Morale - How are we doing?

As others have said, morale is low. Other wives on here have echoed my very thoughts. I never see my husband; I feel like I am a single mom; I can't keep needed appointments for my family; Our marriaged is strained to the point of talk of divorce; my husband is not receiving rank he has earned.

These are all different situations happening to me and my husband right now. My husband and I together decided to join the Army because we lived in an economically depressed area. He was an E7 in the Air Force and he worked hard for his rank. When he came to the Army they lowerd him 2 ranks, and for what switching his uniform? People who get DUI's only get bumped down 1 rank for an article 15.

My husband makes 3% less than the rest of the civilian population, but Fort Drum has attempted to push military families out into the local community. Many of us have difficulties paying for National Grid's prices, or fuel oil, and don't get me started on grocery bills. If you have a large family like we do, you just can't find cheap places to rent. Many people live as far out as the 1000 island district just to find a decent house. That means many soldiers drive far to work, from 15 minutes which is not a horrible commute, up to 45 minutes. That means the inflated gas prices are comming down hard on our soldiers and their families just to commute. Sure there are government programs you can get on, but if you have to deal with them you know it is a full time job just to stay on the benefits like HEAP, WIC, Foodstamps, etc. Applying for MWR programs is not easy for families who live off base and only have one vehicle.

While at work our soldiers are not being given minimal respect. Expecting your commanding officers to know how to manage time, correctly assess mission/OPs tempo, and give you clear, defined, and legal orders is appropriate. If a commanding officer cannot do that he is not giving the proper respect to his troops or their families.

Time management is one of the reasons morale is so low. I want to make my position on the matter very clear to the command. Our guys here at Fort Drum are in garrison. There is absolutely no excuse, no reason, no situation that cannot be dealt with in a timely manner that the men and women cannot be released at 4pm daily. If your supporting command structure is inefficient with time management to the point that they are not releasing men who have up to 45 minute drives to go home and see their families, till 5 or 6 PM on a regluar basis then you need to come down hard on them for inefficiency. Because that is just a waste of money on a logistics level, and is causing an extreme drop in Morale.

I don't mind the two week deployments here or there for training. Deployments have never really bothered me as they are a way of life in the military. Sure I miss my husband when he is gone, but until recently that was never a problem. He had this wonderful thing called job fulfillment and was very happy and excited when he came home after receiving beneficial training. Now every deployment, even JRTC, is riddled with inefficieny and confusion are the part of the command structure.

What this all boils down to is a certain attitude in the Army that I have observed; That all must suffer, simply for the sake of suffering, because that is the macho thing to do. That attitude is unrealistic. Expecting people to suffer through trivial matters which have no bearing of importance exhausts their patience and endurance for when they must suffer for the sake of the lives of their brothers and sisters on the battle field. If the men are deployed with morale this low, I am afraid for them and their success.

To SGT SOUP, i agree with some if your points like NCO's yelling at soldiers and being tough. But at the same time I think some of those opinions are way overboard. This is a professional army and in a sense a mercenary army, we dont necessarily have to beleive in the cause, wear army strong on our boxers, and sing the Rangers creed in the shower, in order to be good soldiers and get the job done. With that said I think most soldiers do have some national pride, but I think if your were to poll the army most of us do not beleive in what we are doing. But like you said we signed up for this and need to get it done, which most of us do. And in the end it doesnt matter what we think, we are to do what we are told.

I would think you can even agree that whatever you beleive in or feel we can do more at home for ALL soldiers during dwell time, and I think that is what this blog is all about.

Now onto what the general asked. Sir without sounding disrespectful if you have to ask how our morale is then I think you dont know whats going on. And sure when you personally go check on soldiers the whole dog and pony show is rolled out for you just like it is when any general officer comes around. If you really want to know how things are show at SRC or DFAC in PT's or a uniform without rank and start jaw jacking with soldiers, you will then find out how they feel. You could always do a survey, but they cant be like ones in the past where the questions are written to benefit what the army wants to see.
But there is no way to fix this until our country gives a little more of a break then we have now. But there are ways to make it better. Without going into a big long ramble, the biggest thing is MORE TIME AT HOME. Whether that means shorter work days, more 3 and 4 day weekends, some half days, etc. I blame BN and BDE leadership too, because they are big boys and there are times where the BN CO could come out and tell everybody to come home at 3pm.

Whatever happens it needs to be mandatory. There was a general at my old post at hood, he said we had to be home by 1600, and guess what he got into his chopper and made sure this is true. Why i say this because there are commanders out there at the company level and BN level that try to be heroes and keep people around still. Hope something happens, but like others have said, nothing is going to happen as always.

First, I am incredibly sorry for your loss. And I will absolutely agree with you that if morale is low because the "amenities" of the gym and PX aren't up to peoples' "standards", then yes, they need to suck it up and stop whining.

However, I don't think you're actually reading this blog. You have soldiers and family members on here who's morale is low because they are tired. They never see each other and, unlike you, they don't know why any more.

You say that you "still understand what needs to get done over here." You're one of the few then because no one else seems to know why we're there. You also say that "We are getting deployed so often and for so long for a reason. Our country needs us to be."

Really. The United States of America needs for our men and women to be in Afghanistan and Iraq playing security guard, building houses, and dying for people who lie to their faces about where the enemy is? I'm pretty sure the USA needs our men and women HERE. They aren't protecting us by being over there, they are protecting people who don't even want them there. And what happens when another attack happens on US soil? Oh, whoops, all of our soldiers were in another country.

Sir,
First off some of the morale issue, might be with the post, but I say this is a great place and soldiers need to find other things to do other than hitting clubs or the mall. The FACT of the matter is most of us are sick and tired of deployments and to be honest for WHAT?? Honestly 8 of 10 soldiers/officers i talk to are somewhat disgruntled to highly disgruntled. We are gone so much that whats the point of having a family, a house, a boat, etc etc. Then when we are back for 12 months we spend one month at Polk, and then you add the time of field problems, staff duty/CQ, other events we are probably at home in bed at nights with our wives for maybe 9-10 months then were gone again. You have no control over when we leave but things could be better when we are home. There is no need to work till 5-6-7pm at night daily, there is nothing to do. Now one opinion I have is, I dont see why we cant have 1600 work days, half day fridays, etc. Im all about training and getting things done, but there is plenty of time for us to be at home on an earlier basis. For this to be effective it has to be mandatory because there are still Commanders that will keep SFC's officers etc at work, while soldiers only can go home, which is not fair. Overall there is plenty of oppurtunity to give soldiers time to be at home, not having them sitting in their Company area or sitting a desk waiting for an email to pop up on outlook.

I read through all of the responses to this question over the weekend and again this week. I think the comment from "Victoria Dawn" really sums up what most of you have been saying - that you and your families are just plain tired. You don't need more programs, just some more time...

In relation to the question, most folks have addressed it in terms of OPTEMPO - over the course of eight years.

I hear and recognize the concern. What I can do is look at ways to help maximize the dwell time we do have. There are a variety of options we can look at ranging from establishing a set duty week, to adjusting PT schedules - all intended to help you spend a little more of that time where you need to - with friends and families...

Sir, I think that morale is low because we are all tired; soldiers and family. While we all know deployments are part of military life no one ever expected that deployments would be every other year and time gone would exceed time home. Even in garrison soldiers are gone far more often then they are home: late nights, schools, tdy's, duty, all this time adds up to create for everyone just to be tired of it.

To the spouse that said its a lack of knowledge or laziness that is low morale for the families I disagree, sure the kids can take any sport I can find, I can work a full time job, and I can have every hobby I can cram into the day but none of it makes up for the fact that your spouse is gone, and gone a lot. Getting out of the cycle for many is not an option, to some the positions are just not open and to others it is career suicide.

As for soldiers low morale, they have the same problem, after 3, 4 or 5 deployments you are just tired. I heard it said best a few years ago, one deployment you are proud, two your pride slips a little but by 4 or 5 you are just tired. It's also hard that the army seems to bear the brunt of deployments now in the past everyone deployed for about 6 months, but now your standing next to working side by side airmen that are deployed for 4-6 months while you are gone for 12-15. It begs the question of why are we all not gone for 9-10 to even it out?

For most soldiers I think the major issue is that after 8 years it just seems like there is no end in sight. Rather then seeing dwell time increase and deployments decrease as we have been hearing the past years deployment time increases and dwell time decreases.

I know that other then bringing these issues up to your superiors that is not much that you can do to help dwell time but you can help us with the dwell time we do have here. More service schools local would be nice. Too many soldiers have to take long TDY's to get in schooling that is needed, please include all ranks including Officers and Warrant Officers in this. Also limiting field problems and duty days. Soldiers on a year dwell really need a valid reason to have to work weekends beyond the colonel is having a tantrum. Also an increase in the number of 4 day weekends offered.

What we don't need as soldiers and families alike is more programs to fill the time, we just need more time.

Sir
The most recent article about moral being low does not speak for me or many of my Soldiers. I have been with the 3IBCT since it was activated in 2004 and this is my second deployment with the 3IBCT. During our time in Afghanistan I have seen the Soldiers work tirelessly to positively change the battlefield here. They have been asked to the impossible and they made it happen. We have taken the fight to the enemy here in Afghanistan and gone places that other units will not go. We have fought up North along the border and in the Korengal valley and down South in the Heldman province and worked hard to help the people and government of Afghanistan. Now we are stabilizing areas that other have not been in Logar and Wardak.
The 10th Mountain Division has been the most successful division in this war on terror. Whether it is in Iraq or Afghanistan we are always in the fight making a change. I am very proud to be a part of the best division in the United States Army especially the 3rd Brigade Combat “Spartans”. The Soldiers here do not want to see another attack on U.S. soil again and will do everything in their power to prevent it from happening again. We are here to protect the people back home and we are proud to do so.
Deployment is very hard for families especially after we enter our 8th year of War. However we are Soldiers and we all knew what we were doing when we raised our right hand and swore to protect the constitution. Generations before us made much greater sacrifices then what we are making now. I will fight until the war is won.
Climb to Glory

Sir,
Thank you for putting this issue out there, as morale is definitely a problem right now. My husband is on his 3rd deployment to Afghanistan in 6 years. He is a true Soldier and doesn't complain about it, as he knows it is his duty, but I can tell he's tired. The families are tired of the strain as well. Now, there is even more responsibility being put on the 3BCT families with the upcoming reunions. We were told that we were responsible for finding out when the reunion ceremonies would be ourselves, either by going on the vFRG or calling a staff duty number. No one is going to call out (isn't that what our key callers are for) to give us information. So, if you don't have internet access or can't get to the phone, you will NOT KNOW when your Soldier is returning. With all the things we have to do, why add another responsibility to the families?? The previous deployments were not like this, calls came out through the FRG (I made the calls myself, as I was a key caller), why has it changed?

While I am an Army wife and my husband is about to embark on his 4th deployment I would have to agree with the morale being low. It is not our 1st, 2nd or even 3rd deployment and both my husband and I are feeling the strain of, "Will this ever stop?!?" At some point you would think that they would cap the number of deployments someone could go on in a certain time frame. It infuriates me when I see soldiers ranking E-6 and above who do not have a combat patch!!! At the very least, I feel that how many deployments should play a role in decisions about promotion in rank! An E-4 that has seen combat 4 times..... has experience and knowledge that an E-6 who has never seen combat does not!?!?

I feel like he just got home and indeed it was a year ago tomorrow that he returned from his last deployment. We were at Fort Drum for only a few months after he came home. My husband had been their for the majority of his military career at that point and I guess we were tired of long winters and multiple deployments. He felt that he needed a break from the unit he had already deployed with twice in three years! We were PCS'd to Fort Campbell and let me tell you... it makes Fort Drum look like a cake walk. If you want an installation that acts on those words of "caring about the family", stick it out at Drum.

Folks at Drum are much more accomodating, the support at Drum is there if you seek it, where here, they will tell you what they think you want to hear to get you out of their office and move along. Here at Campbell Officers and Enlisted do not mingle, it is unheard of, just like the OLD ARMY! Soldiers who stick it out at Drum are clearly the good ol' boys who care about raising their families in a clean and healthy environment.

At Fort Drum civilians have a chance at getting a GS position. While I know the deployments are running all of us down... Army wide.... know that you are in a place that cares, with great people, surrounded by an area with low crime and with outstanding education for our younger children.

Both my husband and I are the first to admit, we did not know what we had until it was gone.... and we are not alone, as so many of those we have met here that have come from Drum feel the exact same way!!!!

Best wishes to all of you... espceisally 3BCT... you have had a long and difficult deployment. I pray for each of you every day!!!

Sir,
This December will mark my thirteenth with the 10th Mountain Division, and not by choice. During this time with the division, I have been witness to may changes, some good, some bad. Living conditions continue to improve at Fort Drum, however, Soldiers and family members have little or no time to make use of these available resourses, especially the lower enlisted.

The current OPTEMPO of the divison has put increased stress on the Soldiers and families with no end in sight. Units already know when they are going to JRTC as well as returning to Afghanistan. As many others have said above, when Soldiers are at home, they really aren't. The SEC DEF and the Chief of Staff of the Army talk a good game of DWELL time and taking care of families, but the bottom line is that it is all just for show in the media.

Every new commander does not care about the long term affects of their actions in the here and now. All they are concerned with is what they can do to pad their OER or NCOER during the short time that they are in command, usually 18-24 months, becasue they want to get promoted. During these short command periods, commanders and Sergeants Majors encounter problems involving everything from leadership, Soldier, and family problems that for them, the command team, is nothing more than an inconvience. Instead of figuring out a long term solutions to these sometimes complex issues, these leaders simply slap a bandaid on them and leave them for the next command team to deal with. This has become the norm here with 3RD BCT.

These command teams, BN Level, do not care about dwell time or family members becasue they know that after the deployment they will be moving to another location or position in which they will not have to deal with it or even deploy for an extended period of time. Soldiers, junior Soldiers do not have this option.

It is more difficult than you can possibly imagine to be forced to stand in fornt of leaders that preach the Army Values to Soldiers and tell them they must live these values then to watch these same leaders committ acts that contradict everything that these very same values and everything they stand for. To these leaders, the Armyt Values are nothing more than words on a poster on a wall.

Morale is at a all time low, but you will never see it becasue your subordinate leaders don't have the courage to tell you the truth. The Army now condons down playing issues in order to safe face and get a good rating on OERs and NCOERS. Integrity and honesty are the values that elude most leaders in the Army today.

Sir,
First off I think it is great that you have decided to open up the forum on this Low Morale issue that has been spread world wide after the article written by the chaplain of my unit. I will say that Morale is low to an extent for some some reasons that are pretty typical of a deployment. We are about ten months into the deployment and we all miss our family, are grieving for our fallen soldiers, and yes are ready to get back home. I also believe that some of the soldiers and leaders get pretty frustrated at times with the current ROE per say. When you are at the front line you can never have a clear picture of why ISAF is wanting this and enforcing that. So I do believe that many of our morale issues are common with multiple deployments and probably no different than any other unit. I did see a morale drop as the news came out of our possible redeployment date. It is very hard to swallow that pill when soldiers hear on the news of politicians and big wigs talking about 18 to 24 month dwell time and the rumor going around that this BCT will not be getting that. It is tough times right now when you break it down to the cycle. If a unit is deployed for 12 months at a time the dwell time back is pretty short if you think about it and that is really sinking into a lot of soldiers I think. If you are looking at a 12 to 14 month dwell time before the next deployment it does down right sucks. If you look at the time spent away from the family for the field time, OPT's, NCOES, and other military schools, the time spent with the family and friends is really short. I really believe that the morale took a turn for the worst when the rumor came out about the next possible deployment date. I truly believe that the soldiers were really counting on the the 18 to 24 months that was hitting all the news for awhile. I have heard soldiers talking about the reenlistment process and are doing so because they have nothing else to fall back on and that isn't a good thing because soldiers use to reenlist because they loved what they did and enjoyed it. I can say that I have seen many of soldiers reenlist to stay in the army for many reasons and soldiers that are talking about reenlisting as well. To the surprise, quite a few soldiers are reenlisting to stay at Fort Drum. Now I do believe their reasonings for staying at Fort Drum is for the better of two evils. Meaning that staying at Fort Drum, they are possibly getting the most of their dwell time whatever that time frame will be. I know when I went to talk to my REUP NCO I was really thinking of getting out but was not for sure. I have been in for quite some time now and have had multiple deployments and it has taken a toll on my family. With the state of the economy and needing to provide for my family I decided it was best for me and my family to stay in the army and my REUP NCO showed me that as well. I just don't believe the majority is doing it for the love of the game. I know that some of my fellow soldiers have received the ultimatum from their wives to choose either the Army or me. So to conclude this I believe that the Troop Morale would not be so bad if the time between deployments was not so short. Many of my soldiers and leaders have stated that it would not be so bad if they had more time to sleep in their own beds.

Deeds Not Words

Sir,
First and Foremost, thank you for taking the time to field a question such as this, knowing the responses are going to be about how Fort Drum is all but perfect.
My spouse and I are both Soldiers of this Division, and I would like to take this opportunity to answer this question truthfully, from a dual-Military point of view. We are currently enrolled in the MACP, which has done absolutely nothing to benefit us. I have took the issue to my chain of command, and while some were willing to give us assistance, as it moved higher up the chain, it was tossed out. My most Senior of Leadership has condoned my spouse and myself from moving into the same unit, or at least get on a more regular deployment schedule. Out of the last 2 years, and looking out to the next 3, (if totaled up on past, present and future deployments, we will have spent about 8-10 months together. Out of 5 years. I hope you will see how this is not going to affect our relationship positively. We will miss out on raising our family together, additions to our family will be put off for years, and many other things that couples look forward to most, will be put on hold. It is very, very discouraging to look at things from this perspective, when we have the Army telling us there is nothing they can do to prevent this, when I see unit swaps, deployment schedules and other changes being made for individuals/couples on a very regular basis, but then am told nothing can be done.
We are tired, worn out, and would love nothing more than to come home at night and share dinner together, talk about our day, or just simply get to look at one another face to face. Currently, that is just simply a far-fetched desire, as my spouse is deployed, so I wait by the phone, hoping that I am not going to miss a call because of my own work schedule.
My spouses' unit theatre conditions are sub-standard, making their morale poor to nil at times. It is so hard to hear those sorts of things when I know my spouse loves thier MOS, and what they do. It has definately taken a toll on our decisions whether or not to remain dual-Military.
I have decided once my contract is up, that I am going to support my spouse from a different perspective, and give up the life of being dual-Military. I have loved being a Soldier, and under different circumstances, would consider re-enlisting, but I do not see the Army, or my Leadership willing to re-work assignments in order for us to do so.
Other individuals have great points on here as well: dwell time here on Fort Drum, isn't always "time at home" (JRTC, NTC, BNCOC, etc), and there is an abundance of unit cohesion problems.
In closing Sir, I would like to thank you again for your time, Climb To Glory.

My husband just left with the rest of 2nd brigade for his third deployment to Iraq. If you count the two deployments he's been on, with the most recent being extended to 15 months, and all the time away for NTC, JRTC, schools, and other training, we've been apart more than we've been together since we were married five and a half years ago.

This deployment he left exactly two months after the birth of our first child. It's already been extremely hard on both of us-- I have to care for our daughter, the house, and everything else on my own, all while missing him and wishing he were here; and he is upset that, for almost the entire first year of his daughter's life, he will be absent and miss out on all her "firsts", all while also missing us and wishing he were here.

I was aware of what our life together would be like when we got married, but I never imagined that more than half our time would be spent apart.

Of all the army wives and soldiers I know, and speaking for myself as well, I can honestly say that morale is VERY low right now. There seems to be an almost constant turn around when it comes to the deployments: 12 months here, 12 months deployed. The time spent "home" is almost never HOME. There's all the training, all the schools, all the field exercises... and when they're not doing any of that, and they have regular duty days, they get off later than they are originally supposed to because they spend most of the time doing nothing, and then suddenly have to get things done at the last minute, which makes them get off late.

Two days before my husband and his platoon left, they had their accountability formation. It was a day off for them, but they went in in the morning for the formation and were released afterwards. The next day they had to go into work and were there until 12:00-1:00. They did NOTHING. My husband said they just sat around the whole time, wondering to each other why they were actually there when they could have been home spending time with their families, since it was THE DAY BEFORE THEY WERE GOING TO LEAVE. Why did they not let them have their scheduled day off without having to go in, and then have the accountability formation the next day, the day before they left? Why have them go in and do nothing, and just sit around? Why take that time away from the families? I could see if there was something that needed to be done to have them come in... But when there is absolutely no reason to keep them there, why not just release them??? My husband, me, and all the other soldiers and wives were all extremely upset by this! And I fully believe we had every reason in the world to be upset!

Situations like that do NOTHING to help morale. All they do is make it worse.

I do not sit here and presume to know what needs to be done to help morale for our soldiers and their families. Obviously deployments and training are going to happen... there's no doubt about that. But something DOES need to be done! There's supposedly this Army-wide move to being more about the families... I do not see that at all.

We're all tired-- mentally, physically, and especially emotionally-- of the strain that's being put on us EVERY SINGLE YEAR from one thing or another.

Thank you for asking this, and for being willing to listen to what we have to say!

Fort Drum may be the Soldier's first choice but it isn't the spouse's.

My husband just returned from his second deployment while here at Fort Drum (his fourth overall). You ask about morale and I can tell you honestly, I have none left. I am tired. I am tired of spending every other year by myself. I'm tired of the mindset that kicks in after every deployment and a new Commander comes in thinking the Soldiers have to get training because there's a deployment coming up. Consequently the Soldier has no downtime to reset even though he's just gotten home.

I am tired of the stress that's caused by incompetent people being in command and not understanding that issues that affect Soldiers affect families too and the stress this can cause on an already stressed-out situation (this last deployment was particularly horrible).

How much morale can a Soldier have when he's been on the promotion list for over a year but hasn't been picked up because the points don't drop low enough? He'd love to reclass but he's in a "closed MOS" (whatever that means).

I am especially tired of living in the black hole that is Watertown and the North Country – Fort Drum may be a sportsman’s paradise but most spouses I know aren’t into hunting. Sure, we can drive to Syracuse (an hour each way) but that’s not an option in the winter months unless you want to risk your life. Fort Drum offers everything it possibly can, but once you go outside the gates, it's an entirely different world.

Sir,
Let me first say I appreciate you asking this question. This is a tough issue and you probably deserve a BSM for all the shots you're taking with the responses. Most of them have to do with OPTEMPO and there's nothing you can do about that - we all have to pitch in and do our duty when called.

I was happy to come to 10th MTN and grew up in the division as a CPT; now a MAJ and one of a handful of staff officers still remaining from our last OIF deployment. What I find most interesting - and frankly a little disappointing - is how we seem to have skipped over that dwell time thing...

We used to joke in Iraq about attacks being down and still working the same hours as 3ID did when they were getting 10 attacks a day. Now that we're back we joke about sitting through marathon staff planning sessions for a deployment 18 months away - that the majority of us won't be here for! Or we're spending time in numerous boards, cells, working groups, OPTs, etc., to tackle the tough issues of new PT maps or whether or not the traffic lights should flash or hold a steady cycle in the morning...

Personally, my morale is fine. I'm PCSing shortly (and I will honestly miss it here) but the guys who came in over the summer (all happy to hear we weren't going out the door again till 2011) are all scratching their heads wondering what the heck we are doing and why are we burning the midnight oil now on things that just aren't that important? If I had a nickel for every time I've heard someone joke about "this is what you guys consider dwell time?"...

I know we're all type A personalities, but isn't it okay to occasionally coast on the downhill runs?

First off I want to say military families are Amazing! You guys deal with so much and are strong. My boyfriend is serving in Iraq now and it's hard for me, I could imagine doing this with kids and a marrige on the line. Your military wives or husbands are really people that should be looked up to. It takes alot of energy and strength. Keep your head up!!

Sir,
I asked my husband what he thought about the recent report in the news concerning the chaplain's comments and he agreed with them, every word.

This is my husband's second deployment, with the first being close to 17 months since his unit was extended. The morale this time around has been on a rapid decline. It was bad at first with no heat, food or showers and no milk or fruit for months. It had improved slightly since then, but now it is sliding back down even further. There have been soldiers who say 'it's not my job' when asked to do certain duties. Since when can you say that?? My husband's day to day duties have absolutely NOTHING to do with his MOS or training.

Promotions have very little to do with merit it seems, only if your MOS has the openings can you get a promotion. People who barely contribute get their ranks before others simply because of their MOS. My husband has been 'promotable' since Feb. and still has not received his rank because the points are maxed out for him to get his E-6. This is a shame.

The Army just piles on the responsibilities on the soldier's they know will do what is asked of them, while letting others just skate by and do the bare minimum. Why aren't we getting everyone to carry their own weight? If you abuse the good soldiers, you lose their reenlistments.

My husband was excited to join 6 years ago, but he will not be reenlisting (he originally signed for 6 years) due to the poor management, accountability issues and promotion of undeserving and unqualified individuals. He has a college degree and left a very lucrative job because he felt he had a calling to help in the Army, only to be leaving the Army now with a broken spirit and totally disillusioned with the system. (Maybe this is just my husband's unit, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is not isolated.)

The deployments for the Army are too long and too close together to foster any kind of stable home life, especially for children. Families are always on edge, waiting for the next training cycle, school or deployment that takes away their soldier.

Thank you for asking, and we appreciate you taking the time to consider our responses.

I just want to say that most of us are tired mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our children really dont know their parents. Marriages are suffering. Our spouses are tired and stressed. I was really hoping that my husband would not re enlist again but he did. The strains of these deployment (this our third) is showing in our community. I have never seen so much stress in my life until we became a military family.

Oh boy, where to start. I strongly feel morale is decreasing at a chaotic rate. My Husband is currently serving his 2nd deployment in Afghanistan, the first one dragggging on and extending 15 months. it was stressful and hard to stay up beat at times but i feel the morale is even lower now with this current deployment than it was at that point in time. Just like the above post states..The soldiers need an adequate "dwell time" Of course im super excited about my husbands return home in a few weeks as is he; but at the same time there is really nothing for he and I to look forward to as it seems he will redeploy in but a few months. Its hard to get back in the swing of things and truly enjoy our time together knowing over the next year he will be reattending JRTC for a month and numerous other trainings and field time.

Its very hard to stay up beat and encourage morale when you dont really have suffienct time to simply enjoy each other, all your family time post deployment seems tainted by the constant shadow of immediate pre-deployment trainings and processes that will mandatorily reserve up a large portion of the soldiers time. If something isn't done to recover a soldiers "dwell time" My husband and I truly feel the morale may hit an all time low and cause problems for many military families and units.

Sir,
I am comming off my third deployment within the last 5 years, second with the 10th CAB. Morale a year ago was pretty good but I think it is on the decline due to the fact of "rumors" of a deployment to Afganastan in less than a year after we got back not to mention reset and the gunneries, NTC's, and JRTC rotations that will have to be conducted in order to get ready to go back to combat. That is alot to ask of young soldier's and families. I have not heard anything official so I try to quell these rumor's when I hear them. I have some of the finest soldiers in the Division serving with me and for me and this is a concern with many soldiers and their families as with me. I am proud to serve and do my time in combat but also would like to be assured I will get to see my wife and young children more than a year at a time as would many soldiers. Right now I feel the over all morale in the brigade is pretty good but could quickly go south if there is any truth to a deployment in less than a year. So yes I agree op-tempo is a factor in morale.
Thanks for your concern

Sir, needless to say this has been a very long and arduous deployment for 3BCT. Although they are preparing to come home, they still have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks. From what I have been told by my soldier and the wives of other soldiers, morale is waning not only because of the difficulty of this deployment, but because of the lack of initiative to provide soldiers at the combat outposts with some very basic provisions already being enjoyed at the FOBs. Winter is setting in quickly in Afghanistan and yet soldiers in the outposts have been told not to expect having heaters for their tents before the end of November if at all. To this date, soldiers at the outposts have not had showers installed and hot meals are few and far between. I realize that this is a war zone and that pushing supplies out to remote areas is difficult, but when my soldier, who has deployed to Afghanistan before, tells me that there is no logistical reason for there not to be showers or heaters at these outposts, I have to wonder who is looking out for our soldiers at the battalion level. It seems to me that most anything, within reason, should be done to support our soldiers after having faced a truly difficult year. At the very least, our soldiers should not be told to "bite their tongues" when they have the opportunity to discuss these issues with you directly.

I would have to say that our morale is pretty low. My Huband just returned from a 12 month deployment to Iraq and now 10th CAB is getting ready to deploy again next October to Afganistan and at least one company in the 10th Cab is going a month and a half earlier thats only ten and a half months home for some families not including the training exercises. We try to keep our morale up but its hard just getting settled in and getting prepared again for yet another year apart.
Thank you for your concern.
Renee

I work at the medical clinic for active duty soldiers. Most are holding there own but a lot hold in the lonliness and horror they have seen. Many have been injured one way or another.
I have a son serving his 2nd term in Iraq. I told him that the soldiers coming home in 2010 are supposed to have 2 years before getting deployed. He said that will never happen. He ha a 2-1/2 year old and saw him for 9 months of his life. Daddy is the computer his son things. His wife has to raise him alone and work. Try juggling that. The parents try to make sure the wife and Grandson keep busy or need support. Many soldier have agreed 6 months would be the best for everyone and that the airforce and Navy that is all they get deployed for. My son loves his job, but keeping him away from his family really hurts. President Obama please end the war or help these soldiers from losing there families.

Sir,
Soldiers and families are getting tired. Most in the Division are on their second or third tour, some more. Dwell time is not really dwell time with JRTC or NTC, OPT and other requirments. There is nothing really to look forward to. I think moral is on the decline for both soldiers and families because of what I stated above.