Soldiers at New York’s Fort Drum “who are killed in combat will be honored during monthly group memorials instead of individual services beginning in June.” The same policy was announced recently by the commanding general of Fort Lewis in Washington. He wrote in a memo, “I am afraid that with the number of soldiers we now have in harm’s way, our losses will preclude us from continuing to do individual memorial ceremonies.”
What’s next? Will the names of the dead no longer be released?
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:38 pmThis is all quite depressing but what will the 600′000 Iraqi wardead say to this?
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 pmYou have time to send them over individually,
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:46 pmyou have time to take them away from their families,
you have time to take them away from their jobs which support their families
but you don’t have time to give them proper armor,
you don’t have time to upgrade their armored vehicles,
you don’t have time to give them new bomb resistant armored vehicles, you don’t have time to maintain veterans hospitals when the come back
and now you don’t have time to bury them.
What’s next? Will the names of the dead no longer be released?
No, Walt. Next, it will be mass burials in a common grave, with a single headstone for each month’s burial. A major saving for the maladministration, not just of time, but of real cash.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:47 pmGood comments all, guys. The whole thing is such an infuriating, embarrassing mess that it’s hard to not get incoherent when talking about it. I shudder to think of the karmic payback BuschCo has earned this country for the last 6 yrs. I only hope the Great Deciderer is alive when it happens, and hopefully dead center when it comes.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:51 pmThere must be some way to privatize this function, so SOMEONE can make some money off of it, right? That is the American/BuschCo way, isn’t it? “Profites uber alles” (Profits over all else…)
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:53 pmAnd let’s not forget all the wounded and emotionally damaged heroes who BushCo also doesn’t want to fund or for any of us to see.
Just move on, nothing here, nothing to see. Get on with your lives, spend your money keep Amurrka’s economy strong and don’t fret about those troops, they are just expendable, like the blown up Humvees and wrecked helicopters…. of no more use to us now.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:55 pmupside:
Perhaps Bush doesn’t want to fund them to YOUR levels. He had to fight Congress just to get ANY funding though.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:00 pmThat’s ok. In the long run, nobody’s going to give a crap about YOU, either. And you’re still ALIVE.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:03 pmPerhaps Bush doesn’t want to fund them to YOUR levels. He had to fight Congress just to get ANY funding though.
Comment by Jake
I have to disagree. Congress, I THINK (red herring net), is not much more than a group of lame ducks at this point. 2008 is headlights in the political deers eyes.
They all seem to be frozen.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:06 pmJake,
You are so full of sh*t!!! Congress offered MORE funding then he asked for including additional VA money, but he refused it. Get your facts straight before you write, OK???
I am a Vietnam wounded Vet and have seen the VA service get worse since your Butthole Buddy, DUbya has been in power. I won’t even go there anymore, as the care is like a third world country now.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:10 pmPerhaps Bush doesn’t want to fund them to YOUR levels. He had to fight Congress just to get ANY funding though.
Comment by Jake
Riiight, Jake. You know that’s a complete FU*#KING lie. Like the Commander-In-Chef didn’t get whatever he wanted for 6 straight yrs from his rubberstamp Repub Congress, and STILL wouldn’t make sure the troops had the armor they needed, or were there in sufficient numbers to secure that huge ammo dump looted at the time.
Is it hard living w/ your total sense of denial, Jake? Or, do you really believe the gibberish you put up here?
As George Costanza once said on Seinfeld, “Jerry, it’s not a lie if YOU believe it.” Jake, I guess it’s not a lie if you believe it, huh?
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:18 pmGuys, Jake has no soul. He may be 75, who knows, but we all know he’s been dead for years.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:33 pm#13. Jake is lying as usual. He thinks that TP commenters are as thick, ignorant, stupid, and malevolent as he is.
I vote to disregard him (although I do enjoy bashing him over the head). He’ll go spill his tripe somewhere else.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:45 pmNext will be mass-graves.
Because well, we’re running out of room, and it’d just save so much money.
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:54 pmPerhaps Bush doesn’t want to fund them to YOUR levels. He had to fight Congress just to get ANY funding though.
Comment by Jake
And you are a lying piece of sh*t who doesn’t even keep with current history.
The 109th rubberstampers gave bush whatever he wanted.
Bush doesn’t give a damn about the troops, wounded or veterans. And obviously neither do you.
Another proof that your claims of being a veteran are crap, Jake-ass
I am a Vietnam wounded Vet and have seen the VA service get worse since your Butthole Buddy, DUbya has been in power. ……
the care is like a third world country now.
Comment by upside00
It is much worst now.
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:25 pmI have been going veteran protests for the last 6 years that are ignored by BushCo and MSM.
The 109th cancelled the yearly congressional hearings with vets, hopefully the Dems will bring them back.
it is disgusting the way republicans have been treating vets.
#11, excellent slapdown. You’ve got to be on Joke’s “ignore list” after that one.
This news is just one more punch in the gut to the troops, their families, and all of us who care about them and support them. How much more do they have to give up for their country?
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:50 pmit is disgusting the way republicans have been treating vets.
Comment by Wayne — June 2, 2007 @ 6:25 pm
Agree! One of the latest outrage from this government of AWOLs is that Bush is threatening a bill introduced by the Democrats to raise military pay and benefits to military families by 3.5%. The WH only wants 3%. Some WH official said that the extra .5% was not “necessary”.
These creeps only care about the troops as props for photo-ops and pawns to be sent to their imperialistic wars. Revolting!
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:50 pmKen, who lived across the street from me, passed away just this last Christmas and was a veteran of both WWII and Korea said that Jake is an ignorant (actually begins with an ‘f’) a$$hole. I respect that guy because he was 87 at the time and had served 35 years.
June 2nd, 2007 at 7:46 pm“he WH only wants 3%. Some WH official said that the extra .5% was not “necessaryâ€.
He not only said it was not necessary, he said he would veto any bill that had a raise of more than 3% in it. Well, I say that the Democrats should pass a bill with a 5% raise for our troops. They more than deserve it. Then let Bush veto it. He certainly won’t be able to say that the Democrats are not supporting the troops. Also, you forgot the extra $40 a month the Democrats want to give to war widows. That’s a little more than a dollar a day and Bush says that is unnecessary too.
The way Bush and the Republics treat the troops is disgraceful. What is also disgraceful is how long it took the American public to see this sad fact. But, they see it now, so that is good.
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:04 pmThat’s all they should be allowed to do, is honor their dead.
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pmUnfortunately, if they don’t keep up the training schedule, even more unseasoned troops will be offered up to the chymps meatgrinder.
Like a monthly birthday cake at work, huh?
Except you just lost your husband, your wife, your son or daughter, your father or mother, your sister or brother, or your best friend. Most likely to a violent, painfull death and now gone forever.
That’s some classy shit your “company” is doing.
How can this go on?
If we can’t afford our servicemen and women a proper burial, then we shouldn’t be in this fight.
I’m disgusted.
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 amSo your story is that parents, spouses, family, and loved ones are to sit around and morn until their turn in the front of the line????
I would like to let you know that it bothers many Americans that President Bush does not allow the media coverage as the killed in action soldiers are carried of the plane with their coffin draped with the American falg. And the media covers who they are and circumstances.
This I tell you is completely dishonoring the military and is hostile in respecting the American people. For we need to and deserved to see this in keeping respect and perspective of the casualties of occupation and it highest price.
This is one single issue that Bush has never been confronted with and I mean hard hit. If I had a seat in the White House press corps. I would risk the President revoking my press pass by questioning this vigorously.
I would compell and challenge THINK PROGRESS and any other news shaking, progressive shaping blogs and sites to promote this very notion. Our military does not fall. They are killed! Sprinkle all the suger you want to on it. They are killed and dead. Not fallen or life cut short.
Realize the risk, results, and the price of an American life.
I challenge you to bring this to the for front. It never should have been let pass in the beginning…………………
June 3rd, 2007 at 2:43 amBush cares nothing about the troops and uses them as cannon fodder.
June 3rd, 2007 at 5:59 am** support the troops like Republicans**
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:06 amyep, 3.5% increase is too steep and unneccessary for our volunteer army–that would cut into the funds necessary to pay the bill to Blackwater for their mercenaries who are there, dragging down 5 times or more in salary than our men and women in uniform.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:46 amheck, why not just dig a big hole and throw lime in–forget about those “monthly” services and improve efficiency?
Jake/Captain Mantastic–you are among the lowest of the low.
One can only hope that as you go about the business of spreading the lies and deceit that support the neocon agenda, that your blood pressure shoots through the roof and blows out the goop that passes as your “brain”.
Carnage can get so tedious, time consuming, expensive and it’s bad for the publics glorious perception of war.
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:57 amMaybe they should move to “Group Funerals” now…once a month group burials is enough. How sad. The cowboy and his republican base has retaliated in the name of a very mean and vindictive God…not my God, for sure. This illegal and immoral war of choice makes them no better than the other radicals in this world.
June 3rd, 2007 at 12:41 pmWhere’s Osama?