YOUSIFIYA, Iraq, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Many U.S. soldiers in Iraq are voicing displeasure about the positive spin military and White House officials are putting on the war, it was reported Saturday.
They are expressing frustration over longer deployments and dangers of their mission, as well as anger aimed at superiors who present a different picture to folks back home than what the soldiers see, the Los Angeles Times said.
Interviews with soldiers, online rants and surveys on military suicide indicate morale problems are rampant as the Bush administration faces pressure to begin withdrawing troops, the newspaper said.
However, the Army cites re-enlistment numbers as proof morale remains high, noting it expects to reach its retention goal of 62,200 for the fiscal year.
"On the 4th of July, we re-enlisted 588 service members ... in Baghdad," said Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, who visits bases to gauge morale.
Based on his experience, Hill ranks morale at eight on a scale of one to 10.
"Units that are having real success are units where troop morale is extremely high," Hill said. "Units that are sustaining losses, whether it be personnel losses, injuries or casualties -- those are organizations where morale might dip a bit."
