In a Christmas letter to all members of Multi-National Force-Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus summarized progress made during 2007. Security has improved in many parts of the nation, with violence down about 60 percent from a peak last June. The progress, however, is reversible, Gen. Petraeus pointed out, and much work remains, especially helping Iraqi security forces and Iraqi government organizations take responsibility for their country’s future. In addition, the job must be done as U.S. forces rotate and senior commanders shift with them. Gen. Petraeus warned that 2008 will bring many changes and that the “way ahead will not be easy.”

The Army is slowly beginning to reduce the number of troops deploying to Iraq as part of the surge of five additional brigades that began deploying in January 2007. The 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, redeployed to Fort Hood, Texas, in early December without replacement. Another four brigades are scheduled to leave by July.

The 1st Armored Division, led by Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, replaced the 25th Infantry, led by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, in northern Iraq last October. In December, the 4th Infantry Division, with commander Maj. Gen. Jeffery W. Hammond, took control of Multi-National Division-Baghdad from the 1st Cavalry Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr. It is the 4th Infantry’s third deployment to Baghdad; Gen. Hammond was an assistant division commander there in 2004 and 2005. Experience will help the new senior commanders effect a smooth transition, but they will have to adjust rapidly to changing conditions in theater.

Another change in leadership is scheduled in February, when Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq and Gen. Petraeus’ second-in-command, will redeploy with III Corps. Gen. Odierno has been commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq since December 2006 and is respected by the Iraqi military and political leadership. When III Corps redeploys to Fort Hood, he will be replaced by Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Like most senior commanders, Gen. Austin has extensive combat experience in Iraq. When the 3rd Infantry Division led the invasion in March 2003, he was the assistant division commander.


STUDY REVEALS DELAYED STRESS
An Army study found that veterans of the war in Iraq are more likely to report mental health problems several months after deployment rather than immediately upon their return, with one in five active duty soldiers and more than 40 percent of reserve component troops needing referral for mental health treatment after a postdeployment medical screening.

Col. (Dr.) Charles S. Milliken and Col. (Dr.) Charles W. Hoge of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Jennifer L. Auchterlonie of the Army Center for Promotion and Preventive Medicine compared the mental health assessments of the first 88,235 soldiers—56,350 active duty soldiers and 31,885 reserve component troops—who went through two screenings. Their findings were published last year in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Only 4 percent to 5 percent of the veterans were referred for mental health care after the initial postdeployment health assessment. That number jumped after the postdeployment health reassessment three to six months later, when 20.3 percent of the active duty soldiers and 42.4 percent of the Army Reservists needed treatment. The later numbers include soldiers who had referred themselves or were receiving mental health care because of employee-assistance referrals. The soldiers had symptoms serious enough to prompt a medical provider to order an evaluation, but were not necessarily diagnosed.

The need for referrals jumped in four categories tested. The largest change between the immediate health assessment and the follow-up were reports of conflict with friends and family, which rose from 3.5 percent to 14 percent for active duty soldiers and from 4.2 percent to 21.1 percent for the reserve component troops. Symptoms of major depression rose from about 5 percent to 10 percent for active duty troops and to almost 25 percent for the reserve components. The percentage of reports of post-traumatic stress disorder rose from 11.8 percent to 16.7 percent for active duty soldiers and 12.7 percent to almost 25 percent in the reserve components. The leap was also greater in the reserve components in terms of overall mental health, rising from 17.5 percent to 35.5 percent, while the active duty percentage rose from 17 to about 27.

The first study to track the mental health of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom over time, the report is part of the Army’s effort to improve health care and reduce the stigma often associated with mental health disorders.

Since the completion of the study, the Army has implemented Battlemind (www.battlemind.org), a program that prepares soldiers for combat as well as returning home following combat. The goal of this training is to develop a realistic preview, in the form of a briefing, of the stresses and strains of deployment on soldiers. Four training briefs have been developed and are available for soldiers, leaders, National Guard/Reserves and families.


ARMY CREATES LOGISTICS BRANCH
By general order of the Secretary of the Army, the Logistics branch is the newest branch for commissioned Army officers. All captains through colonels in the Ordnance, Quartermaster or Transportation branches across all components of the Army who have completed the Captain’s Career Course are now Logistics branch officers.

A new primary military occupational specialty, 90A replaces functional area 90 (multifunctional logistician). The new specialty indicates proficiency in all three logistics areas.

New lieutenants will continue to begin their careers as Ordnance, Quartermaster or Transportation officers, and those branches will remain for enlisted soldiers, noncommissioned officers and warrant officers.

When lieutenants are promoted to captains, they will begin multifunctional training because it is then that officers become exposed to positions that require diverse expertise. Logisticians will have a broader focus and will function as supply-chain managers, but will keep up their skills in their secondary specialty. They will wear the Logistics branch insignia and the regimental crest associated with their secondary area of concentration.

As part of Base Realignment and Closure, the three logistics schools—the Quartermaster School, Fort Lee, Va.; the Transportation School, Fort Eustis, Va.; and the Ordnance School, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.—will be consolidated at Fort Lee by 2011. Logistics officers will train there. For more information, visit the Logistics branch web site: www.cascom.army.mil/cascombasic2/publicsite/logbranch/index.htm.


BRAC COSTS SOAR, SAVINGS SHRINK
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report advises that the cost of consolidating defense operations as mandated in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plan has soared 48 percent in the last two years. The cost of closing and realigning 57 major bases and hundreds of smaller facilities has climbed from an estimated $21 billion to $31 billion since 2005. At the same time, projected savings have dropped 5 percent to about $4 billion a year. In 2005, the base-closing commission estimated its recommendations would save the Department of Defense $36 billion over the next 20 years; GAO findings indicate that BRAC can now expect to save $15 billion over that period, a decrease of 58 percent.

GAO found that the need for construction of additional facilities and infrastructure not included in the original estimate was a major contributing factor. Increased military construction costs account for nearly two thirds of the estimated cost increase. Nationwide 123,000 people will be realigned.

A previous GAO report examined the number of personnel involved in the BRAC efforts and found discrepancies between Army headquarters estimates and those of nine domestic bases that will gain personnel. Officials at Fort Benning, Ga., for example, expected 6,000 soldiers and military students more than Army headquarters anticipated. They also projected nearly 9,500 more school-age children than the 2006 DoD projection.

Some of the increased costs result from the Pentagon’s failure to take inflation into account in its original estimates. When inflation is factored in, estimated costs have risen to $28.6 billion, or about 36 percent, and projected annual savings have dropped by 20 percent, to about $3.4 billion. In addition, the GAO believes the estimates may be overstated because they include salaries of personnel DoD plans to reassign from sites slated for closure to positions in other areas. Among the largest one-time cost increases are:

• $970 million to consolidate and close National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency facilities and move them to Fort Belvoir, Va.

• $700 million to close Walter Reed Army Medical Center and relocate its medical care functions to National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.

• $680 million to relocate the Army’s Armor center and school from Fort Knox, Ky., to Fort Benning, Ga.

• $680 million to close Fort Monmouth, N.J., and shift defense work to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

• $550 million to establish the San Antonio Regional Medical Center and move enlisted medical training to Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

DoD officials point out that saving money was only one of the reasons for the BRAC recommendations; implementing them should improve defense capabilities. Given the revised estimates, the GAO predicts it will take the DoD four years longer than planned—until 2017—to recoup up-front costs of the realignments and closings. In addition, the estimates are apt to change because of possible increases in environmental cleanup costs and military construction. The GAO also warns that the Pentagon will have trouble implementing the BRAC recommendations by its September 2011 deadline.


VETERANS RECORD SERVICE
The Army Historical Foundation is managing an electronic database for veterans to record details of their service and share their stories with the American public. Each entry will include the soldier’s name, rank, hometown and service history. All those who received an honorable, medical or general discharge from the active Army, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Army Air Corps (Army Air Forces) and WAC/WAAC will be able to register at the National Museum of the U.S. Army or can register online at the Historical Foundation web site. Friends or relatives may register soldiers or sign up those who served as far back as 1775. Those who died in combat receive special recognition. Registration is free. For more information or to register, visit www.usarmyregistry.org.


MEMENTOS TO VIETNAM VETS
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the museum of the Department of the Interior is sponsoring an exhibit of mementos left at the Wall in Washington, D.C. The first was a Purple Heart that was thrown into the memorial fountain when the concrete was being poured. More than 100,000 tributes have been deposited at the memorial since then—everything from dog tags, cowboy boots and an artificial Christmas tree to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

The title of the exhibit, which also features drawings, photographs and models showing how the Wall was created, is “The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: America Responds.” Although the museum can showcase only a fraction of the articles left as tributes, Duery Felton Jr., exhibit curator, Army and Vietnam veteran, says that each item is “equally important and serves as a living memorial.”

The exhibit is open through May 31, 2008, from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays) and the third Saturday of the month from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. For more information visit www.doi.gov/interiormuseum/ or call 202-208-4984.