Australian infantry troops are ashamed that they aren't allowed to kill more Iraqis

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSYD638920080527

Australian troops want to see real action in Iraq
Tue May 27, 2008 12:14am EDT

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian infantry troops are ashamed of their "second rate" role in Iraq and Afghanistan and want to see combat as well as protection and reconstruction roles, according to an army major who served in Iraq.

In an article titled "We Were Soldiers Once" in the latest edition of the Australian Army Journal, Major Jim Hammett, who served in Iraq, Somalia, East Timor, and Tonga, said some infantry soldiers were ashamed of wearing the Australian uniform.

"The restrictions placed on deployed elements as a result of force protection and national policies have, at times, made infantrymen ashamed of wearing their Australian uniform and regimental badge," Hammett wrote.

"(They) have resulted in the widespread perception that our army is plagued by institutional cowardice."

In a second article in the journal, Captain Greg Colton, second-in-command of Sydney's 3rd battalion, said troop morale had deteriorated because infantry were kept away from frontlines like "downtown Baghdad, Basra and Helmand province".

[Vickers]

1. As a former enlisted man, I just want to point out that

in general officers have no fucking idea what we were thinking.

It's entirely possible this gung-ho freak is talking out of his ass.

"said some infantry soldiers"

Sounds kinda like Fox's "some folks say" or "it's been reported" etc.

:eyes:

Sounds like this guy is itching for some combat decorations and is being denied.