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At least 13 soldiers committed suicide Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/10/17/findings_in_survey_fuel_concern_on_morale_of_american_troops/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/10/17/findings_in_survey_fuel_concern_on_morale_of_american_troops/
REBUILDING IRAQ -- MILITARY LIFE
Findings in survey fuel concern on morale of American troops
By Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press, 10/17/2003
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is closely watching for morale problems among troops in Iraq, its two top leaders said yesterday, as a new survey found half those questioned there are inclined not to reenlist when their tours of duty end.
The military newspaper Stars and Stripes said one-third of an estimated 2,000 people questioned said their morale is low. The paper said the questionnaire was not scientific, but the results raised anew worries that long deployments and the complex and dangerous mission in Iraq will prompt some to leave the military at the first opportunity.
The findings also appeared to contradict previous statements by Bush administration officials and returning congressional delegations, which have portrayed morale as high among occupation forces trying to stabilize violent resistance from remnants of Saddam Hussein's fallen regime as well as restart the economy and government.
Top Defense Department officials didn't dispute the questionnaire results at a Pentagon news conference yesterday, and stressed the importance of the issue.
"Morale is really important because it's the people who get the job done," said General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appearing with Donald H. Rumsfeld, secretary of defense. Rumsfeld said the Army is working on a number of ways to bolster morale.
In a companion piece to its story Wednesday, the government-funded Stars and Stripes said the commander in Iraq challenged the survey results. "There is no morale problem," Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez told the paper.
The newspaper said an estimated 60 percent of those questioned complained about a range of subjects.
Three teams of its reporters spent three weeks in Iraq this summer, the newspaper said, visiting 50 camps with the 17-part questionnaire.
Asked about their personal morale, 34 percent rated it as "low" or "very low," 27 percent said it was "high" or "very high," and virtually all the rest called it "average."
About 49 percent of those questioned said it was "very unlikely" or "not likely" that they would stay in the military after completing their current obligation.
Meanwhile, at least 13 US soldiers have committed suicide in Iraq, representing more than 10 percent of American noncombat deaths there, and the Army dispatched a suicide-prevention expert to assess the problem, officials said yesterday.
At least 11 Army soldiers have committed suicide during Iraq operations, most with self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and two Marines have committed suicide using firearms, officials said.
A 12-person Mental Health Advisory Team dispatched by the Army recently left Iraq after studying a wide range of mental health concerns, including suicide, among US troops facing combat stress and longer-than-expected deployments.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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