Army Chief of Staff Odierno disparaged the Army National Guard

Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno in hot water again. You may remember when he blamed soldiers for for committing suicide, during an interview with David Wood of Huffington Post in September during Suicide Awareness Month. If not, here's a reminder.

"First, inherently what we do is stressful. Why do I think some people are able to deal with stress differently than others? There are a lot of different factors. Some of it is just personal make-up. Intestinal fortitude. Mental toughness that ensures that people are able to deal with stressful situations."

Then he turned around to say that families were to blame as well,

"But it also has to do with where you come from. I came from a loving family, one who gave lots of positive reinforcement, who built up psychologically who I was, who I am, what I might want to do. It built confidence in myself, and I believe that enables you to better deal with stress. It enables you to cope more easily than maybe some other people."

He got into hot water again by slamming the National Guards.

Army chief's comments 'disrespectful' of Guard, NGAUS president says
Army Times
Jan. 13, 2014

Proponents of the National Guard are hitting back against comments made Jan. 7 by the Army’s top officer.

“The Army chief of staff disparaged the Army National Guard last week by telling reporters in Washington, D.C., that, essentially, the Army National Guard just isn’t good enough to be relied upon more in the future,” retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, president of the National Guard Association of the United States, said in a statement.

“The precise term used was the Army National Guard’s ‘capabilities are not interchangeable’ with the active-component Army, but his message was loud and clear to 350,000 members of the force nationwide. I know because I have heard from more than a few, and many asked me to respond.”

During a wide-ranging news conference Jan. 7 at the National Press Club, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno discussed the ongoing drawdown of the active Army and the potential of even deeper cuts to the force.

Odierno said the Army “is structured to be complementary” and capabilities in its three components “are not interchangeable.”

The active Army is more expensive because it provides a higher level of readiness, and while Odierno commended the job done by the reserve components, Odierno pointed out that the National Guard “trains 39 days a year.”
read more here

In the article there is this reminder of how the suicide results have been even more troubling that the press has left us believing.

"The active Army is already cutting 80,000 soldiers from its ranks, with more cuts likely to follow as the impact of sequestration takes hold."

While the total for 2013 Military Suicides have not been released yet, less soldiers mean there should be less suicides, but they have not gone down nearly enough. It also means less soldiers to count committing suicide while the veterans suicides have gone up especially for the age group being discharged.

More young veterans committing suicide, data show

The rate among 18- to 29-year-old men climbed 44% over 3 years, a new analysis shows, although it declined among older male veterans.

When will he be held accountable for what he says and does?