Murkowski Questions Handling of Stryker Redeployment

MURKOWSKI QUESTIONS HANDLING OF STRYKER REDEPLOYMENT

SENATOR WRITES SECRETARY RUMSFELD TO ENSURE THE 172ND HAS NECESSARY EQUIPMENT

Monday, August 7, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Lisa Murkowski late last week wrote to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld to express her concerns over the handling of the Stryker redeployment. Senator Murkowski also called on Secretary Rumsfeld to ensure that the members of the 172nd have the necessary equipment to carry out their mission and that the needs of the families are being met.

In the letter, Senator Murkowski writes:

"I understand that there is a mission to be accomplished and that the 172nd SBCT may be the best unit for the job. I have little doubt that our military families, who serve our Nation too, fully understand the meaning of flexibility. Missions change, plans change, but our military families know that commitment to faithfully execute the mission comes first. "Yet, we also wonder why the professional, all-volunteer Army of the 21st Century would reverse its decision days after it officially told the families that the long anticipated homecoming was real. We wonder why the Army could not officially confirm rumors to the contrary for days. If our military families were told weeks before the expected return date that their loved ones' tour in Iraq might be extended, perhaps they would be on the road to acceptance of this disappointment. It is a bit much to expect that our military families would accept this reversal hours after the ‘Welcome Home' signs had been erected and the children had been told that the family was about to be reunited."

A complete copy of the letter follows.

August 4, 2006

Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301

Dear Mr. Secretary:

They call Fairbanks, Alaska, which is home to the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), the "Golden Heart City." It is known as the "Golden Heart City" for the hospitality it offers to the men and women of the United States Army based at Fort Wainwright and those of the United States Air Force based at Eielson AFB. It is also known by that name for the way it supports the families of our men and women in uniform when they are deployed abroad in the service of our Nation.

It is no overstatement to suggest that our "golden hearts" were collectively broken by the abruptness of the decision to extend the deployment of the men and women of the 172nd SBCT for up to an additional 120 days.

On Friday, July 21st, Fort Wainwright Public Affairs issued a news release indicating that the men and women of the 172nd SBCT were finally coming home after a year's deployment to Iraq. The news release indicated that the first main body flight from Iraq would arrive at Eielson AFB on Tuesday, July 25th. It went on to say that "at least ten main body-flights would return in late July and early August." The return of our men and women from Iraq had been eagerly awaited since the brigade's advance party returned to Fort Wainwright on June 20th. A community-wide "Welcome Home" celebration was planned for August 17th.

As might be expected, the anticipated return of the 172nd SBCT also drove thousands of individual decisions. At least one member of the 172nd arranged his wedding plans around the expected return. Another member, who enjoyed unprecedented success in the State's lottery for moose and Dall Sheep hunting permits, was looking forward to a once in a lifetime outdoor experience this fall. Many families scheduled vacations around the late July-early August return — vacations that could conclude before the start of the 2006-2007 school year and the onset of hard winter in Interior Alaska. "Welcome Home" banners went up on doorposts and children were told that "Daddy's coming home."

On Monday July 24th, three days after the official press release that our soldiers were coming home, rumors began to circulate that the 172nd SBCT would not be returning as the Army promised. By Wednesday, my office was receiving media inquiries seeking confirmation or denial of the rumors. These media inquiries were generated by calls from military families who heard the rumors but were unable to obtain confirmation of the truth through official channels. As you know, an official announcement was made on Thursday July 27th that the rumors were true.

On an intellectual level, I understand that there is a mission to be accomplished and that the 172nd SBCT may be the best unit for the job. I have little doubt that our military families, who serve our Nation too, fully understand the meaning of flexibility. Missions change, plans change, but our military families know that commitment to faithfully execute the mission comes first. Yet, we also wonder why the professional, all-volunteer Army of the 21st Century would reverse its decision days after it officially told the families that the long anticipated homecoming was real. We wonder why the Army could not officially confirm rumors to the contrary for days. If our military families were told weeks before the expected return date that their loved ones' tour in Iraq might be extended, perhaps they would be on the road to acceptance of this disappointment. It is a bit much to expect that our military families would accept this reversal hours after the "Welcome Home" signs had been erected and the children had been told that the family was about to be reunited.

In the near term, I expect that the Department of Defense will do everything that is humanly and lawfully possible to ease the tremendous pain experienced by the families of the 172nd SBCT. I understand that the Army has established a Family Support Center. I would appreciate periodic briefings on the issues being handled by the staff and stand prepared to lend my support in any way that they need it.

The community-wide celebration planned for August 17th in Fairbanks will still occur, but it has been redesignated as an expression of the community's support for our military families. I would hope that the military will lend its full support to this event and that you dispatch a senior military official to visit with the families and to ensure that their needs are being met and their concerns are being addressed.

Given the long and hard road traveled by the members of the 172nd during their year in Iraq, I urge you to take a personal interest in their ability to perform the mission ahead. The safety and mission readiness of our troops is of paramount importance to all of us.

That means ensuring that any equipment which was transported out of the theatre in anticipation of the unit's return is promptly replaced as well as ensuring that the troops are mentally prepared for the difficult road ahead. I am particularly concerned with the information I have recently received that vital equipment, such as body armor, ammunition, weaponry and vehicles, may have been shipped back, leaving our soldiers unprepared and unprotected for the duties they are expected to perform in Baghdad. It also means formulating plans to rotate the 172nd out as soon as possible within the 120 day window. Some of our soldiers had already sent home personal effects, including shirts, socks, and pictures of their loved ones. I ask that you do all in your power to ensure that these items are replaced and that personal items sent by family members be expedited to the troops in the field.

In the longer term, I am deeply concerned about the effect that highly publicized actions such as this will have on the recruiting and retention goals of our Armed Forces. Military families should be told of any anticipated extension in deployment well in advance whenever possible and the promises we make to the families should be honored unless national security interests strongly dictate otherwise.

We know that human beings need time to accept decisions that are painful. The first phase is shock, the second is denial, and the third is anger. The letters that I have received suggest that some of our military families and members of the civilian community that support them are presently experiencing this third phase.

Your care for the troops of the 172nd SBCT in the coming days will go a long way toward determining whether acceptance of the decision to delay their return, which may very well have been necessary to the mission, is forthcoming. Your attention to the needs of our families will not only speed their acceptance of the decision to keep their loved ones in theatre, but also will help our soldiers remain focused on the dangerous assignment that awaits them in Baghdad.

Respectfully,

Lisa Murkowski
United States Senator

http://murkowski.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=261448