82nd Airborne Paratroopers Unhappy With Iraq, Afghanistan Troop Withdrawals

[Top Cat]

Wow, shades of Shawshank...

Red: "These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized."

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Among the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne's 1st Brigade Combat Team, there's a sinking feeling the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will fade away. Instead of an exciting and challenging combat tour, they'll be relegated to the dread "garrison life" here at Fort Bragg.

For those who enlisted after 9/11, combat deployments have been an expected part of the deal. The constant cycle of deployments of the past decade has no doubt been tough on families, and the strain is exacting a cost on the physical and mental fitness of those in uniform; certainly there are some who are sick of it.

But others are eager to get in at least one last deployment before the fighting ends, dreading a life confined their home base, with its 9-to-5 routine and endless training for a war that never comes. They signed up to go to war. They are good at it, especially the counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan which demands courage, physical stamina, ingenuity and individual initiative.

82nd Airborne Paratroopers Unhappy With Iraq, Afghanistan Troop Withdrawals

 

[greenlantern11b]

Garrison is pretty gay... garrison rules on Afghan bases is even gayer