Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours

I wonder when people are going to ask themselves about their own patriotism? We sit back comfortably and watched as the same men and women are sent to Iraq over and over.

What sacrifice has the American public made to support our efforts in Iraq?

What is the real definition of Patriotism?

When is the public going to say that these practices go against everything we believe and stand up against?

clipped from www.nytimes.com Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond. Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health. President Bush has signaled that he will endorse General Petraeus’s recommendation, a decision that will leave close to 140,000 American troops in Iraq But in a meeting with Mr. Bush late last month in advance of General Petraeus’s testimony, the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed deep concern about stress on the force, senior Defense Department and military officials said. Among the 513,000 active-duty soldiers who have served in Iraq since the invasion of 2003, more than 197,000 have deployed more than once more than 53,000 have deployed three or more times