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Sick, wounded U.S. troops held in squalor
UPI ^ | Oct. 17, 2003 | MARK BENJAMIN

Posted on 10/17/2003 2:10:36 PM PDT by tomball

FORT STEWART, Ga., Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Hundreds of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers including many who served in the Iraq war are languishing in hot cement barracks here while they wait -- sometimes for months -- to see doctors.

The National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers' living conditions are so substandard, and the medical care so poor, that many of them believe the Army is trying push them out with reduced benefits for their ailments. One document shown to UPI states that no more doctor appointments are available from Oct. 14 through Nov. 11 -- Veterans Day.

"I have loved the Army. I have served the Army faithfully and I have done everything the Army has asked me to do," said Sgt. 1st Class Willie Buckels, a truck master with the 296th Transportation Company. Buckels served in the Army Reserves for 27 years, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and the first Gulf War. "Now my whole idea about the U.S. Army has changed. I am treated like a third-class citizen."

Since getting back from Iraq in May, Buckels, 52, has been trying to get doctors to find out why he has intense pain in the side of his abdomen since doubling over in pain there.

After waiting since May for a diagnosis, Buckels has accepted 20 percent of his benefits for bad knees and is going home to his family in Mississippi. "They have not found out what my side is doing yet, but they are still trying," Buckels said.

One month after President Bush greeted soldiers at Fort Stewart -- home of the famed Third Infantry Division -- as heroes on their return from Iraq, approximately 600 sick or injured members of the Army Reserves and National Guard are warehoused in rows of spare, steamy and dark cement barracks in a sandy field, waiting for doctors to treat their wounds or illnesses.

The Reserve and National Guard soldiers are on what the Army calls "medical hold," while the Army decides how sick or disabled they are and what benefits -- if any -- they should get as a result.

Some of the soldiers said they have waited six hours a day for an appointment without seeing a doctor. Others described waiting weeks or months without getting a diagnosis or proper treatment.

The soldiers said professional active duty personnel are getting better treatment while troops who serve in the National Guard or Army Reserve are left to wallow in medical hold.

"It is not an Army of One. It is the Army of two -- Army and Reserves," said one soldier who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which she developed a serious heart condition and strange skin ailment.

A half-dozen calls by UPI seeking comment from Fort Stewart public affairs officials and U.S. Forces Command in Atlanta were not returned.

Soldiers here estimate that nearly 40 percent of the personnel now in medical hold were deployed to Iraq. Of those who went, many described clusters of strange ailments, like heart and lung problems, among previously healthy troops. They said the Army has tried to refuse them benefits, claiming the injuries and illnesses were due to a "pre-existing condition," prior to military service.

Most soldiers in medical hold at Fort Stewart stay in rows of rectangular, gray, single-story cinder block barracks without bathrooms or air conditioning. They are dark and sweltering in the southern Georgia heat and humidity. Around 60 soldiers cram in the bunk beds in each barrack.

Soldiers make their way by walking or using crutches through the sandy dirt to a communal bathroom, where they have propped office partitions between otherwise open toilets for privacy. A row of leaky sinks sits on an opposite wall. The latrine smells of urine and is full of bugs, because many windows have no screens. Showering is in a communal, cinder block room. Soldiers say they have to buy their own toilet paper.

They said the conditions are fine for training, but not for sick people.

"I think it is disgusting," said one Army Reserve member who went to Iraq and asked that his name not be used.

That soldier said that after being deployed in March he suffered a sudden onset of neurological symptoms in Baghdad that has gotten steadily worse. He shakes uncontrollably.

He said the Army has told him he has Parkinson's Disease and it was a pre-existing condition, but he thinks it was something in the anthrax shots the Army gave him.

"They say I have Parkinson's, but it is developing too rapidly," he said. "I did not have a problem until I got those shots."

First Sgt. Gerry Mosley crossed into Iraq from Kuwait on March 19 with the 296th Transportation Company, hauling fuel while under fire from the Iraqis as they traveled north alongside combat vehicles. Mosley said he was healthy before the war; he could run two miles in 17 minutes at 48 years old.

But he developed a series of symptoms: lung problems and shortness of breath; vertigo; migraines; and tinnitus. He also thinks the anthrax vaccine may have hurt him. Mosley also has a torn shoulder from an injury there.

Mosley says he has never been depressed before, but found himself looking at shotguns recently and thought about suicide.

Mosley is paying $300 a month to get better housing than the cinder block barracks. He has a notice from the base that appears to show that no more doctor appointments are available for reservists from Oct. 14 until Nov. 11. He said he has never been treated like this in his 30 years in the Army Reserves.

"Now, I would not go back to war for the Army," Mosley said.

Many soldiers in the hot barracks said regular Army soldiers get to see doctors, while National Guard and Army Reserve troops wait.

"The active duty guys that are coming in, they get treated first and they put us on hold," said another soldier who returned from Iraq six weeks ago with a serious back injury. He has gotten to see a doctor only two times since he got back, he said.

Another Army Reservist with the 149th Infantry Battalion said he has had real trouble seeing doctors about his crushed foot he suffered in Iraq. "There are not enough doctors. They are overcrowded and they can't perform the surgeries that have to be done," that soldier said. "Look at these mattresses. It hurts just to sit on them," he said, gesturing to the bunks. "There are people here who got back in April but did not get their surgeries until July. It is putting a lot on these families."

The Pentagon is reportedly drawing up plans to call up more reserves.

In an Oct. 9 speech to National Guard and reserve troops in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Bush said the soldiers had become part of the backbone of the military.

"Citizen-soldiers are serving in every front on the war on terror," Bush said. "And you're making your state and your country proud."
 



TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: fortstewart
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To: tomball
This is largely crap, but (some) of the VA system hospitals have more than they can handle. Not the majority.

Currently, there is a billion or so dollars in emergency funding working it's way through congress to alleviate backlogs.

41 posted on 10/17/2003 3:03:52 PM PDT by Cold Heat ("It is easier for an ass to succeed in that trade than any other." [Samuel Clemens, on lawyers])
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To: tomball
Camp Swift in Texas has the cinder block and communal shower motif. Except for the fact that the cinder blocks are unpainted it is very much like my college dorm.
42 posted on 10/17/2003 3:03:54 PM PDT by Pilsner
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To: MineralMan
I suspect we are going to see a signficant drop in reenlistments in the RC. Ask all those ARNG Infantry ans Armor soldiers we've sent to Germany and Italy over the past two years to guard kasernes (along with contract guards) how they liked their deployments. It is not what they signed up to do, and in one case, when some of them approached the AC commander at one location (I won't name it, but it starts with a "V" and is next to Graf) about the possibility of training and pulling maintenance on the tanks and getting in the simulators there during their off duty time as gate guards, they were told, "no, you are here to guard the gates so my soldiers can train." One team.

Hard to convince folks to stay on as tankers and infantrymen when they get little or no respect from the folks they were there to support, and are doing something that has nothing to do with their primary duty description...and they are away from their homes, jobs and families for almost a year. And, often times are housed for months in places we wouldn't dare put a regular army soldier. Outside latrines, no potable water in the buildings. In the field in Iraq is one thing, but I'm guessing whe could do a better job taking care of these guys.

Are they whining? Perhaps, but they also get to vote when the reenlistment NCO comes around to talk them up about staying...
regards,
43 posted on 10/17/2003 3:04:26 PM PDT by Thunder 6
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To: contessa machiaveli
i meant "inhumanely"
44 posted on 10/17/2003 3:07:06 PM PDT by contessa machiaveli
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To: contessa machiaveli
;0)
45 posted on 10/17/2003 3:07:46 PM PDT by Thunder 6
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To: Thunder 6
Note to self: Proofreading is an important skill to master.
46 posted on 10/17/2003 3:09:08 PM PDT by Thunder 6
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To: Thunder 6
Outside latrines, no potable water in the buildings. In the field in Iraq is one thing, but I'm guessing whe could do a better job taking care of these guys.

Come on. How can you say no regular Army soldier would be in these conditions? Outside latrines? Is using a latrine that is not connected to your sleeping quarters really this bad? Some of the best, most memorable craps I have ever taken have been outside.

You are describing acceptable conditions of life in the Army. You might have a skewed perception of it because you saw RA troops with better housing or whatever than you had while you were deployed to whatever mission but it happens. I have endured those same sorts of conditions. The Army issued me a sleeping bag. There's my bed. An E-Tool, hey, I can sh!t where I need to. A poncho? If it aint raining we aint training. Hungry? MRE.

You had to guard the gates at Vilseck? It could've been a lot worse.

47 posted on 10/17/2003 3:12:42 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
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To: MineralMan
Have you been there? Can you refute this story directly?

Do yourself a favor, perform a google search on this Benjamin guy then come back and tell everyone here that he doesn't have some sort of an agenda..........

48 posted on 10/17/2003 3:13:32 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco ( 30 years of dealing with stupid people and I still don't have the right to just shoot them...)
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To: Prodigal Son
I didn't say I guarded the gates at Vilseck. I used that as an example. Perhaps you missed my point, and you certainly made assumptions about my experience. We've all lived like this in the service, anyone can be miserable. But why force it on American soldiers when the resources are there to prevent it?
regards,
49 posted on 10/17/2003 3:17:00 PM PDT by Thunder 6
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To: edskid
"Did I mention that I found the press' new fascination for the military interesting?"

Yeah...interesting...kinda like Robert Byrd's new interest in HOW Senators spend OUR money.....

50 posted on 10/17/2003 3:19:57 PM PDT by goodnesswins (Do not build up obstacles (to your goals) in your imagination. NV Peale)
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To: MineralMan
There are people here who got back in April

Doesn't this statement raise any flags for you?

51 posted on 10/17/2003 3:21:02 PM PDT by Hot Tabasco ( 30 years of dealing with stupid people and I still don't have the right to just shoot them...)
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To: tomball
HELLO America....Welcome to GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE...
52 posted on 10/17/2003 3:21:34 PM PDT by goodnesswins (Do not build up obstacles (to your goals) in your imagination. NV Peale)
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To: MineralMan
The reserves are already taking a hit. Several of the reservists I have talked to after returning from the latest deployment are planning to get out as soon as they can.

The armed forces are going to be in a lot of trouble if they continue to rely on reserves for long-term active duty. If we are going into a period of intense deployment, we need to increase the levels of active duty troops.

53 posted on 10/17/2003 3:22:36 PM PDT by MediaMole
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To: pfflier
Remember the drawdown initiated about 10 years ago? Here's payback.

More like 15 years ago. (And yes it's true thanks to the peace dividend).

54 posted on 10/17/2003 3:28:43 PM PDT by Archangelsk (JULES: He gave her a foot massage. VINCENT: A foot massage?)
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To: MediaMole
The armed forces are going to be in a lot of trouble if they continue to rely on reserves for long-term active duty. If we are going into a period of intense deployment, we need to increase the levels of active duty troops.

That is so very true.

55 posted on 10/17/2003 3:28:45 PM PDT by CheneyChick (Let the Hauskleaning Begin)
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To: Thunder 6
Pure and simple, this is the life in a holding company. Guys waiting for reassignment, transportation, reclassification, and courts martial dates. There is no military organization, no extras, no organized training.

Generally there is a 1sg, a CO (in name only), a few clerks and hundreds of troops.

I have been in 1 holding company in my life, and after 3 days of it, I volunteered to work as a prison guard to get out of the company. The MP's treated me as one of their own and it made the 6 weeks go by fast.

In the holding company were AWOLS from Europe (troops that overstayed their leaves and turned themselves in), medical holds and guys like me awaitng orders to new posts. They had 6 formations a day, all work details, and passed out painting assignments, butt calls, and KP assignments. You miss any one of the formations and you could miss your shipping orders.

Is it easy living, no!!!! Is it necessary? probably. After all, if they made it a Holiday Inn, nobody would ever want to ship to their units.

I can't believe that they have no doctors. The military was certainly willing to send troops to the big hospitals that had ample medical personnel.

I suspect that these troops are complaining because they are not getting the medical care THEY THINK they need.

In any case, where is the IG in all of this? He is the troops ultimate go to person for all injustices. Troops get into more trouble talking to reporters than to the IG.
56 posted on 10/17/2003 3:35:36 PM PDT by Lokibob
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To: Thunder 6
But why force it on American soldiers when the resources are there to prevent it?

To prevent what exactly? I have seen nothing in this article that I would consider deplorable or outside the parameters of normal. Each soldier in this place would have to be taken on a case by case basis. If some of these soldiers have a legitimate complaint or injury, I certainly hope they will get their due but without more knowledge...

You realize how easy it is to skew an article the way you want? Here's an example:

Lockerbie bomber rushed to hospital- a Free Republic exclusive

Now, I wrote that article. All the accounts are factual. But I did intentionally skew the article through wording to carry the impact I wanted it to carry. This is journalism 101. This is exactly how they operate. I could take any conversation between you and your best friend and make it seem like you had been feuding with him for years and get many readers to dislike either you or him simply through the use of words. Now you ask me any question about why I worded this or that the way I did in that article (which is still a legitimate news account) and I will tell you why I did and I think the answers would surprise you. I wrote nothing that was not factual. My intent was sensation but not to mislead.

And I am a relative amateur. I could've written this particular story to make you believe these soldiers were toughing it out with typical American heartiness or to make you believe they were on the brink of disaster. You have to question these types of articles. You have to. The reporter had an agenda. He showed you what he wanted to show you. He sculpted the reality you live in to fit the one he wanted you to live in. The question is why and to what end?

57 posted on 10/17/2003 3:36:51 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
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To: tomball
They don't count the votes of military people anyway, right? So, no ramifications to pissing them off...
58 posted on 10/17/2003 3:41:05 PM PDT by GraniteStateConservative ("We happy because when we switch on the TV you never see Saddam Hussein. That's a big happy.")
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To: Hot Tabasco
There are people here who got back in April
Doesn't this statement raise any flags for you?


Not if they were injured in April, it is possiable they have been there since that time
59 posted on 10/17/2003 3:43:23 PM PDT by boxerblues (If you can read this.. Thank a Teacher..If you can read this in English ..Thank a US Soldier)
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To: Prodigal Son
Harshness in training is one thing. Harshness for injured soldiers recently discharged from medical hospitals and waiting for medical retirement/discharge processing in medical hold is another.

Ever been in medical hold? I have. I nearly had my head blown clean off in a shipboard explosion. Medical boards and medical hold can go on forever.

The Military treats you until you are well enough to be discharged from the hospital, and then they send you to a hellhole like this to wait for the medical boards and the eventual medical retirement.

Part of the reason they do this is to get you to take the first offer they give you for pension, and therefore they save money.

It also aggravates the problems you have, and many are probably going to have to be re-hospitalized because of the conditions while they wait in the unsanitary hellhole barracks they are assigned to.

I have direct knowledge from my family that injured veterans were bitching about the same thing in WWII, Korea, and the Vietnam era, post Vietnam era, and modern times.

Its a "fine old tradition" that needs to end. These guys deserve to be treated with respect. They definitely arent "soft" because they were injured fighting a war.
60 posted on 10/17/2003 3:50:28 PM PDT by judicial meanz (Fry Arafat....baste him in Pig grease...and bury him upside down in a a manure pile)
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