What the Troops Think
When Fahrenheit 911 comes out, and Mikey tries to make it appear that the troops are demoralized and sickened by being in Iraq, be sure and remember the truth.
Subject: FW: OIF Survey report
31 March 2004
To: General John P. Abizaid, Central Command
From: Charles Moskos
Subject: Follow-Up Report on Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
This is a follow-up to the preliminary report on OIF dated 14 Dec 2003. Attached the tables of the OIF survey we conducted in December when in theater. The responses of our soldiers are much more positive than those usually reported in the media. Some highlights are given below.
1. The morale of the soldiers was higher than anticipated. In fact, junior enlisted and NCOs report almost identical morale as their WWII counterparts (table #17)! Not the officers though.
2. The survey data reinforce the interview data given in the preliminary report. Namely, reserve components had markedly lower morale than the active duty, BUT, the survey data show that RC lower morale is mainly due to the perception they are treated as second-class members of the Army (tables #3, #7, #8, #9), NOT with the mission itself (tables #1 and #2). This, in a sense, is good news because the problem is fixable. A listing of RC perceptions were covered in the preliminary report.
3. Compared to surveys conducted in earlier deployments in Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, the OIF soldiers are more optimistic about what their mission will accomplish (table #15).
4. A significant percentage report that OIF had made them more religious and regularly attended religious services. The role of the chaplaincy is central to troop morale and one that ought be supported further (table #12).
5. An open-ended question asked for the most difficult thing of the mission (table #20). Leading complaints were separation from family and climate; no big surprises there.
Click the link to read all the specific data regarding troop morale. Michael Moore is about to lie to you yet again.
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