WASHINGTON Oct. 16 — A third of U.S. troops surveyed in Iraq said their morale was low and half said they are unlikely to stay in the armed forces, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported.
Though the newspaper said its poll of some 2,000 troops was not a scientific sampling, the results raise anew worries that long deployments and the complex and dangerous mission in Iraq will prompt some to leave the military at re-enlistment time.
The findings also appear to contradict statements by the Bush administration portraying morale as high among occupation forces, which are trying to stabilize violent resistance from remnants of Saddam Hussein's fallen regime as well as help restart the economy and government.
In a companion piece to its story Wednesday, the government-funded Stars and Stripes said the commander in Iraq challenged the poll results.
"There is no morale problem," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told the paper.
The newspaper said it took the poll in August after receiving letters through the summer in which some 60 percent complained about a range of subjects including living conditions and mail delivery.
The newspaper said it conducted a "convenience survey," meaning the questions were asked of those who happened to be available at the time rather than to a randomly selected cross-section.
It's reporters spent three weeks fanning across Iraq, visiting some 50 camps with the 17-question poll.
Asked about their personal morale, 34 percent rated it as "low" or "very low," 27 percent said it was "high" or "very high," and virtually all the rest called it "average."
Slightly more than a third of those responding to the questionnaire said their mission was for the most part "not clearly defined" or "not at all defined." Sixty-three percent said it was.
Some 49 percent of those questioned said it was "very unlikely" or "not likely" that they would stay in the military after completing their current obligation.
Experts inside and outside the Pentagon have been predicting a drop in re-enlistment, particularly in the reserve units heavily used in the global war on terrorism and in Iraq.
Military officials say it is not uncommon for enlistment rates to drop after conflicts.
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20031016_841.html
Though the newspaper said its poll of some 2,000 troops was not a scientific sampling, the results raise anew worries that long deployments and the complex and dangerous mission in Iraq will prompt some to leave the military at re-enlistment time.
The findings also appear to contradict statements by the Bush administration portraying morale as high among occupation forces, which are trying to stabilize violent resistance from remnants of Saddam Hussein's fallen regime as well as help restart the economy and government.
In a companion piece to its story Wednesday, the government-funded Stars and Stripes said the commander in Iraq challenged the poll results.
"There is no morale problem," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told the paper.
The newspaper said it took the poll in August after receiving letters through the summer in which some 60 percent complained about a range of subjects including living conditions and mail delivery.
The newspaper said it conducted a "convenience survey," meaning the questions were asked of those who happened to be available at the time rather than to a randomly selected cross-section.
It's reporters spent three weeks fanning across Iraq, visiting some 50 camps with the 17-question poll.
Asked about their personal morale, 34 percent rated it as "low" or "very low," 27 percent said it was "high" or "very high," and virtually all the rest called it "average."
Slightly more than a third of those responding to the questionnaire said their mission was for the most part "not clearly defined" or "not at all defined." Sixty-three percent said it was.
Some 49 percent of those questioned said it was "very unlikely" or "not likely" that they would stay in the military after completing their current obligation.
Experts inside and outside the Pentagon have been predicting a drop in re-enlistment, particularly in the reserve units heavily used in the global war on terrorism and in Iraq.
Military officials say it is not uncommon for enlistment rates to drop after conflicts.
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20031016_841.html
