Dwell time

By Capt. Fogg

They call it dwell time; the amount of time at home between military tours and our troops aren't getting nearly enough of it. That's what an Army Captain told Joint Chief Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen at his recent stop at Fort Sill, OK.

"That year we're back, it's just not good enough."

Mullen has been hearing a lot of that sentiment both in the US and at stops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"She has put her whole life, her whole career, and everything, on hold for me... And now I have to say, honey, I just got back, but we're moving. And when we get there, I'm gonna leave again," said a captain of his wife's efforts to return to college. "I can do that. That's what I do," the captain said. "But when it comes to hurting my family, sir, it's repulsive."

"Family considerations don't play a part in the assignment process." That's what another officer was told and that's what made him decide to leave the service.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, some coddled political warriors like Mel Martinez (R-FL) have been telling us that what these men and women who have been fighting for five years want is disgraceful to the troops and Commander Guy, who tells us so often that we have to give them everything they need, save adequate equipment, pay, medical benefits and time off, isn't interested in hearing "phony soldier" talk like that.

Mullen himself says: "I am not willing to see the United States military return to the kind of challenges that we had when I was young. We've got to figure out a way to make sure that family considerations are very much in play."

Just the kind of America-hating talk you'd expect from a guy who thinks our troops are real people rather than painted tin soldiers.

I expect that he will soon be corrected by true Americans like Rush who would most assuredly be over there himself save for his anal problem.

(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)