Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Attrition Rate For U.S. Soldiers In Afghanistan And Failure To Replace Them Is Severely Affecting Ground Operations

U.S. Troops Call Afghan Region 'Vietnam Without Napalm' -- McClatchy News

JELAWUR, Afghanistan — The men of Bravo Company have a bitter description for the irrigated swath of land along the Arghandab River where 10 members of their battalion have been killed and 30 have been wounded since the beginning of August.

"Like Vietnam without the napalm," said Spc. Nicholas Gojekian, 21, of Katy, Texas.

A prime agricultural area of vineyards and pomegranate orchards, the 18-miles of valley that the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment patrols includes Taliban insurgents, booby traps and buried explosives. The troops call the area the "green zone," but unlike Iraq, where it's a fortified area in the heart of Baghdad, this green zone can be a hellish place.

Read more ....

My Comment: These U.S. soldiers are not getting replacements for the men that they lose, and at the same time it appears that their superiors in Washington are still trying to cobble a strategy that they said 6 months ago that they had.

Is there a disconnect here .... if I was a soldier in Afghanistan I would have to say yes.

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