A soldier's letter: "All is not well and good"

All is not well and good

I was deployed to Iraq in April; I left a pregnant wife behind and had no time line of when I might be able to come home. With hopes that maybe I’d be allowed a week or two of leave to see the birth of my first child, I put in my leave — only to be shot down the very next day.

In garrison it might take up to two weeks to receive a reply as to whether one was approved leave. So why are commanders so inclined to deny soldiers leave in one day?

My unit has no mission and hasn’t had one since we arrived in Iraq on May 22. If I had been allowed leave for even three or four weeks, I wouldn’t have missed anything and I would have been there to support my wife and embrace my son as his father. Instead, here I sit and wait for an unforeseen date to be able to return to my family. Meanwhile, in other units, soldiers are allowed leave to see their kids graduate from high school.

Does the Army really expect to keep alive the morale of a soldier and his willingness to fight with such circumstances? Heaven forbid someone ask me to re-enlist!

As an NCO I am supposed to be a leader. I am supposed to provide purpose, direction and motivation to my soldiers. But how do I motivate a soldier when I have no motivation myself? And how do I give a soldier purpose when I can’t see one for myself?

Maybe my vision is blurred by my anger, but I can’t see how any soldier could go on with thoughts such as mine running through his head every day. All I can picture is my wife sitting at home alone with the burden of raising our child by herself for an undetermined length of time. Nothing would put my mind more at ease than to be able to hold my son and not rely on pictures and five-minute phone calls.

It seems to me the Army puts on a big USO show for the soldiers and all is well and good. But not for all soldiers, and especially not this one.

Sgt. William A. Hudgins
Baghdad, Iraq

http://estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=16511

We need to remember to save Sgt. Hudgins, too! :mad:

B-)

"Congressional Inquiry". Two words that put the fear of God into military commanders.

to protect the civilian employees of halliburton, bechtel, worldcom, shell oil, etc., when they show up to furthur rape the country.