Injured soldiers say they're languishing at Ft. Lewis for no reason

AP ^ | August 31, 2004 | ANDREW KRAMER

[Former Military Chick]

Some want to cast blame. For me our returning wounded are beyond political parties. We did not do our best in WW1 WW2 and the Vietnam war, we should have learned lessons so that these troops are getting the care they deserve and earned serving our country. imho

[sam_paine]

AHA! -This- must certainly be Bush's fault. Perhaps Rummy. I dunno. Er. Fire Colin and Karen Hughes!

[Homo_homini_lupus]

For me our returning wounded are beyond political parties.

Amen!

[Former Military Chick]

I suppose I should have expected this reply. I did not want to have this turn into a discussion of blame but rather what can be done for our heros.

[Chieftain]

Saw this posted early this morning. The languishing is due to typical gub'mint SNAFUs and left and hand not talking wit right hand kinda thing. 22 years USMC, experience taught me this: hurry up and wait is unavoidable in bureaucracy.

By the way, my favorite saying when I worked for the Naval Aviation Depot was: "Efficiency is the ENEMY of Bureaucracy"

[Cogadh na Sith]

The wounded soldiers also waited hours for doctor appointments, were forced to fill out confusing paperwork and faced months of delays regarding their benefits

Welcome to the Army, whiner.

I don't know what Army he thought he was joining, but that's the way it's been since time immemorial....

[Former Military Chick]

I am sure the military folks would appreciate your AMEN I know that I do, thank you.

[cosine]

Government health care anyone?

[68skylark]

This really ticks me off. I'm glad for the post, but it's a shock and a shame to see how some soldiers get treated -- especially National Guard soldiers. We're three years into this war now, and some middle-managers in the military are still trying to get their act together. It's a shame.

[aft_lizard]

I blame Clinton era military restructuring. WHen I was at Ft Bliss the wait lines were long and you had to go through a specific case worker and the military insurance provider Tri-Care, a ridiculous thing when you consider the fact the non-war injured active duty soldiers did not have to go through the same process.

To try and place blame fully on the President is ridiculous, obviously the administration should accept partial blame but the fact is these rules were set in place by Clinton not Bush when he did his slight of hand by firing all those civilian workers and he removed the old medical system.

[68skylark]

Government health care anyone?

Yeah, that's a good point. If Hillary and Kerry get their way, this is how health care will look for all of us.

[WoodstockCat]

I think the Kerry campaign just found their next "military" spokespeople.

[There's millions of'em]

Um, why is it that this story is about Oregon NG troops and the Oregon NG AG is interviewed and quoted in the story and hE is blaming others.

Why isn't he asked what he attempted to do to correct the identified problems.

Looks to me like he might be part of the problem.

[Fyscat]

"AHA! -This- must certainly be Bush's fault. Perhaps Rummy. I dunno. Er. Fire Colin and Karen Hughes!"

Well, seeing how somebody said it.......... Yes, in a way it is there fault. You utilize Gaurdsman for combat but no plan to handle wounded? Thats just poor leadership from G.W. on down to the Generals who didnt have the guts to bring it up. And the real pisser is that its more about budgets then neglect of thought.

[OldFriend]

Stop whining, there's a war on. Your brothers and sisters are in harm's way.

SHUT UP

[american spirit]

Let's see.....our soldiers are left to languish for weeks and months because of fedgov incompetency but illegals (who probably despise this country) can count on prompt medical attention paid for by the taxpayers....isn't there something desperately wrong with this picture?

[Fyscat]

oh Thank You!!!!!

But thery're "undocumented workers"

[Arkinsaw]

Um, why is it that this story is about Oregon NG troops and the Oregon NG AG is interviewed and quoted in the story and hE is blaming others.

Why isn't he asked what he attempted to do to correct the identified problems.

Looks to me like he might be part of the problem.

These fellows are on active, assigned to the Arkansas National Guard brigade which is deployed as part of the 1st Cavalry Division.

It might be that it is out of the Oregon AG's hands. Those Oregon boys have been through quite a tough time over there. From Baghdad to Najaf with several fatalities. Hopefully someone can get this taken care of.

[american spirit]

Well, that makes me feel a lot better about seeing my tax $ go to feeding, housing, medicating & educating them. I guess if they're undocumented it also allows all those employers who hire them to ignore all those messy time consuming payroll reports.....I thought that was evading taxes but if you hire someone who's "not there" there's no need for paying taxes. I've often wondered what it was like to live in a banana republic.