Religions > Atheism > Pentagon Calling Up Reservists Who Have Had Heart Attacks, cancer, hernias, in kidney dialysis, etc.
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Michelle Malkin" |
| Date: |
14 Nov 2005 03:48:34 AM |
| Object: |
Pentagon Calling Up Reservists Who Have Had Heart Attacks, cancer, hernias, in kidney dialysis, etc. |
It isn't bad enough that they are killing off healthy
young men and women; now they're speeding up
the deaths of those already unhealthy.
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 06:15:25 -0800
From: Zepp <zepp@finestplanet.com>
Subject: #How pathetic is this? Pentagon calling up reservists who have had
heart attacks, cancer, hernias
Pentagon Calling up Sick Reservists
November 11, 2005
By Gene C. Gerard
Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative
unit of Congress, released a report indicating that the Pentagon has
been calling up reserve soldiers who are ill or medically unfit to
serve. The reservists are serving primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and
Readiness is responsible for managing medical and physical fitness
policy and procedures, the report determined that this office has no way
to determine if reserve soldiers are fit to serve or have pre-existing
medical conditions prior to deployment.
Consequently, the GAO found that the Pentagon couldn't confirm to the
Secretary of Defense or Congress that reserve forces are medically and
physically fit when they are called to active duty. Yet under federal
law reserve forces are required to have a medical exam every five years
and an annual review of their medical status.
The report also found that the Defense Department has not even
determined what type of pre-existing medical conditions would preclude a
reservist from being called to duty. Consequently, it doesn't track the
pre-existing conditions of reserve soldiers being deployed. According to
the surgeon's office of the commander of the U.S. Central Command "there
were many instances of individuals who deployed into Iraq and
Afghanistan with conditions for which they should have been considered
non-deployable."
Given the recruitment shortages that the armed services currently face,
it shouldn't be surprising that reservists in poor health are being
called up. When the 2005 fiscal year ended in September the Army was
7,000 recruits short of its annual goal. This was the largest gap in
recruitment since 1979 when the draft was abolished. And it was the
first recruitment shortage for the Army since 1999. The Army National
Guard and the Army Reserve had even greater recruitment shortages this year.
The Army has taken various approaches to its lackluster recruitment
efforts. It increased it advertising budget by $130 million for 2006.
Over the course of fiscal year 2005 the Army handed out $207 million in
bonuses to recruits and those who re-enlisted. This was a sizable
increase over 2004, when $125 million was distributed as bonuses. The
Army gave a bonus of a least $1,000 to 53 percent of new recruits
between October 2004 and June 2005; the average bonus was $5,589.
The Army's maximum bonus of $20,000 was distributed to six percent of
new recruits. And the Pentagon has already made a request to Congress to
double the maximum bonus for 2006 to $40,000. The Army is also handing
out bonuses of $400 per month for three years for soldiers with
much-needed skills, such as infantry.
Last Month, Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey announced that due to the
recruitment shortages the Army will now double the number of recruits it
accepts who score the lowest on the intelligence test administered to
all potential recruits. Secretary Harvey also announced that the Army
was decreasing its requirement that the recruiting class each year be
comprised of at least 67 percent of applicants who scored in the top
half of the intelligence test. The portion has now been lowered to 60
percent.
What has not been known until now is that recruitment shortages have
resulted in the Pentagon calling up reservists who are ill or medically
unfit. According to the GAO report, this includes reservists who have
suffered from heart attacks, those with severe asthma (weather
conditions in the desert exacerbates this condition), hernias, severe
hypertension, and a woman who was four months into chemotherapy
treatment for breast cancer. It also includes reservists suffering from
sleep apnea who need medical equipment to help them breath, yet large
portions of Iraq and Afghanistan lack the electricity necessary to run
the equipment.
Reserve forces that are diabetic and require insulin pumps have been
called to active duty. A soldier was called up only two weeks after
receiving a kidney transplant. Other reservists have required kidney
dialysis. The GAO report also found that reserve soldiers have been
called to active duty that suffer from psychiatric problems, including
bipolar disorder. By one estimate as much as ten percent of the
reservists who have been medically evacuated out of the Middle East was
attributable to pre-existing medical conditions that could not be
treated properly.
The GAO report ominously concluded, "The impact of those who are not
medically and physically fit for duty could be significant for future
deployments as the pool of reserve members from which to fill
requirements is dwindling and those who have deployed are not in as good
health as they were before deployment." The findings of this report are
particularly ironic, considering that one year ago President Bush won
re-election in large part because he convinced military families that he
would protect the armed forces better than Senator Kerry. Consequently,
veterans voted for President Bush by a 16-point margin. Many of them are
likely having second thoughts today.
/
Gene C. Gerard taught history, religion, and ethics for 14 years at a
number of colleges and universities in the southwest. He is a
contributing author to the forthcoming book Americans at War, to be
published by Greenwood Press. His previous articles have appeared in
Political Affairs Magazine, The Free Press, Dissident Voice,
Intervention Magazine, Orb Standard, and Democratic Underground.
/http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/05/11/11_sick.html/
/
--
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BAAWA Knight & Bible Thumper Thumper
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
I remember another gentle visitor from the heavens,
he came in peace and then died, only to come
back to life, and his name was E.T., the extra
terrestrial. I loved that little guy. -Reverend
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^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
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| User: "Dale" |
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| Title: Re: Pentagon Calling Up Reservists Who Have Had Heart Attacks, cancer, hernias, in kidney dialysis, etc. |
14 Nov 2005 05:11:34 PM |
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"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:hbmdndeCKM-clOXeRVn-qQ@comcast.com...
It isn't bad enough that they are killing off healthy
young men and women; now they're speeding up
the deaths of those already unhealthy.
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 06:15:25 -0800
From: Zepp <zepp@finestplanet.com>
Subject: #How pathetic is this? Pentagon calling up reservists who have
had
heart attacks, cancer, hernias
[...]
The Army's maximum bonus of $20,000 was distributed to six percent of
new recruits. And the Pentagon has already made a request to Congress to
double the maximum bonus for 2006 to $40,000. The Army is also handing
out bonuses of $400 per month for three years for soldiers with
much-needed skills, such as infantry.
Dang! For $40,000 I might consider signing up. I never joined when I was a
kid because a) the Viet Nam war ended when I was 17, and b) high school gym
class left me with a phobia about showering with other men. I wonder if they
would even take a 49 y/o recruit?
.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: Pentagon Calling Up Reservists Who Have Had Heart Attacks, cancer, hernias, in kidney dialysis, etc. |
14 Nov 2005 07:04:14 PM |
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On Sun, 13 Nov 2005 22:48:34 -0500, "Michelle Malkin"
<hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
It isn't bad enough that they are killing off healthy
young men and women; now they're speeding up
the deaths of those already unhealthy.
Shades of Hitler calling up young children to protect the Reich.
Same *****, different mindless *****.
[]
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
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| User: "Michelle Malkin" |
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| Title: Re: Pentagon Calling Up Reservists Who Have Had Heart Attacks, cancer, hernias, in kidney dialysis, etc. |
15 Nov 2005 05:07:37 AM |
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"stoney" <stoney@the.net> wrote in message
news:rrnhn11i8u0750aus4b8q1r46td1he6f55@4ax.com...
On Sun, 13 Nov 2005 22:48:34 -0500, "Michelle Malkin"
<hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote:
It isn't bad enough that they are killing off healthy
young men and women; now they're speeding up
the deaths of those already unhealthy.
Shades of Hitler calling up young children to protect the Reich.
Same *****, different mindless *****.
[]
Georgie Porgie uber alles!
--
Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
"As democracy is perfected, the office of president
represents, more and more closely, the inner soul
of the people. On some great and glorious day the
plain folks of the land will reach their heart's
desire at last and the White House will be adorned
by a downright moron." --- H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Religion is the original war crime.
-Michelle Malkin (Feb 26, 2005)
.
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