps, and cites recent issues with Iraqi Army troops fighting in Basra as indicative of the overall training situation. As the rebuilt Iraqi navy is tasked with defending the country's two vital oil platforms, the AP tells of a disconnect between the reality of the situation and how it is perceived by the navy recruits:
The day when Iraq alone can defend its shores — and protect its critical offshore oil installations — seems remote.
Iraq’s
navy now has five Chinese-made patrol boats and 26 fast-attack aluminum
vessels — fewer than half of which are operational. Its personnel
number about 1,350, including 350 Marines.
“They think they are
an elite unit, but they are not,” said Capt. Jock Alexander of the
British Royal Marines, who is in charge of training Iraqi Marines to
guard the 1.8-mile exclusion zone around each of the country’s two oil
platforms.
The struggle to build a credible Iraqi navy is
mirrored — on larger scales — by the mounting delays and costs to form
a new Iraqi army and air force after Washington disbanded Saddam
Hussein’s military.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a series of grass-roots efforts aimed at joining Iraq veterans in need with U.S. citizens ready to help. Among the programs are an upcoming online forum of therapists around the country who've offered their services to treating Iraq veterans. Many of these therapists have committed one hour of free counseling to Iraq vets per week, for as long as they wish. Then there's a series of Websites dedicated to linking vets with people willing to donate money for basic necessities. Still, the VA is hesitant to get on board with these groups:
While Veterans Affairs
officials appreciate the support of community groups like Bobrow's,
they're careful about embracing them. Because of privacy regulations,
the VA can't disclose who has used their services. Often, VA employees
are reluctant to even hand out flyers from fledgling groups until
thoroughly checking them out.
"The veterans and their families have suffered enough. So when they
put up a public profile or say they need help, we want to make sure
they don't get injured again," said Patricia Matthews, a spokeswoman
for the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Center.
In a profile of Elise Forbes Tripp, author of "Surviving Iraq: Soldiers' Stories," the Portsmouth Herald News details some of her most interesting findings through interviews with Iraq vets, including this one:
She was surprised at the men being upset at
having women in their units. "I would get long responses about how
useless women are in war ...; not sexist but how they don't belong
there."
Men said they created sexual tension
and diverted attention. They require involvement from male colleagues
for their safety, for example, having to guard their showers or to calm
them during a difficult time. "And I think they felt it was unfair that
woman could get pregnant and go home," she says. "I was just listening,
thinking this is amazing."
The New York Times reports that Donald Rumsfeld is set to pen his own memoir:
Donald H. Rumsfeld,
who resigned as secretary of defense in late 2006, will write his
memoirs for the Sentinel imprint of Penguin Group USA. Mr. Rumsfeld,
75, will cover not only his years in the Bush administration but also
his experiences with Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan;
his work in the private sector; and his early life. In contrast to
other recent political figures who have produced memoirs, Mr. Rumsfeld
is forgoing an advance and will donate profits to a nonprofit
foundation he recently established to make educational grants to young
people interested in public service and establishing links between the
United States and Central Asia.
The Marine Corps Times reports that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is proposing new measures that would provide homes for severely injured veterans on VA property. The proposal came during a Senate defense appropriations subcommittee hearing where issues of long-term veterans care were raised. Sen. Feinstein cited VA property in West Los Angeles that includes 300 acres of undeveloped land:
Feinstein said she offered VA’s West LA campus as an example because
she often visits the site, but she believes such housing also could be
built at other VA facilities around the country.
Feinstein and
other California lawmakers have been trying to block VA from leasing
out the unused land for commercial purposes, but they have not agreed
on what to do with the property. Some want the land to be public park
land, some have proposed building housing for homeless veterans and
others have talked about leaving it completely undeveloped so it can be
used by future generations.
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