Salon: The Army is ordering injured troops to go to Iraq

[maddezmom]

At Fort Benning, soldiers who were classified as medically unfit to fight are now being sent to war. Is this an isolated incident or a trend?

By Mark Benjamin

March 11, 2007 | FORT BENNING, Georgia -- "This is not right," said Master Sgt. Ronald Jenkins, who has been ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged further by heavy Army protective gear. "This whole thing is about taking care of soldiers," he said angrily. "If you are fit to fight you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight."

As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga., is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.

On Feb. 15, Master Sgt. Jenkins and 74 other soldiers with medical conditions from the 3rd Division's 3rd Brigade were summoned to a meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon. These are the men responsible for handling each soldier's "physical profile," an Army document that lists for commanders an injured soldier's physical limitations because of medical problems -- from being unable to fire a weapon to the inability to move and dive in three-to-five-second increments to avoid enemy fire. Jenkins and other soldiers claim that the division and brigade surgeons summarily downgraded soldiers' profiles, without even a medical exam, in order to deploy them to Iraq. It is a claim division officials deny.

The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.

more:http://www.salon.com/news/2007/03/11/fort_benning/index.html?source=rss

previous post:

Pentagon struggles to find fresh troops
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Military leaders are struggling to choose Army units to stay in Iraq and Afghanistan longer or go there earlier than planned, but five years of war have made fresh troops harder to find.

Faced with a military buildup in Iraq that could drag into next year, Pentagon officials are trying to identify enough units to keep up to 20 brigade combat teams in Iraq. A brigade usually has about 3,500 troops.

The likely result will be extending the deployments of brigades scheduled to come home at the end of the summer, and sending others earlier than scheduled.

Final decisions — which have not yet been made — would come as Congress is considering ways to force President Bush to wind down the war, despite his vow that he would veto such legislation.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2762072&mesg_id=2762072

[az chela]

1. Once again this government is leading the sheep to the slaughter

[EFerrari]

2. What's next? Using vets in MREs?

:nuke::nuke::nuke:

[formercia]

4. Soylent OD. n/t

[EFerrari]

8. I swear, there is no low too low for these felons. n/t

[China_cat]

3. This is about making sure that those who need care

will die so the government doesn't have to provide it.

[PDJane]

5. I have to admit

That my cynical side believes that this is the most likely cause .

[roody]

6. It is way past time for the troops to support the troops.

Say no.

[Rose Siding]

7. Surely *THIS* will outrage the people

Won't it? :cry:

The docs who dicked with those profiles should lose their licenses :grr:

[salin]

14. certainly violates the hippocratic oath.

[BearSquirrel2]

33. No choice ...

I think like countless officers before them, the Docs have a choice between two evils. One would be to comply with these fowl orders. The other would be to resign and allow some nasty pieces of work to come take their places in the command authority.

[tblue]

9. Make copies of this and put one on the windshield of every car with that damn yellow ribbon magnet

on it.

[krispos42]

10. I'm sure Bush has a solution for this problem

This is not right," said Master Sgt. Ronald Jenkins, who has been ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged further by heavy Army protective gear.

He'll just be one of the lucky ones without all that hot, sweaty, itchy, unwanted body armor!


:sarcasm:

[Contrite]

11. When do they mutiny?

For God's sake, why do they put up with this? Where is it written that troops must endure such suffering at the hands of their own government?

[anitar1]

13. It happens in Banana Republics. these soldiers

mean nada to the administration. Nada to the Drs, nada to the pugs and nada to the evangelicals.They have been sentenced to death, imo.

[Divine Discontent]

12. if the story is told honestly, and by a respectable person

this will help end this war, in it's own part (a big part), this is disgusting!!!!!!!!!


cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<<--- best 08 gear, and anti-shrub!

[pokercat999]

15. Pawns.....now you can see what your govt thinks of

you. Lay down your arms and come home, we will protect you. The shame of this administration is not yours' to bare. There is nothing to fear here at home where you are loved and belong.

For those that wish to stay and "fight".......you will reap your just rewards, administered by your neo-con friends, the ones who are taking such good care of your brothers and sisters at Walter Reed and in the VA Admin.

[DFW]

16. Any able-bodied supporter of Bush's invasion.....

.....who, after hearing this, does not immediately volunteer for the army and
demand to be sent to Iraq has about as much credibility as a marriage-counseling
service jointly run by Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingirch.

[Vinca]

17. Time for the Young Republicans to leave campus and form a line

at the recruiting office.

[kineneb]

29. followed by the 101st Fighting Keyboarders

over at FR...

:evilgrin:

Remember: Sign up or shut up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. If you all don't think we're not going to suffer from a backlash of anger

from vets who feel their country as let them down...

I just hope that anger gets channeled properly to the party that was most responsible for the hell they're experiencing.

[BonnieJW]

24. Maj. Gen. Eaton (ret)

was on Bill Mahar Friday night. He said the republican party was terrible for the military and this must be communicated to every soldier, every member of every soldier's family and to every friend of every soldier. These people must stop voting for republicans.

[The Backlash Cometh]

25. Yeah, I know what you're saying.

Even though we can see it clearly, I don't think we're in a position to tell them that they brought this on themselves if they voted Republican. They can help undue it by examining critically all the learned behavior that makes them vote Republican.

[TheBaldyMan]

19. this isn't the first time this has happened

support the troops? It's a meaningless phrase to thie current administration.

Support Oilmen and Billionaires - that's the real manta of BCFE.

[Chimichurri]

20. Just when you think you've heard it all. This is unforgivable.

[Larry Ogg]

21. This is a brilliant tactical move.

As a commodity the pentagon will be able to get every drop of blood value out of the troops. They are unable to ware expensive body armor so that’s a plus. They are unable to move quickly so they will be easy targets. They can be at the head of the spear, draw out the enemy with cannon fodder. And when the wounded are cut down like grass there will be no expensive medical treatment to worry about. And then the Congress can name a post office after them and there names will be immortalized! Sounds like a really great plan…

[maggiegault]

28. And Better Yet, NO DRAFT!

No draft, so that John Q. America doesn't have to send HIS kids over to fight in an unjust war for oil.

"Support our troops"...by literally using them up as human beings.

[disndat]

22. There must be a special place in hell

for these depraved Bush monsters. Cheney is laughing all the way to Dubai with his Halliburton trillion$$

[Joe Chi Minh]

26. The greater the evil, the less shame. Though I suppose that is implicit.

Nevertheless, does it not seem totally bizarre that there should be people, war profiteers who, instead of viewing wars as an occasion for a suspension of their avarice and depredation and the whole range of wickedness they customarily engage in against their fellow citizens, on the contrary, view such wars as fantastic opportunities to take their profiteering to as obscene a level as they possibly can? The ultimate abyss of whatever is the opposite to patriotism: betrayal, treachery, treason... can there be a name for such wickedness? Particularly, when they start them precisely for such purposes, it surely beggars belief!

But can anything about them reasonably beggar belief? Can it possibly be unbelievable that they, of all kites and crows, raucously claim to "support the troops"! Are not their world, their values, everything about them, the absolute antithesis of all that is good, pure, noble, right and honourable?

[IWantAChange]

23. I thought we weren't SAFE unless Chimpy & Dick were in charge...

or was it no one is SAFE WITH THEM IN CHARGE?? If Repukes continue to support these incompetent boobs what does that say about them??

[The Doctor.]

27. The reason to never watch Faux 'news'.

They will not report the truth, they do not support the troops.

It's a travesty. And our media is complicit.

[Divernan]

30. Also drugging them w/psychotropic drugs w/ suicidal/homicidal side effects

There was a story on NPR this afternoon about some journalists receiving an award for an expose of
the military's failure to properly treat soldiers suffering from PTSD in Iraq/Afghanistan. When soldiers suffer a mental breakdown in these areas, they are sent to a safer area (large base) for some rest and 3 decent meals a day, for 72 hours; they are then dosed up with various anti depressants or tranquilizers and sent them right back into the battlefield. What the reporters found included that
(1) It takes more than 72 hours for these drugs to take effect;
(2) That possible side effects of these drugs include suicidal and/or homicidal tendencies;
(3) That psychiatrists say that close monitoring of and counseling with anyone given these drugs
is medically necessary;
(4) That no such monitoring or counseling is provided to the soldiers;
(5) That soldiers who unsuccessfully attempt suicide or report suicidal tendencies are not
believed and are accused of faking the reports/attempts;
(6) That numerous soldiers who commit suicide in Iraq/Afghanistan have asked for help in
weeks prior to committing suicide.

On edit: It was on today's (that's Monday) "Fresh Air", but I couldn't get the link to work.
Interviews
Journalists Document Military Mental-Health Failings



Web Resources
Courant.com - Mentally Unfit Soldiers

Fresh Air from WHYY, March 12, 2007 · Journalists Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman of The Hartford Courant have been awarded the George Polk Award for their series from May on flaws in the military's mental health system: Mentally Unfit, Forced to Fight.

Their reporting found that troops sent on deployment are, for the most part, not getting mental health evaluations, even though they are mandated by Congress.

Chedekel and Kauffman reported that the military is relying on psychotropic medications to keep service members in combat, and that soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are being sent back into battle for multiple tours of duty.


Related NPR Stories
March 6, 2007
Military Mental Health Care Under Scrutiny
Dec. 21, 2006
Pentagon Holds Mental Health Treatment _

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. The mom who confronted Obey on Friday -

Her kid was sent back to Iraq on crutches for his second tour.

[BearSquirrel2]

32. Big Fraud ...

Bush and his chronies are still trying to sell this as a "part time" war with little cost or impact. In order to do this, he is willing to hold the military hostage and deploy soldiers OVER AND OVER AND OVER again to avoid asking for conscriptions. If the armed forces make it through the next year and a half without collapsing or going into mass mutiny, I'll be shocked.

If Bush believes the war is worth fighting, he should believe that it's worth taking his final political blow and asking for a draft. His game is obviously to keep things moving as best he can to give the appearance that he's "trying" to win. Then he can sit back and wait for Charlie Wrangle to push the conscription issue and take what he gets for free.

I do think that Congress should act. There should be a "Military Families Relief Act". Basically it would say that Bush may not deploy a soldier a second or third time unless he drafts two to take his place. This forces Bush to do the actual conscription by choosing to continue the war. It would also make for a very interesting debate that will put him on the wrong side of the military families that he's effectively used as human political shields for quite a long time. Bush would be dammed if he does and dammed if he does not.

[Solly Mack]

34. They've been doing this since the invasion began

and I've said as much on this board..and said it more than once.

If they'll send soldiers that have medical profiles that should have kept them from deploying for the initial invasion, nothing is going to stop them from sending and re-sending those wounded in action...or any others.

I've stated they've sent people with heart problems and serious high blood pressure among other things.

The military can move soldiers who can't deploy into other slots...that's done all the time

however, because demands were made from HIGH UP...real high up...to force units to be deployable (even when they weren't), sick soldiers were being forced to deploy.


One soldier I know of personally was sent even while on medication that causes his body to adversely react to intense heat/sunlight..and by adverse I mean his body became far more susceptible to heat strokes, dehydration, etc...so much so that he was in Iraq less than a month before his body started shutting down. Their advice? Stop taking the meds...these were life preserving meds, btw. The soldier needed the meds. They eventually sent him back early...he couldn't do the combat functions of his job...though he could have done the support functions. And then they blamed him for their stupidity.