Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
May 12, 2008
Pg. 6
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that long combat tours in Iraq have strained the military, but he disputed that the quality of U.S. forces has suffered because of exceptions made for borderline recruits and the practice of sending troops deemed medically unfit for combat into the war zone.
Gates, in an interview Friday, said he's concerned about the Army's stop-loss policy, which can keep a soldier in the service if his or her unit deploys within 90 days of the end of the soldier's commitment. The Army maintains that it uses stop-loss to ensure the integrity of units headed to war. About half of the soldiers affected are midlevel non-commissioned officers.
"I've been very worried about stop-loss ever since I got here and found out what it was," Gates said. "I sent the Army a memo a year ago this spring asking for their plan to reduce stop-loss. Unfortunately, my decision to go to 15-month tours just made it impossible for them to achieve that."
President Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq prompted Gates to order combat tours to be extended from 12 to 15 months. The number of soldiers affected by stop-loss rose from 8,540 in May 2007 to 12,235 in March.
The last of the additional soldiers sent to Iraq will return home this summer. That should allow the number of troops affected by the policy to decline beginning in September, Gates said.
He said he was less concerned about the increase in recruits who needed a waiver to join the Army because of a criminal record or other misconduct. Since 2004, the number needing waivers has more than doubled to one for every eight new soldiers. The increase reflects Army difficulties in attracting recruits during war.
Recruits need waivers for one felony or serious misdemeanor or more than three minor misdemeanors. Minor infractions include disorderly conduct, trespassing or vandalism. No exceptions can be made for some serious offenses, including violent sexual crimes or offenses related to drug or alcohol addiction, according to Army regulations.
Gates said he was confident that recruits have been properly vetted before being allowed to join the Army. He receives monthly reports from the Army on waivers, he said. Most of the waivers granted were for minor crimes.
"I was concerned about it initially, but as I've gotten more and more into the details, I've become less concerned," he said. "One of the statistics often used is the percentage of high school graduates. The reality is no one is brought into the Army who does not have a high school diploma or a (general equivalency degree)."
Gates dismissed concerns about the number of troops sent to war listed as medically unfit. USA TODAY reported last week that more than 43,000 U.S. troops since 2003 were sent into combat even though they had been listed as medically unfit in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
"Based on what I've been told, I think the majority are pretty minor things and often corrected before the soldier is deployed or soon after the soldier is deployed," he said.
May 12, 2008
Pg. 6
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that long combat tours in Iraq have strained the military, but he disputed that the quality of U.S. forces has suffered because of exceptions made for borderline recruits and the practice of sending troops deemed medically unfit for combat into the war zone.
Gates, in an interview Friday, said he's concerned about the Army's stop-loss policy, which can keep a soldier in the service if his or her unit deploys within 90 days of the end of the soldier's commitment. The Army maintains that it uses stop-loss to ensure the integrity of units headed to war. About half of the soldiers affected are midlevel non-commissioned officers.
"I've been very worried about stop-loss ever since I got here and found out what it was," Gates said. "I sent the Army a memo a year ago this spring asking for their plan to reduce stop-loss. Unfortunately, my decision to go to 15-month tours just made it impossible for them to achieve that."
President Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq prompted Gates to order combat tours to be extended from 12 to 15 months. The number of soldiers affected by stop-loss rose from 8,540 in May 2007 to 12,235 in March.
The last of the additional soldiers sent to Iraq will return home this summer. That should allow the number of troops affected by the policy to decline beginning in September, Gates said.
He said he was less concerned about the increase in recruits who needed a waiver to join the Army because of a criminal record or other misconduct. Since 2004, the number needing waivers has more than doubled to one for every eight new soldiers. The increase reflects Army difficulties in attracting recruits during war.
Recruits need waivers for one felony or serious misdemeanor or more than three minor misdemeanors. Minor infractions include disorderly conduct, trespassing or vandalism. No exceptions can be made for some serious offenses, including violent sexual crimes or offenses related to drug or alcohol addiction, according to Army regulations.
Gates said he was confident that recruits have been properly vetted before being allowed to join the Army. He receives monthly reports from the Army on waivers, he said. Most of the waivers granted were for minor crimes.
"I was concerned about it initially, but as I've gotten more and more into the details, I've become less concerned," he said. "One of the statistics often used is the percentage of high school graduates. The reality is no one is brought into the Army who does not have a high school diploma or a (general equivalency degree)."
Gates dismissed concerns about the number of troops sent to war listed as medically unfit. USA TODAY reported last week that more than 43,000 U.S. troops since 2003 were sent into combat even though they had been listed as medically unfit in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.
"Based on what I've been told, I think the majority are pretty minor things and often corrected before the soldier is deployed or soon after the soldier is deployed," he said.