GI SPECIAL 5C12:
"It Is Not A Good Idea For You To Give Me A Weapon
Right Now"
"I’m Going To Tell Them I’m Not Going To Go. They
Are Going To Give Me A Weapon. I Am Going To Say,
'It Is Not A Good Idea For You To Give Me A Weapon
Right Now’"
Soldiers Fighting Back Against Murderous Traitors In
Command At Ft. Benning
Who
Send Unfit Soldiers Unable To Wear Protective Gear
Back To Iraq;
Officers Caught Committing Medical Fraud & Faking
Medical Records:
The
Rat General Kiley Knew Of These Criminal Acts And
Did Nothing;
An
Honorable Master Sgt. Reported To Him What Was Going
On
[Yeah, this is the same bottom feeding scum sucking
Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley who used to be in command of
Walter Reed, and refused to act for years on the
endless reports of the horrible conditions there.
He’s got a perfect record for treating injured
troops like shit.]
[So
here it is again, one more time. Same old story.
Used up, thrown away, and the politicians couldn’t
care less.
[To
repeat for the 3,489th time, there is no
enemy in Iraq. Iraqis and U.S. troops have a common
enemy. That common enemy owns and operates the
Imperial government in Washington DC for their own
profit. That common enemy started this war of
conquest on a platform of lies, because they
couldn’t tell the truth: this war was about making
money for them, and nothing else. Payback for Kiley
and all the rest of these worthless, lying,
soldier-hating assholes is so far overdue it’s lost
someplace in the previous century. T]
[Thanks to Phil G, who
sent this in.]
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.
March 11, 2007 By Mark
Benjamin, Salon.com
FORT BENNING, Ga. -- "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.
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.
That is what worries
Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at
Veterans for America, who has long been concerned
that the military was pressing injured troops into
Iraq.
"Did they send anybody
down range that cannot wear a helmet, that cannot
wear body armor?"
Robinson asked
rhetorically. "Well that is wrong. It is a war
zone."
Robinson thinks that the possibility that physical
profiles may have been altered improperly has the
makings of a scandal.
"My
concerns are that this needs serious investigation.
You cannot just look at somebody and tell that they
were fit," he said. "It smacks of an overstretched
military that is in crisis mode to get people onto
the battlefield."
Eight soldiers who
were at the Feb. 15 meeting say they were summoned
to the troop medical clinic at 6:30 in the morning
and lined up to meet with division surgeon Lt. Col.
George Appenzeller, who had arrived from Fort
Stewart, Ga., and Capt. Aaron K. Starbuck, brigade
surgeon at Fort Benning.
The
soldiers described having a cursory discussion of
their profiles, with no physical exam or extensive
review of medical files. They say Appenzeller and
Starbuck seemed focused on downplaying their
physical problems.
"This guy was changing people’s profiles left and
right," said a captain who injured his back during
his last tour in Iraq and was ordered to Iraq after
the Feb. 15 review.
Appenzeller denied
that the plan was to find more warm bodies for the
surge into Baghdad, as did Col. Wayne W. Grigsby
Jr., the brigade commander. Grigsby said he is
under "no pressure" to find soldiers, regardless of
health, to make his unit look fit.
Grigsby said he does
not know how many injured soldiers are in his
ranks. But he insisted that it is not unusual to
deploy troops with physical limitations so long as
he can place them in safe jobs when they get there.
"They can be productive and safe in Iraq," Grigsby
said.
The
injured soldiers interviewed by Salon, however,
expressed considerable worry about going to Iraq
with physical deficits because it could endanger
them or their fellow soldiers.
And
while Grigsby, the brigade commander, says he is
under no pressure to find troops, it is hard to
imagine there is not some desperation behind the
decision to deploy some of the sick soldiers.
Master Sgt. Jenkins,
42, has a degenerative spine problem and a long scar
down the back of his neck where three of his
vertebrae were fused during surgery. He takes a
cornucopia of potent pain pills.
His
medical records say he is "at significantly
increased risk of re-injury during deployment where
he will be wearing Kevlar, body armor and traveling
through rough terrain." Late last year, those
medical records show, a doctor recommended that
Jenkins be referred to an Army board that handles
retirements when injuries are permanent and severe.
A
copy of Jenkins’ profile written after that Feb. 15
meeting and signed by Capt. Starbuck, the brigade
surgeon, shows a healthier soldier than the profile
of Jenkins written by another doctor just late last
year, though Jenkins says his condition is
unchanged. Other soldiers’ documents show the same
pattern.
One female soldier
with psychiatric issues and a spine problem has been
in the Army for nearly 20 years. "My (health) is
deteriorating," she said over dinner at a restaurant
near Fort Benning. "My spine is separating. I can’t
carry gear."
Her
medical records include the note "unable to deploy
overseas." Her status was also reviewed on Feb.
15. And she has been ordered to Iraq this week.
The captain
interviewed by Salon also requested anonymity
because he fears retribution. He suffered a back
injury during a previous deployment to Iraq as an
infantry platoon leader. A Humvee accident
"corkscrewed my spine," he explained.
Like the female soldier, he is unable to wear his
protective gear, and like her he too was ordered to
Iraq after his meeting with the division surgeon and
brigade surgeon on Feb. 15.
He is still at Fort
Benning and is fighting the decision to send him to
Baghdad.
"It
is a numbers issue with this whole troop surge," he
claimed. "They are just trying to get those
numbers."
Another soldier
contacted Salon by telephone last week expressed
considerable anxiety, in a frightened tone, about
deploying to Iraq in her current condition. (She
also wanted to remain anonymous, fearing
retribution.)
An incident during
training several years ago injured her back, forcing
doctors to remove part of her fractured coccyx. She
suffers from degenerative disk disease and has two
ruptured disks and a bulging disk in her back.
While she said she loves the Army and would like to
deploy after back surgery, her current injuries
would limit her ability to wear her full protective
gear.
She
deployed to Iraq last week, the day after calling
Salon.
Her
husband, who has served three combat tours in the
infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he is worried
sick because his wife’s protective vest alone
exceeds the maximum amount she is allowed to lift.
"I have been over
there three times. I know what it is like," he told
me during lunch at a restaurant here.
He
predicted that by deploying people like his wife,
the brigade leaders are "going to get somebody
killed over there."
He
said there is "no way" Grigsby is going to keep all
of the injured soldiers in safe jobs.
"All of these people that deploy with these
profiles, they are scared," he said. He railed at
the command: "They are saying they don’t care about
your health. This is pathetic. It is bad."
His
wife’s physical profile was among those reevaluated
on Feb. 15.
A
copy of her profile from late last year showed her
health problems were so severe they "prevent
deployment" and recommended she be medically retired
from the Army.
Her profile at that
time showed she was unable to wear a protective mask
and chemical defense equipment, and had limitations
on doing pushups, walking, biking and swimming. It
said she can only carry 15 pounds.
Though she says that her condition has not changed
since then, almost all of those findings were
reversed in a copy of her physical profile dated
Feb. 15. The new profile says nothing about a
medical retirement, but suggests that she limit
wearing a helmet to "one hour at a time."
Smith is trained by
the Army to be a truck driver.
But since he is in
constant danger of falling asleep, military doctors
have listed "No driving of military vehicles" on his
physical profile. Smith was supposed to fly to Iraq
March 9.
But
he told me on March 8 that he won’t go.
Nobody has retrained
Smith to do anything else besides drive trucks.
Plus, because of his condition he was unable to
train properly with the unit when the brigade
rehearsed for Iraq in January, so he does not feel
ready.
Smith needs to sleep
with a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)
machine pumping air into his mouth and nose.
"Otherwise," he says, "I could die." But based on
his last tour, he is not convinced he will be able
to be in places with constant electricity or will be
able to fix or replace his CPAP machine should it
fail.
He told me last week
he would refuse to deploy to Iraq, unsure of what he
will be asked to do there and afraid that he will
not be taken care of. Since he won’t be a truck
driver,
"I would be going
basically as a number," says Smith, who is 32. "They
don’t have enough people," he says.
But he is not going to
be one of those numbers until they train him to do
something else.
"I’m going to go to the airport, and I’m going to
tell them I’m not going to go. They are going to
give me a weapon. I am going to say, 'It is not a
good idea for you to give me a weapon right now.’"
The
Pentagon was notified of the reclassification of the
Fort Benning soldiers as soon as it happened,
according to Master Sgt. Jenkins.
He
showed Salon an e-mail describing the situation that
he says he sent to Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen.
Kevin C. Kiley.
Jenkins agreed to speak to Salon because he hopes
public attention will help other soldiers,
particularly younger ones in a similar predicament.
"I can’t sit back and let this happen to me or other
soldiers in my position."
But
he expects reprisals from the Army.
Other soldiers slated to leave for Iraq with
injuries said they wonder whether the same thing is
happening in other units in the Army.
"You have to ask where else this might be happening
and who is dictating it," one female soldier told
me.
"How high does it go?"
Do you have a friend or relative in the
service? Forward GI Special along, or send us
the address if you wish and we’ll send it
regularly.
Whether in Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA,
this is extra important for your service friend,
too often cut off from access to encouraging
news of growing resistance to the war, inside
the armed services and at home. Send email
requests to address up top or write to: The
Military Project, Box 126 , 2576 Broadway, New
York, N.Y. 10025-5657
IRAQ WAR REPORTS
Task Force Lightning Soldier Dies In Non-Combat
Related Incident
March 11, 2007 Multi
National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp
Victory RELEASE No. 20070311-10
TIKRIT, Iraq – A Task
Force Lightning Soldier died Sunday in a
non-combated related incident, which is currently
under investigation.
One
U.S. Soldier Killed, Two Wounded Southwest Of
Baghdad
March 11, 2007 Multi
National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp
Victory RELEASE No. 20070311-16
A MND-B unit in
support of an on-going air assault mission southwest
of the Iraqi capital was struck by a roadside bomb,
killing one Soldier and wounding two others on March
11.
One
U.S. Soldier Killed One Wounded In Salah Ad Din
March 11, 2007 Multi
National Corps Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp
Victory RELEASE No. 20070311-11
TIKRIT, Iraq – Task
Force Lightning Soldiers were attacked while
conducting combat operations in Salah ad Din
province today.
One Task Force
Lightning Soldier died as a result of injuries
sustained from an explosion.
One other Soldier was
wounded and taken to a Coalition medical facility
for treatment.
U.S. Drone Down In Ur
11 Mar 2007 Reuters
A U.S. drone for air
surveillance went down in Ur district in
northeastern Baghdad, police said. The U.S. military
confirmed that a drone was recovered but it was
intact.
U.S. Convoy Ambushed
In Farah
REALLY BAD IDEA:
NO
MISSION;
HOPELESS WAR:
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW
Thanks to Kevin
Ramirez, CCCO. He writes: Pics showing what happens
when US bases get mortared/rocketed. Obviously
taken by a GI. I found them online, and don’t know
who took them.
AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS
U.S. Convoy Ambushed In Farah
11/03/2007 BAKU TODAY
A bombing tore through
a joint Afghan and US-led coalition force convoy in
western Farah province Sunday killing a policeman
and injuring three others, said Ikramuddin Yawar,
police chief for the western provinces including
Farah.
There were no
casualties among the US-led troops in the incident
in Farah province’s Bala Blok district, the
commander said.
Assorted Resistance Action
11/03/2007 BAKU TODAY
Taliban insurgents
ambushed a police patrol in southern Afghanistan
killing eight, a police commander said. The patrol
was ambushed in the southern province of Kandahar
late Saturday, the commander of border police in the
province, General Raziq, told AFP, adding "eight
policemen were killed."
The rebels were able
to flee following a "brief" gun battle after the
attack in Arghistan district, said the commander,
who uses only one name. They appeared not to have
suffered any casualties, he said.
"We’ve launched an
operation against the Taliban who were behind this
attack. So far we have had no success," he said.
Three policemen were
killed in another gunfight in Kandahar province on
Friday.
Taliban fighters
attacked a convoy on the main highway in the
province, sparking a gunfight, the interior ministry
said Sunday.
TROOP NEWS
Bush Regime Supports Troops Like A Noose Supports A
Hanging Man:
They’re Fighting GI Bill Boost For Reservists;
[It’s About The Money, What Else?]
March 12, 2007 By Rick
Maze, Staff writer, Army Times [Excerpts]
The Bush
administration opposes efforts in Congress to
upgrade GI Bill education benefits for reservists
because of a basic philosophical difference about
why the benefits are paid in the first place.
For
the bipartisan group of congressional sponsors of GI
Bill legislation and for the coalition of military
advocacy groups pushing for improvements, the
purpose of the benefit is to make education more
affordable to people who have served their country.
Bush administration officials, however, see the
modern Montgomery GI Bill that was created in 1985
as a combination recruiting, retention and
readjustment tool, with recruiting and retention
atop the priority list for the National Guard and
Reserve.
From the Defense
Department’s perspective, readjustment — the key
purpose of GI Bill benefits when the original
program was born after World War II — is not
important for members of the National Guard and
reserve, even those mobilized for deployment into a
combat zone.
Rep. Vic Snyder,
D-Ark., the subcommittee chairman and a key sponsor
of a GI Bill overhaul plan, said he thinks the Bush
administration is wrong because the employment
market has changed.
Guard and reserve members, like other American
workers, instead of working for only one employer
during their lives, now often change jobs, and could
use GI Bill benefits to help prepare for a new job
in a new field.
Snyder also said many Guard and reserve members are
returning from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan
to find they must seek new employment because their
jobs disappeared while they were gone.
Moreover, he said,
there is a basic element of fairness in simply doing
the right thing for military members.
Just one aspect of the congressional plan —
restoring the eroding value of reserve benefits
that have not kept pace with increases in
active-duty GI Bill payments — would cost more
than $13 billion over five years, money
Dominguez [Michael Dominguez, principal deputy
undersecretary of defense for personnel and
readiness] said the Pentagon would much rather
spend on something else.
He
mentioned better health care for reservists being a
higher priority in reserve satisfaction surveys, but
conceded that the Bush administration probably would
not willingly spend $13 billion to improve reserve
health benefits, either.
Snyder’s personnel
panel is considering a GI Bill upgrade that would
increase benefits for Guard and reserve members,
allow reservists the same rights as active-duty
members to use benefits after getting out of the
service and consolidate the program under VA,
stripping the Defense Department of its authority
over reserve benefits.
Snyder said he is
willing to make one concession to the administration
— leaving authority and funding for the enlistment
"kickers" under the Defense Department — but
otherwise is not going to let administration
opposition stop him.
THIS IS HOW BUSH BRINGS THE TROOPS HOME:
BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW
A US Army soldier, a
double amputee who was injured in Baghdad, Iraq,
tries out his prosthetic limbs after having them
adjusted at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in
Washington, in 2006. (AFP/File/Jim Watson)
The Army’s Best Carbine:
Better Than The M4 — But You Won’t Get One
#1:
"When I Heard That There Was A Better Weapon On The
Market And That It Was Being Denied Due To Being Too
Expensive …. It Made Me Wonder About How Much A
Soldier Is Really Worth"
March 12, 2007
Letter To The Editor
Army Times
Your article "The
Army’s best carbine: Better than the M4 — but you
won’t get one" [Feb. 26] had me fuming.
I have been deployed
to Iraq and face another deployment coming up
shortly. I have been face-to-face with the enemy,
and luckily, my weapon did not jam.
When I heard that
there was a better weapon on the market and that it
was being denied due to being too expensive to
invest without a "significant leap in technology,"
it made me wonder about how much a soldier is really
worth.
If I invest the cost
of one Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance payout
of a soldier saved by issuing a significantly better
weapon to the distribution of that weapon, saving
hundreds (of soldiers’ lives), then should cost be a
factor? Aren’t we saving hundreds of thousands (of
dollars) in SGLI and benefits?
If this weapon saves
hundreds because it is more reliable, where is the
issue?
I am a soldier that
served on the front lines. My heart is with my
comrades out there. Use my SGLI to pay the
difference.
We don’t need a
significant technological leap, just a weapon that
doesn’t jam.
Warrant Officer 1
William Jones
Fort Rucker, Ala.
******************************************************************
#2:
"Political Shenanigans Cannot Make A Pig’s Ear Into
A Silk Purse"
March 12, 2007
:: Article nr. 31328 sent on 13-mar-2007 03:16 ECT
www.uruknet.info?p=31328
:: The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website.
The section for the comments of our readers has been closed, because of many out-of-topics.
Now you can post your own comments into our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/uruknet
[ Printable version
] | [ Send it to a friend ]
[ Contatto/Contact ] | [ Home Page ] | [Tutte le notizie/All news ]