Soldier gets billed for Humvee parts damaged in bombing that tore off his hand.

[Petra]

Dishonoring the Sacrifice

I can't believe the gall of it all. How low can you go.

Last February, he was in one of Rumsfeld's unprotected Humvees when it was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Loria's left hand and forearm were blasted off. He spent months in rehab. Finally, just before this Christmas, he was due to be released and return home when he was hit with another bomb.

Rumsfeld's Pentagon presented Loria with a bill for $1,700, claiming he'd erroneously received family separation pay while in rehab, plus travel expenses connected to his treatment. Also, they billed him for some of the Humvee parts damaged in the bombing that tore off his hand.

WTF?

Thanks to press coverage and intervention by some members of Congress, Loria's nightmarish treatment by the Pentagon has finally ended. The Army was forced to clear Loria's hokey debt and send him home. But why should a soldier who's made such an extreme sacrifice be treated so shabbily in the first place? And how many others are getting the same back of the hand?

I'm horrified that it took press coverage and intervention to drop his *debt*.


As the article, an admittedly partisan op-ed piece, asks: How could this happen, and how many others are treated so badly?


"Support the Troops", my arse.

[viscousmemories]

Yep, that's pretty fucked up. Unfortunately it's standard fare for the military. It seems to be an inherent problem with having a huge bureaucracy (gah I hate having to look up the spelling of that fucking word every single time I use it ) with rigid regulations, but I've never understood why they don't streamline their procedures to give utmost priority and consideration to wounded vets. It's pretty evil that they would let someone who lost half of his arm get ground up in red tape.

[TomJoe]

I've heard of several instances of stuff like this happening... it's a crock. You'd think the military would treat their own with respect and dignity.

Try walking into a VA hospital (here in the US) sometime... it's possibly the most depressing hospital environment to find oneself in.

[seebs]

I think Rumsfeld and Bush are too separated from the actual men on the ground to have any clue. This is the true horror of modern war; thanks to telecommunications, the people deciding who dies are nowhere near the combat.

So far as I can tell, to Bush, this is essentially a way to show off how devout he is in all those things he goes out of his way to tell us all he prays about. Rumsfeld? I don't really know that he sees this as anything but a video game, or some kind of revenge, at this point.

Bleh.

[seebs]

On consideration, I may be being too harsh on them. I just have very low confidence in this administration's commitments to the troops.

Why must "supporting the troops" always mean "commanding them to spend even longer periods getting shot at over something we can't even clearly articulate"?

[Petra]

I don't think you're being too harsh on them at all, seebs. Too easy, in fact.


I watched a couple of video's last night (Parts 1 & 2) that interviewed returned servicemen who had been wounded in Iraq. Worth watching, I think: http://207.44.245.159/article7693.htm


I don't think anyone at the top gives a shit. "Bring it on!" they cry as they live off the fat of the land and squander the future and the safety of so many Americans. And is the world a more safe place? No. Are Iraqis *freeeeee* now? No.


Bastards.

[Petra]

Originally Posted by TomJoe

Try walking into a VA hospital (here in the US) sometime... it's possibly the most depressing hospital environment to find oneself in.

I can imagine. Watch the vids, TomJoe, they made me cry last night.

[FormerFundie2004]

Originally Posted by lunachick

Dishonoring the Sacrifice

I can't believe the gall of it all. How low can you go.

WTF?

I'm horrified that it took press coverage and intervention to drop his *debt*.

As the article, an admittedly partisan op-ed piece, asks: How could this happen, and how many others are treated so badly?

I hear about this kind of thing more and more often.

"Support the Troops", my arse.

LOL!!!!!!!! I know!!!!!

[D. Scarlatti]

This is like getting an invoice for the bullet from a Chinese firing squad.

Still hard to top the "thanks for dying" letters with Rumsfeld's rubber-stamped signature.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by lunachick

I watched a couple of video's last night (Parts 1 & 2) that interviewed returned servicemen who had been wounded in Iraq. Worth watching, I think: http://207.44.245.159/article7693.htm

Those are really good, luna. Thanks for the link. I can't believe the bit about how they're keeping self-identified PTSD sufferers in-country for treatment.

Also the additon of Tom Waits contributes to the power of those films.

I believe most VA hospitals suck too. I saw enough of military 'hospitality' when I was in service, so I never bothered utilize the VA services when I got out.

[Petra]

Yeah, and the part where that guy had his hand blown off and said it didn't hurt at all. He repeated that it didn't hurt at all with a look in his eyes that broke my heart. It didn't hurt him physically when it happened, but it'll hurt him emotionally and spiritually for the rest of his life.

[maddog]

Originally Posted by TomJoe

. . .
Try walking into a VA hospital (here in the US) sometime... it's possibly the most depressing hospital environment to find oneself in.

I got a kind of look at that in the film "Born on the Fourth of July" about Ron Kovic (sp?), who became an anti-war activist after suffering a crippling injury in Viet Nam.

OTOH, in my real-life experience recently with VA hospitals, I was very impressed with the kinds of facilities they had for my pal Charlie, the kinds of treatment they offered him, their willingness to place him closer to home (mostly for my sake), and thank IPU for the Nursing Home Care Unit's Palliative Care Program, which provided real, honest-to-goodness 24/7 medical care in a reasonably pleasant environment for a terminal guy with nowhere else to go. And because it was part of the larger VA hospital, any extraordinary or other (e.g., dental, rehab, phys ther, soc worker) services he needed were available on the premises. Because Charlie didn't really have money, it was in essence the only choice for him. While one would always prefer autonomy and being among one's own objects in familiar surroundings, the VA NHCU was a blessing which relieved the real, inexpert people in Charlie's life (basically, me and his landlady) of incredible burdens that would have made all three of us much unhappier in the end.

The director of the NHCU at my local VA hospital said bluntly that 1800 veterans die every day, and the government should do more to help these guys at the end of their lives. I agree wholeheartedly. And, in this case, b/c the unit is in the charge of a guy who really cares like that, the facilities and the care that Charlie received were pretty darn good, if you ask me.
#213

[xouper]

Dishonoring the Sacrifice

A news article in the Times Herald-Record (upstate NY) has a slightly different explanation of the numbers:

If yer registered, you can read the original December 10, 2004 article here:
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/...0/abandon1.htm
or google cached version

And the December 11, 2004 follow-up here:
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/...1/soldier1.htm
or google cached version

[godfry n. glad]

In local news here, a National Guardsman who'd signed up for an eight-year hitch had his unit notified to mobilize for deployment in Iraq....a month before his contracted eight years terminated.

So...what happened? The Army National Guard extended his contract. An additional 27 years! Yes, that's right, until 2032. He challenged this in federal court and the judge upheld the military's right to do exactly what they had done. He's now in Iraq....and I'll bet he gets choice assignments, too.

Man...Talk about "read the fine print".

In news this week, there seems to be a recruiting problem with the Oregon National Guard. Fewer recruits are re-upping and new recruits are falling off at a precipitious pace.....WELL, DUUUUUUH.

godfry

[Ronin]

I was thinking of making a variant of the yellow ribbon car magnet that says:

"Support Our Troups, Go Enlist"

[xouper]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

In local news here, a National Guardsman who'd signed up for an eight-year hitch had his unit notified to mobilize for deployment in Iraq....a month before his contracted eight years terminated.

So...what happened? The Army National Guard extended his contract. An additional 27 years! Yes, that's right, until 2032. He challenged this in federal court and the judge upheld the military's right to do exactly what they had done. He's now in Iraq....and I'll bet he gets choice assignments, too.

Man...Talk about "read the fine print".

Are you referring to this guy?

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by Ronin

I was thinking of making a variant of the yellow ribbon car magnet that says:

"Support Our Troups, Go Enlist"

I like it.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by xouper

Are you referring to this guy?

Panner said he thought the military would endure more harm than Santiago if he ruled in the soldier's favor, essentially agreeing with the government's argument that thousands of military members who are subject to stop-loss orders might file similar legal challenges.

After the hearing, Goldberg said the Bush administration has been defending the stop-loss policy because it has no other way to maintain the troop strength essential to current military campaigns.

I see. No justice for Santiago lest a bunch of other soldiers be encouraged to seek it. Assholes. I know there's a lot of other things to hate about our government and our military policies, but the betrayal of the volunteers (before, during and after war) still really pisses me off. Besides how and why did they extend this guy 27 years? That doesn't make any sense considering the standard 2 year extension policy.

[godfry n. glad]

Originally Posted by xouper

Are you referring to this guy?

That's him.