E&P: Wounded Soldiers at Walter Reed Told Not to Talk to Media

[DeepModem Mom]

Editor&Publisher: Wounded Soldiers Told Not to Talk to Media
By E&P Staff
Published: February 28, 2007

NEW YORK Wounded soldiers being treated at Walter Reed Hospital have been told by their superiors that they will now have to be up at 6:00 a.m. every morning for an inspection an hour later, and that they are no longer allowed to talk with members of the press, according to the Army Times newspaper.

The article says that there is speculation that these new rules are retribution by the military for the recent Washington Post exposé on conditions at the hospital. Such morning inspections are reportedly very unusual after soldiers have finished with basic training.

The soldiers were told by a commanding officer that they now must go through the chain of command when identifying and reporting problems (such as mice or mold) in their living areas, as well as when they ask for help in filling out paperwork, according to the article.

The Army Times reports that a first sergeant at the hospital has been relieved of his duty as well.

Last week, in three articles, Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull exposed dreadful conditions at the supposed "crown jewel of military medicine"-- Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The story sparked a controversy into the treatment of wounded veterans.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003551454

LINK TO ARMY TIMES STORY: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/TNSreedinspect070227/

[Supersedeas]

1. Nothing to see here -- feed them more ANS, right Abrams??

[Webster Green]

2. "A first sergeant at the hospital has been relieved of his duty"

Higher ups will receive medals from the Commander-In-Chimp.

[roguevalley]

3. so they compound the injury but abusing them more. I cannnot

breathe sometimes ...

[atreides1]

4. Sounds like an NCO

"The Army Times reports that a first sergeant at the hospital has been relieved of his duty as well."

The difference is that NCO's care about the troops, sergeants spend too much time kissing ass and sucking up and have no time to take care of their troops.

At least that's how it was explained to me when I asked what the difference was, the army has lots of sergeants but few NCO's.

[Sirveri]

10. A sergeant IS an NCO.

E-5. I actually know quite a lot of E-5's, most of them are self centered bitter assholes who just want out. In this case they fired an E-8 (who is also an NCO). Speaking from a naval perspective, E-7 are generally good folks who look out for their people and are happy that they made it to E-7. E-9 tend to be really laid back and don't seem to care all that much about anything since they're as high as they can go for the most part. Of the four E-8's I actually had contact with (observed regularly), 2 were complete assholes who liked to play sadistic games with their people, and 2 were pretty cool customers who seemed genuinely happy and enjoyed looking after their people. It seemed like the ones who had a hard on for E-9 and had spent a while as E-7 and E-8 tended to be bigger pricks. In the army E-5 and above is a Sergeant. E-4 and above is technically an NCO, but depending on where you are that may not mean too much.

[jwirr]

5. One more reason not to enlist in the military. They may be fighting

for something but it is not our constitution.

[atreides1]

6. I agree with you 100%

The military stopped fighting for the Constitution the day they allowed the Patriot Act to become law, and then made it very clear that the Constitution meant nothing when Patriot Act II was passed.

[CoffeeCat]

7. BULLIES!!! SICK BULLIES!!!

This administration is run by bullies who are attempting to
control and frighten these soldiers into silence.

The only way to take away a bully's power, is to stand up to
them and refuse to be intimidated.

These soldiers need to tell these "superiors" to get f*cked.
These soldiers are not prisoners. They aren't in basic training.
They have every right to discuss the conditions of the hospital
with whomever they damn well please.

I wouldn't get up at 6 a.m. for these thugs! I'd tell them to
go to hell and I'd do it with Mike Wallace sitting in my room
with a camera pointed at their fat heads!

These veterans have First Amendment rights. There is no basis
for muzzling these soldiers!

People have to start standing up to these bullies and refusing
to kow tow to their heavy-handed tactics--because they have no
ground on which to stand.

Tell these bastards to get screwed!

[saigon68]

8. Don't join in the first place

That way you tell the military to go Fuck itself.

Most of us, unlike Cheney and the Chimp were drafted.

That's why we gave them the big FUCK YOU every time they wanted us to do anything

[Sirveri]

11. If they're still in the military they have to do certain things.

Waking up at 6AM is a lawful order, room inspections are lawful. Being in the military is a lot like prison, you're under a completly differant set of rules with the UCMJ. A lot of these guys are probably going to get out, and if they rock the boat, then they might lose some of their benefits they earned through serving. It's really easy to tell someone else to stand up and rock the boat and risk an OTH discharge along with a pay hit and a rank hit for failure to follow an order to get up at 6AM. Then watch as they lose out on some permanent disability money afterwards because they got busted down in rank. It's not worth it.

[thepurpose]

14. Being in the military is not a lot like prison. The UCMJ actually provides more

rights and protections if you are accused of an offense than civilians enjoy.

[Sirveri]

18. I've seen guys go to mast for not cleaning their room.

I saw one kid actually get busted down, fined, put on restriction w/ extra duties, etc... all because his SLPO was a douchebag.

Last I checked most civilians won't be fined for not cleaning their house.

When I think of UCMJ, I think of ways that they can punish me, not ways that they can protect me.

[thepurpose]

20. You can't be docked pay and demoted in civilian jobs if you don't follow the rules?

You ever lived any where there was a home owners assocation? You can get fined for not putting away your garbage can after trash pickup. My point is everyone has rules to follow but, in the military you also have rights. You simply don't lose them all and its not like serving a prison sentence. Yes, the UCMJ is there to maintain order and provide the commanders with a way to maintain order that does not include 30 lashes and walking the plank. But with that comes the rights of the accused. Are there abuses? You bet there are. Just like civilians go to jail for crimes they didn't commit because of police and prosecutor misconduct.

[Sirveri]

21. You can be forced to live at work for 30 days in a civilian job?

You can't quit a civilian job without being arrested by the police and being sent to a real jail? As for rights of the accussed, sure, I've never actually seen them. Generally what I have seen is someone high up decides they don't like so and so and then they do their best to gun him down and boot him out. The XO mast just rubber stamps it up to the CO who then decides to do whatever they're going to do. I've heard stories about CO mast getting dismissed, on the internet, never in real life have I heard these stories. Some people do deserve it of course, but I've seen plenty who don't. As for being like prison, you go underway and are locked in a metal tube with a bunch of crazy pyschotic freeper assholes and are forced to work 18 hours a day and share a bed. Not like jail at all, I can't imagine why ANYONE would want to get out.

[outofbounds]

12. They can't do that

Under the UCMJ they will receive an article 13 and be punished. with a reduction of pay, extra duty, quarantined to barracks or jail time. When they sign the contract they basically sign away their rights. I know you cant sign away your rights but the military is different. About the only right they have is to write their congressman and it always comes back to a superior officer and sh*t rolls down hill.

[thepurpose]

17. Do you mean and Article 15? And if you do that's not a punitive article of the UCMJ

you don't get jail time under Article 15. It's an administrative disciplinary tool. You have to be tried by court-martial for jail time. No one is signing away their rights when the sign a contract to join the military. Yes they do have to follow rules and regulations. But, does not even a civilian company have rules and regulations you to follow or be fired? Finally service members have a right to submit a complaint to their member of congress. DOD directive 1325.6 applies.

[outofbounds]

22. Your right it is

an Article 15. It's been a while since my discharge. The fact remains that your superiors can make your life a living hell if you break chain of command. If I remember correctly there are 3 types of Article 15 none of which are pleasant to endure.

[UpInArms]

9. see! it's the "librul" media's fault! if no one talks to them, there is

no problem!

SO SHUT UP ALREADY!

Don't you know we're only so bad because the media isn't reporting the good things!

[caligirl]

13. action alert on this at greatest page with 46 votes, CALL the numbers

posted in the thread. Call your congressmen as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x307567

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Thanks for spreading the word, caligirl! nt

[hedgehog]

15. According to Bill Mauldin's Up Front, back in WWII there was a general

who insisted that if the wounded couldn't stand or sit at attention, they could at least lie at attention!

[conscious evolution]

19. If they can't talk to the media

Then they can talk to the members of Henry Waxmann's Goverment Oversight and Reform Committee when they hold their hearing AT Walter Reed Monday March 5th.
http://oversight.house.gov/schedule.asp

[rebel with a cause]

23. A new take on "Don't ask, Don't tell."

:shrug: What next? Total surrender? Or total revolution? How about a total military mutiny/rebellion?