Army apologizes for hurtful message to survivors

[dbackjon]

The Army said Wednesday that 7,000 family members of soldiers killed in the Iraq or Afghan wars mistakenly were sent letters addressing them as "John Doe." Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., was sending a personal letter to all the families who received the improperly addressed letters as the result of a printing error, the Army said.

The 7,000 original letters were sent late last month to inform survivors about private organizations that offer gifts, programs and other assistance to families that have lost soldiers in Iraq or other countries where they are deployed for the war on terrorism.

It was sent from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command's Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Center in Alexandria, Va., which issued a formal apology Wednesday.

The letters, which were printed by a contractor, were to have been automatically addressed with the specific names and addresses of survivors, said Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman. Instead, they contained the placeholder greeting — "Dear John Doe."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090107/ap_ ... my_apology

Did they outsource the proofreading to India or something?

[D1B]

AZ? Tman? Batman? Robin? - care to comment?

Why the F are we funding the military by the trillions and they can't even get this shit straight?

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid.

[AZGrizFan]

AZ? Tman? Batman? Robin? - care to comment?

Why the F are we funding the military by the trillions and they can't even get this shit straight?

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid.

Perhaps you missed the part where it said "the letters were printed by a contractor". It's probably a UNION house.

[citdog]

AZ? Tman? Batman? Robin? - care to comment?

Why the F are we funding the military by the trillions and they can't even get this shit straight?

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid.

i sure care to comment you sorry excuse for a man.

we are funding the Armed Forces so that you continue to have the right to make an utter fool out of yourself on several messageboards.

it IS AN EXCELLENT MILITARY that PRESIDENT Bush is leaving office with. Beaten? WHERE? DEMORALIZED? WHEN? INCOMPETENT? How? STUPID? please enlighten.

I know that all of us who have heard a shot fired in anger are waiting with bated breath for the finest Captain the world has ever known d1b to enlighten us on how he, even though he hasn't been within 2500 miles of a war zone in his whole miserable excuse for a life, would better lead our Soldiers to victory.

[D1B]

AZ? Tman? Batman? Robin? - care to comment?

Why the F are we funding the military by the trillions and they can't even get this shit straight?

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid.

i sure care to comment you sorry excuse for a man.

we are funding the Armed Forces so that you continue to have the right to make an utter fool out of yourself on several messageboards.

it IS AN EXCELLENT MILITARY that PRESIDENT Bush is leaving office with. Beaten? WHERE? DEMORALIZED? WHEN? INCOMPETENT? How? STUPID? please enlighten.

I know that all of us who have heard a shot fired in anger are waiting with bated breath for the finest Captain the world has ever known d1b to enlighten us on how he, even though he hasn't been within 2500 miles of a war zone in his whole miserable excuse for a life, would better lead our Soldiers to victory.

First, fukc off you jarhead robot piece of fukcing rat shit pussy. Listen Patton, I will personally tear you limb from limb with my bare fukcing hands you trembling pansy fool. I'd like to see your Yugo-selling ass step on a D1 football field and take on 240 lb fullbacks and 300lb guards wantin to take your head off. Real easy being a bad ass when you have a gun and several trillion of my dollars worth of F15's in the gulf that'll show up in 5 minutes the minute your under fire and getting your ass kicked by a band of 12 yr. old Iraqi children with sling shots and pebbles. So Fukc you. Anytime, anywhere.

You my friend got your ass kicked in Korea, Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan. You are 1 for 5 of late.

And to answer your question: I would have never put you pussies in Iraq to begin with. I would have sent all your worthless asses to Afghanistan and saved us a trillion dollars or two.

I can't wait to see you fukc get your ass kicked by the russians. Now there's some tough sunbitches.

Peace

[travelinman67]

AZ? Tman? Batman? Robin? - care to comment?

Why the F are we funding the military by the trillions and they can't even get this shit straight?

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid.

i sure care to comment you sorry excuse for a man.

we are funding the Armed Forces so that you continue to have the right to make an utter fool out of yourself on several messageboards.

it IS AN EXCELLENT MILITARY that PRESIDENT Bush is leaving office with. Beaten? WHERE? DEMORALIZED? WHEN? INCOMPETENT? How? STUPID? please enlighten.

I know that all of us who have heard a shot fired in anger are waiting with bated breath for the finest Captain the world has ever known d1b to enlighten us on how he, even though he hasn't been within 2500 miles of a war zone in his whole miserable excuse for a life, would better lead our Soldiers to victory.

Spot on, Brother Citdog.

D1B, you're so full of sh!t, I'll bet you flinch every time you hear a toilet flush.

All the blowhards in your ghetto won't change the fact that the U.S. Military

HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE

WITH

OUT

PEER

And that's a fact, Jack!

Now run along and get the luffa. Tonight's your night to scrub your wife's feet while she watches TIVO'd Oprah.

[D1B]

i sure care to comment you sorry excuse for a man.

we are funding the Armed Forces so that you continue to have the right to make an utter fool out of yourself on several messageboards.

it IS AN EXCELLENT MILITARY that PRESIDENT Bush is leaving office with. Beaten? WHERE? DEMORALIZED? WHEN? INCOMPETENT? How? STUPID? please enlighten.

I know that all of us who have heard a shot fired in anger are waiting with bated breath for the finest Captain the world has ever known d1b to enlighten us on how he, even though he hasn't been within 2500 miles of a war zone in his whole miserable excuse for a life, would better lead our Soldiers to victory.

Spot on, Brother Citdog.

D1B, you're so full of sh!t, I'll bet you flinch every time you hear a toilet flush.

All the blowhards in your ghetto won't change the fact that the U.S. Military

HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE

WITH

OUT

PEER

And that's a fact, Jack!

Now run along and get the luffa. Tonight's your night to scrub your wife's feet while she watches TIVO'd Oprah.

Without peer? We've been getting our asses kicked for decades.

[Col Hogan]

Spot on, Brother Citdog.

D1B, you're so full of sh!t, I'll bet you flinch every time you hear a toilet flush.

All the blowhards in your ghetto won't change the fact that the U.S. Military

HAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE

WITH

OUT

PEER

And that's a fact, Jack!

Now run along and get the luffa. Tonight's your night to scrub your wife's feet while she watches TIVO'd Oprah.

Without peer? We've been getting our asses kicked for decades.

No, Politicians have been tying the military's arms behind their backs...then tossing them into shit piles, expecting victory...

Let the military do it's job without political incumberances...

[dbackjon]

Colonel - don't totally agree with you, but all wars ARE political, and have political ramifications.

And our constitution is VERY clear that the military is to have CIVILIAN control, which means politics.

In reality, protesting war is a VERY AMERICAN tradition. The only war that really didn't generate any major opposition (protests, riots, etc) was WWII - which was basically a war for survival after we were attacked.

Afganistan had the same potential, and really, the main squaking about it to this day is that we are not doing ENOUGH there.

[citdog]

i sure care to comment you sorry excuse for a man.

we are funding the Armed Forces so that you continue to have the right to make an utter fool out of yourself on several messageboards.

it IS AN EXCELLENT MILITARY that PRESIDENT Bush is leaving office with. Beaten? WHERE? DEMORALIZED? WHEN? INCOMPETENT? How? STUPID? please enlighten.

I know that all of us who have heard a shot fired in anger are waiting with bated breath for the finest Captain the world has ever known d1b to enlighten us on how he, even though he hasn't been within 2500 miles of a war zone in his whole miserable excuse for a life, would better lead our Soldiers to victory.

First, fukc off you jarhead robot piece of fukcing rat shit pussy. Listen Patton, I will personally tear you limb from limb with my bare fukcing hands you trembling pansy fool. I'd like to see your Yugo-selling ass step on a D1 football field and take on 240 lb fullbacks and 300lb guards wantin to take your head off. Real easy being a bad ass when you have a gun and several trillion of my dollars worth of F15's in the gulf that'll show up in 5 minutes the minute your under fire and getting your ass kicked by a band of 12 yr. old Iraqi children with sling shots and pebbles. So Fukc you. Anytime, anywhere.

You my friend got your ass kicked in Korea, Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan. You are 1 for 5 of late.

And to answer your question: I would have never put you pussies in Iraq to begin with. I would have sent all your worthless asses to Afghanistan and saved us a trillion dollars or two.

I can't wait to see you fukc get your ass kicked by the russians. Now there's some tough sunbitches.

Peace

COMPARING FOOTBALL TO COMBAT? WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MUCH OF AN OFFICER BEFORE THE INVENTION OF THE RIFLE, IT IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER.

I MADE WAR UPON MEN....NOT CHILDREN.

WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU PICK UP A RIFLE AND STAND A POST......YOU WOULD THEN ACTUALLY BE QUALIFIED TO HAVE AN OPINION ON MILITARY AFFAIRS......UNTIL THEN....YOU REALLY SHOULD JUST SHUT YOUR NUTSUCK.

[Appaholic]

AZ? Tman? Batman? Robin? - care to comment?

Why the F are we funding the military by the trillions and they can't even get this shit straight?

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid.

Perhaps you missed the part where it said "the letters were printed by a contractor". It's probably a UNION house.

Contractors are being used because our current military has been downgraded to the extreme. Apparantly our military cannot handle tasks such as:

-printing and mailing letters
-building barracks and showers
-guarding military bases abroad(contractors are providing security)
-driving fuel tankers in a war zone
-and now, apprantly fighting the actual wars

Face it, our military is fast becoming a modern-day version of gun-for-hire Hessians.

[Col Hogan]

Colonel - don't totally agree with you, but all wars ARE political, and have political ramifications.

And our constitution is VERY clear that the military is to have CIVILIAN control, which means politics.

In reality, protesting war is a VERY AMERICAN tradition. The only war that really didn't generate any major opposition (protests, riots, etc) was WWII - which was basically a war for survival after we were attacked.

Afganistan had the same potential, and really, the main squaking about it to this day is that we are not doing ENOUGH there.

Wars are political...and politicians should set the end state, not the military...but then, get the f*#k out of the way and let the military achieve those goals...don't keep changing the goals...changing the rules...and most importantly, take the advise of the experts rather than rejecting it for your own "idead" (that's my poke at Rumsfield, not you)

Very Clearly, the military is a civilian run operation...to a point...the civilians run the department, but the military runs the war with civilian oversight...

Protesting...where did that come from...I served to protect the constitution of this country which gives all protestors the right to do just that...no issue here...

[Col Hogan]

Perhaps you missed the part where it said "the letters were printed by a contractor". It's probably a UNION house.

Contractors are being used because our current military has been downgraded to the extreme. Apparantly our military cannot handle tasks such as:

-printing and mailing letters
-building barracks and showers
-guarding military bases abroad(contractors are providing security)
-driving fuel tankers in a war zone
-and now, apprantly fighting the actual wars

Face it, our military is fast becoming a modern-day version of gun-for-hire Hessians.

Some truth in what you say...but less than you think...

In the "old" days, when money and people were plentiful, the military folks did everything from peel potatos to print and mail letters...

But the American people have said, do more with less...and we are...

So, contractors peal the potatos...print and mail letters...etc...jobs that do not require one to be in the military to perform...

Combat Arms stuff (infantry, Combat ships, fighter aircraft, etc) get the uniformed folks remaining...the stuff that can't be contracted...

Now, if you are willing to grow the military back to the 4-5 million level like it used to be...then uniformed folks can take over those jobs again...

[AZGrizFan]

Perhaps you missed the part where it said "the letters were printed by a contractor". It's probably a UNION house.

Contractors are being used because our current military has been downgraded to the extreme. Apparantly our military cannot handle tasks such as:

-printing and mailing letters
-building barracks and showers
-guarding military bases abroad(contractors are providing security)
-driving fuel tankers in a war zone
-and now, apprantly fighting the actual wars

Face it, our military is fast becoming a modern-day version of gun-for-hire Hessians.

Thank Bill Clinton.

[Appaholic]

Contractors are being used because our current military has been downgraded to the extreme. Apparantly our military cannot handle tasks such as:

-printing and mailing letters
-building barracks and showers
-guarding military bases abroad(contractors are providing security)
-driving fuel tankers in a war zone
-and now, apprantly fighting the actual wars

Face it, our military is fast becoming a modern-day version of gun-for-hire Hessians.

Thank Bill Clinton and Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

Corrected for accuracy

[Appaholic]

Contractors are being used because our current military has been downgraded to the extreme. Apparantly our military cannot handle tasks such as:

-printing and mailing letters
-building barracks and showers
-guarding military bases abroad(contractors are providing security)
-driving fuel tankers in a war zone
-and now, apprantly fighting the actual wars

Face it, our military is fast becoming a modern-day version of gun-for-hire Hessians.

Some truth in what you say...but less than you think...

In the "old" days, when money and people were plentiful, the military folks did everything from peel potatos to print and mail letters...

But the American people have said, do more with less...and we are...

So, contractors peal the potatos...print and mail letters...etc...jobs that do not require one to be in the military to perform...

Combat Arms stuff (infantry, Combat ships, fighter aircraft, etc) get the uniformed folks remaining...the stuff that can't be contracted...

Now, if you are willing to grow the military back to the 4-5 million level like it used to be...then uniformed folks can take over those jobs again...

Correct....and don't want anyone to misintepret my statements as criticism of our current military. It is a criticism of the continued failure of our civilian leadership as well as political generals in the Pentagon. If some jobs need to be contracted, fine. But make all those classifications contractors. It's got to undermine morale for a soldier and a contractor to be working side-by-side taking same risks hile the soldier make a pittance of what the contractor makes...

[AZGrizFan]

Thank Bill Clinton and Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

Corrected for accuracy

Having poor leaders doesn't equate to

Great military Dubya left us with - beaten, demoralized and utterly incompetant and stupid

THIS. They are neither beaten, nor demoralized, nor incompetent, nor stupid. They ARE overworked and underpaid, and pushed to the limits of their endurance, brought on the by the constant and continued gutting of the military begun by Bush I, accelerated by Clinton, and continued by Bush II.

Can't burn that candle at both ends for very long before the flame goes out.

Sat at the bar the other night with a 2-tour Iraq veteran, home for 3 weeks of R&R before returning to his unit. VERY upbeat, VERY positive, and absolutely convinced that what we're doing is the right thing. He told me stories that would make you fellas cry---including those of you who are convinced we're losing, convinced we're demoralized, and convinced the "Iraqi people" don't want us there. He's about to make a turnaround and head to Afghanistan, and is pumped and excited to be going over there and helping THOSE people out as well.

Yeah, it's one soldier. But I believe he's more representative of the true beliefs and feels of the soldiers on the ground than the crap you're gonna get from reading the comments of a few dissenters at moveon.org, or dailykos.com.

[dbackjon]

Appaholic hit the nail on the head...the disparity in pay that the Pentagon shells out to contractors versus soldiers is criminal.

And be very clear - the biggest advocates of outsourcing was Rumsfeld - first in the Reagan/Bush I admins, then in Bush II.

[AZGrizFan]

Appaholic hit the nail on the head...the disparity in pay that the Pentagon shells out to contractors versus soldiers is criminal.

And be very clear - the biggest advocates of outsourcing was Rumsfeld - first in the Reagan/Bush I admins, then in Bush II.

You know what, Jon. Let's do a baseball analogy: Ryan Howard was 2005 ROY, 2006 league MVP, has led the NL in HR's and RBI's 2 of the last three years, and in his BEST year (2006), made $355,000. You know why? He signed a CONTRACT. Once that contract was up, he got rich ($10,000,000 in 2008).

In the military, you take an oath. Once your term is up, if you REALLY enjoy that crap, you can maybe go work for a contractor like Blackwater and make big bucks.

The fact of the matter is, there is NOT enough military to go around right now, and the only solution is to outsource what you don't have. You are involved enough in your business to know that you ALWAYS pay more for an outsourced product than you would if you had the time, energy or resources to do it in house....but, you don't need it FOREVER, so you outsource it to save money. Eventually, when this war is over (in Iraq), the contractors will go away, and the cost associated with them will go away, and there's an ROI associated with having short-term higher expenses to not have to carry the long-term load of maintaining a million-man army.

[Col Hogan]

Appaholic hit the nail on the head...the disparity in pay that the Pentagon shells out to contractors versus soldiers is criminal.

And be very clear - the biggest advocates of outsourcing was Rumsfeld - first in the Reagan/Bush I admins, then in Bush II.

You know what, Jon. Let's do a baseball analogy: Ryan Howard was 2005 ROY, 2006 league MVP, has led the NL in HR's and RBI's 2 of the last three years, and in his BEST year (2006), made $355,000. You know why? He signed a CONTRACT. Once that contract was up, he got rich ($10,000,000 in 2008).

In the military, you take an oath. Once your term is up, if you REALLY enjoy that crap, you can maybe go work for a contractor like Blackwater and make big bucks.

The fact of the matter is, there is NOT enough military to go around right now, and the only solution is to outsource what you don't have. You are involved enough in your business to know that you ALWAYS pay more for an outsourced product than you would if you had the time, energy or resources to do it in house....but, you don't need it FOREVER, so you outsource it to save money. Eventually, when this war is over (in Iraq), the contractors will go away, and the cost associated with them will go away, and there's an ROI associated with having short-term higher expenses to not have to carry the long-term load of maintaining a million-man army.

Outstanding post...AZ is right spot on...

I'm a contractor right now...I work along side military folks all day long...and they want to know one thing...when they retire, how do they get a contractor job???

[AZGrizFan]

You know what, Jon. Let's do a baseball analogy: Ryan Howard was 2005 ROY, 2006 league MVP, has led the NL in HR's and RBI's 2 of the last three years, and in his BEST year (2006), made $355,000. You know why? He signed a CONTRACT. Once that contract was up, he got rich ($10,000,000 in 2008).

In the military, you take an oath. Once your term is up, if you REALLY enjoy that crap, you can maybe go work for a contractor like Blackwater and make big bucks.

The fact of the matter is, there is NOT enough military to go around right now, and the only solution is to outsource what you don't have. You are involved enough in your business to know that you ALWAYS pay more for an outsourced product than you would if you had the time, energy or resources to do it in house....but, you don't need it FOREVER, so you outsource it to save money. Eventually, when this war is over (in Iraq), the contractors will go away, and the cost associated with them will go away, and there's an ROI associated with having short-term higher expenses to not have to carry the long-term load of maintaining a million-man army.

Outstanding post...AZ is right spot on...

I'm a contractor right now...I work along side military folks all day long...and they want to know one thing...when they retire, how do they get a contractor job???

The haters never think things through...they just spew the hate. It's somehow cathartic for them.

[Appaholic]

Appaholic hit the nail on the head...the disparity in pay that the Pentagon shells out to contractors versus soldiers is criminal.

And be very clear - the biggest advocates of outsourcing was Rumsfeld - first in the Reagan/Bush I admins, then in Bush II.

You know what, Jon. Let's do a baseball analogy: Ryan Howard was 2005 ROY, 2006 league MVP, has led the NL in HR's and RBI's 2 of the last three years, and in his BEST year (2006), made $355,000. You know why? He signed a CONTRACT. Once that contract was up, he got rich ($10,000,000 in 2008).

In the military, you take an oath. Once your term is up, if you REALLY enjoy that crap, you can maybe go work for a contractor like Blackwater and make big bucks.

The fact of the matter is, there is NOT enough military to go around right now, and the only solution is to outsource what you don't have. You are involved enough in your business to know that you ALWAYS pay more for an outsourced product than you would if you had the time, energy or resources to do it in house....but, you don't need it FOREVER, so you outsource it to save money. Eventually, when this war is over (in Iraq), the contractors will go away, and the cost associated with them will go away, and there's an ROI associated with having short-term higher expenses to not have to carry the long-term load of maintaining a million-man army.

Isn't the military planning for a "long war on terror"?

"Joint Chiefs of Staff planners have produced a 27-page briefing on the war on terror that seeks to explain how to win the "long war" and says Islamic extremists may be supported by 12 million Muslims worldwide."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... 019-1000r/

Do you think they will really get rid of the contract workers at the end of Iraq? Or maybe they'll find some other area to shift those resources? Forgive my cynicism, but I doubt Halliburton will go quietly into the night when their services are no longer needed in the Iraq theater....that's why they hire former Defense Secretaries to run their company. In 1992, Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root is paid $9 million by the Pentagon (under Cheney’s direction as Secretary of Defense) to produce a report detailing how private companies could provide contract services & support for American troops around the world. In 1995, Cheney, a career politician with little real-world business experience, leaves the Pentagon to become the CEO of Halliburton. Under Cheney’s leadership, Halliburton moves up from 73rd to 18th on the Pentagon’s list of top contractors.

We either need a large standing military or we don't....

[D1B]

Outstanding post...AZ is right spot on...

I'm a contractor right now...I work along side military folks all day long...and they want to know one thing...when they retire, how do they get a contractor job???

The haters never think things through...they just spew the hate. It's somehow cathartic for them.

Then the contractors are pussies too.

[AZGrizFan]

The fact of the matter is, there is NOT enough military to go around right now, and the only solution is to outsource what you don't have. You are involved enough in your business to know that you ALWAYS pay more for an outsourced product than you would if you had the time, energy or resources to do it in house....but, you don't need it FOREVER, so you outsource it to save money. Eventually, when this war is over (in Iraq), the contractors will go away, and the cost associated with them will go away, and there's an ROI associated with having short-term higher expenses to not have to carry the long-term load of maintaining a million-man army.

Isn't the military planning for a "long war on terror"?

"Joint Chiefs of Staff planners have produced a 27-page briefing on the war on terror that seeks to explain how to win the "long war" and says Islamic extremists may be supported by 12 million Muslims worldwide."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... 019-1000r/

Do you think they will really get rid of the contract workers at the end of Iraq? Or maybe they'll find some other area to shift those resources? Forgive my cynicism, but I doubt Halliburton will go quietly into the night when their services are no longer needed in the Iraq theater....that's why they hire former Defense Secretaries to run their company. In 1992, Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root is paid $9 million by the Pentagon (under Cheney’s direction as Secretary of Defense) to produce a report detailing how private companies could provide contract services & support for American troops around the world. In 1995, Cheney, a career politician with little real-world business experience, leaves the Pentagon to become the CEO of Halliburton. Under Cheney’s leadership, Halliburton moves up from 73rd to 18th on the Pentagon’s list of top contractors.

We either need a large standing military or we don't....

We DO need a large standing military, but we don't have one. We HAD one 15 years ago, but it's gone now. Solution: contractors.

[D1B]

Isn't the military planning for a "long war on terror"?

"Joint Chiefs of Staff planners have produced a 27-page briefing on the war on terror that seeks to explain how to win the "long war" and says Islamic extremists may be supported by 12 million Muslims worldwide."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... 019-1000r/

Do you think they will really get rid of the contract workers at the end of Iraq? Or maybe they'll find some other area to shift those resources? Forgive my cynicism, but I doubt Halliburton will go quietly into the night when their services are no longer needed in the Iraq theater....that's why they hire former Defense Secretaries to run their company. In 1992, Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root is paid $9 million by the Pentagon (under Cheney’s direction as Secretary of Defense) to produce a report detailing how private companies could provide contract services & support for American troops around the world. In 1995, Cheney, a career politician with little real-world business experience, leaves the Pentagon to become the CEO of Halliburton. Under Cheney’s leadership, Halliburton moves up from 73rd to 18th on the Pentagon’s list of top contractors.

We either need a large standing military or we don't....

We DO need a large standing military, but we don't have one. We HAD one 15 years ago, but it's gone now. Solution: contractors.

Conks being conks. We don't need a large standing army. We need smart people like Obama running the gov. and keeping us out of wars.