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Troops Despair, Question Afghan Mission: Chaplains

'I'm not exactly sure why we're' in Afghanistan, says one

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 8, 2009 8:13 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Morale is not good at the Forward Operating Base in Wardak province. Soldiers there are starting to lose hope, base chaplains tell the Times. “They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern,” said one, while another described a “sense of futility and anger.” And though the base isn’t obviously downtrodden—soldiers are trained to be a driven, upbeat lot—many men were willing to confirm the chaplains’ prognosis.

“We’re lost—that’s how I feel,” said one specialist, whose best friend was recently killed. “I’m not exactly sure why we’re here.” In the battalion’s nine months in Wardak, 19 soldiers have been killed, another committed suicide, and about a hundred were sent home missing limbs, horrifically burned, or otherwise disabled. “It’s not like other wars where your buddy died but they took the hill,” says one lieutenant. “It’s hard to say Wardak is better than when we got here.”

A US Army soldier patrols in the Jalrez Valley in Afghanistan's Wardak Province.
A US Army soldier patrols in the Jalrez Valley in Afghanistan's Wardak Province.   (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A soldier prepares to board a Chinook helicopter arriving at Combat Outpost Zerok in East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009.
A soldier prepares to board a Chinook helicopter arriving at Combat Outpost Zerok in East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009.   (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh)
US soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigades pray during a Christian service at their base on the outskirts of Spin Boldak Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009.
US soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigades pray during a Christian service at their base on the outskirts of Spin Boldak Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009.   (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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The soldiers’ biggest question is: what can we do to make this war stop. Catch one person? Assault one objective? Soldiers want definite answers, other than to stop the Taliban, because that almost seems impossible. - Specialist Raquime Mercer

The many soldiers who come to see us have a sense of futility and anger about being here. They are really in a state of depression and despair and just want to get back to
their families. - Captain Jeff Masengale, chaplain with the 10th Mountain Division’s 2-87 Infantry Battalion.

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 15 comments
Shannonals
Oct 9, 2009 12:34 PM CDT
Seriously people, all morale goes down the rabbit hole if your constantly deploying. I have yet to see anyone ever complain to a Chaplin or any other officer that they feel depressed because of the war effort. Morale is down because they are away from home, away from loved ones, and are tired of constant deployments. Don't read into something that isn't there
godawgs
Oct 8, 2009 11:43 AM CDT
@shon in the real world it is offensive but on this site that is pretty tame.
NxBigmouthery
Oct 8, 2009 9:23 AM CDT
My views on Afghanistan changed during the election process and the revelation that Afg under Karzai could prove to be just as oppressive as it would be under the Taliban. Now, reading this, it seems that all the ingredients for 'quagmire' are in place. You cannot preach about winning the people's 'hearts and minds' when you have lost the hearts and minds of your troops.

 
Afghanistan • US troops • Afghanistan war • troop deaths • morale

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