Should issues like drawdown and troop morale be public knowledge?

2015-02-10T17:07:40-05:00

I notice headlines all over the internet talking about the drawdown of American troops. I've also seen some stories about the drop in morale across the military. Is this providing some valuable information to our adversaries? "A War Weary Nation" and "Major Troop Cuts" are not exactly imposing descriptions of our Armed Forces.

I asked myself if I knew any of this information about the Russian army? The Iranian army? Or ISIS? The answer was no.

Should our enemies have such easy access to this information? How does that impact their actions?

Response by SGT Steven Eugene Kuhn MBA made Feb 10 at 2015 5:17 PM

2015-02-10T17:17:58-05:00

I certainly think it should, I believe this will help ease any "surprises".
Politically speaking it unfortunately makes it easier for the Politicians at the local level to blame the Federal Government, so they can protect their jobs and look good for the constituents...

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 10 at 2015 5:26 PM

2015-02-10T17:26:41-05:00

I completely understand where you are coming from but with social media and service members having it is hard not to confirm the fact that morale is tanking and drawdowns are occurring. Heck all you have to do is half pay attention to the budget talks. Unless it is classified Congressional committees are televised on CSPAN an CSPAN-II.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2015 7:15 PM

2015-02-10T19:15:27-05:00

They say that .5% of the population serves in the military, as opposed to 12% during WWII. Yes, morale is down from what I've seen and can tell. Who knows when the chopping block is coming to get you or a friend. I bet we could all name someone who the drawdown has affected. Troop morale is down, we keep getting asked to "do more with less" and then we get squeezed for benefits at the end of the day. They want to make our BAH less, give us less of a raise than the law mandates, the 1% the last 2 years.
These things are truly happening. However, having just come back from 18 months in Afghanistan, no one cares. I do not live near any military base or installation (1 hour north is an AF base and 2 hours south is an Army post), no one in my area serves. There a few well hidden Reserve and Guard units, Marine Reserve as well. Still and again, no one cares.
You see all the hoopla, "Support The Troops," the public supports us as a whole, but they do not support what we do (Iraq/Afghanistan for 12 years). To me, as a service member, thos 2 things are inseparable, but to the public, they are.
Therefore, who are we going to tell about the drawdown and our troop morale? Who is listening? Who, after hearing about our plight, is going to do something? It's an excellent question CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member, but I truly think and fell that only we care about us.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 10 at 2015 8:03 PM

2015-02-10T20:03:29-05:00

CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member - Some of this information IS available about ISIS. Hundreds were executed approximately 1 month ago for desertion attempts. The Austrian girls that expatriated to go be "ISIS Baby Factories" wanted to return to Austria due to "the harsh realities" of living under constant threat of death.

Troop morale and things ARE able to be monitored to some degree, although they are not published under some of these regimes. Why? Most of these nations have state-run/state-controlled media. Britain, Germany, and other largely democratic (or more "free-thinking") nations DO have some unclassified intel covered in the media. Of course, the state run media is only going to release pro-government propaganda. Even our own "independent" media typically produces propaganda for either conservative or liberal means rather than focusing on objective media coverage.

The intel gleaned from the media is only somewhat useful. Is the American public tired of war? Absolutely. Are our SMs wanting to come home and stop fighting? Mostly...yes. But many want to finish the fight. Does that mean that they aren't willing to fight?? Hell no. When ISIS invaded Iraq, many veterans and servicemembers alike were eager to lace their bootstraps up and get the job done right. With Ukraine, the response was more tempered....but still eager to fight.

This is the new "global world"....unfortunately the world is available at the click of a mouse.
v/r,
CPT Butler