The Pentagon today announced today more troop extensions for soldiers currently in Iraq. The intent of these extensions is to bolster the forces in the region for the upcoming Iraqi elections. The end result will be 150,000 troops in the region, with 1500 arriving from the 82nd Airborne out of Ft. Bragg, and 10,400 being extended thorough March. Some of those extended will be facing up to 15 month deployments, contrary to the information previously released by the Pentagon, which had indicated that the troops that might be extended were ones who initially had less than 1 year deployments (for a maximum of 12 months in theater.)
To those who are affected by this, including friends that I have made because of our IRR recall, I'd like to send some (((((((((HUGS))))))))). This really stinks. Especially right before the holidays.
Even the Army realizes that this is hard on families. They had, according to various sources, tried really, really hard to avoid this scenario because of the added strain on these soldiers and the families supporting them at home. However, senior officials made the call that this “deployment alteration“ was necessary, to ensure the security of the Iraqi elections. Presumably if we can help the Iraqis have free and meaningful elections, we can get more of our guys home sooner in the long run, so I can't really fault Pentagon thinking on this one. It doesn't make it any easier on the families affected, but I can at least understand the reasons behind the decision.
What I do fault with and what I cannot understand is yet another assinine comment in the press by yet another reporter who, sitting behind their desk, feels that somehow they are an expert on the feelings of military families around the globe. Apparently, because they have read some stories about military families, and may even have written one themselves, they fell they have their finger on the pulse of the military spouse. Thomas Ricks, of the Washington Post, writes, “In the past, such extensions have caused anguish among family members who have been counting down the days until the return of their deployed soldiers. But as extensions have become more common in Iraq, spouses have come to anticipate such moves.“
So, for Mr. Ricks, and the rest of the press out there, I have the following comments:
Mr. Ricks, as the wife of a deployed soldier, I find your evaluation of the feelings of military families, at best, way off the mark. You say that "In the past, such extensions have caused anguish among family members who have been counting down the days until the return of their deployed soldiers. But as extensions have become more common in Iraq, spouses have come to anticipate such moves." Yes, we may be painfully aware that extensions and alterations to deployment schedules are possible. However, PAINFUL is the operative word. Every time a single soldier is extended, some family around the world grieves, and with them all of their extended family of military spouses. The extensions today are NO LESS DIFFICULT than those faced by other families last year, and those that come in the future will continue to be felt deep in the hearts of families around the globe. Please, do your job and report the news. But do not dare to think that you can comment on the feelings of military spouses; you have clearly proven that you are way out of touch in this area.