Activists see deception in night arrivals at Walter Reed

[lebkuchen]

Steeling against rain and cold night air, clutching candles and placards, a group of activists are standing nightly vigils at the entrance to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, protesting what they believe is the Pentagon’s attempt to hide the human toll of the war in Iraq.

<cut>

Kevin McCarron, a former Marine intelligence specialist and a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, said he thinks the late-night admittances are a dishonor to the troops.

“They should be feted as they arrive, honored as heroes, not slipped through the back door like this,” he said.



http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=28095

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Good for these folks! I just live so far away from all the action!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. No pictures at Dover, late-night admittances, selective reporting of....

...casualties, and very, very little news of casualties from the "Forgotten War" in Afghanistan....nah, they're not hiding anything, are they?

Disgusting.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. How come these protesters

don't get 24/7 coverage?

[Robbien]

5. Or any coverage at all

would be nice.

[Tesha]

4. Speaking of slipping through the back door...

> "not slipped through the back door like this,” he said.

Hey, it works for Bush wherever he goes!

Tesha

[UpInArms]

6. kick

:kick:

[annabanana]

7. They're not Schaivo, they're not the Pope....

They're just our Servicemen and women, being hidden as if they were an embarrassment to America instead of our children.

[acmejack]

8. The embarrassment is the VA cuts.

Thanks guys, but not too much.

[WLKjr]

9. My Aunt told me similar things happend with Vietnam Vets

n/t

[MADem]

10. Not defending the procedure...BUT

European airtraffic control rules limit your take off and landing windows, if you miss, you wait--not good for stretcher patients. That was probably taken into consideration when they established the staging and launch time. Most are leaving from Germany where they go to be stabilized. Late night landings stateside are generally less congested and the aircraft doesn't get stuck in a pattern. There's also the "curious bystander/gawker" effect--some people prefer not to be seen on a gurney in a backless gown, and this tactic ensures privacy.

If you go to the rather cavernous lobby at Walter Reed, which in peacetime was filled with elderly WW2 soldiers, Korean war and Nam vets, the odd active duty sorts, and their family members (generally waiting for their prescriptions), today, it is full of young kids with assorted injuries and amputations. Physical therapy and rehab has expanded to the point of enormity.

What many people do not realize is the severity of the wounds on these kids--they don't want to be "feted" at this point, they want their goddamn morphine and a soft bed.

I hate this war, I don't like the way they are running things at Dover in shielding the anonymous, uniform caskets of the dead, but in this case, I am not certain that maintaining the privacy of people who are seriously wounded, vulnerable, and in great pain is necessarily a bad thing. I am not sure of WRs current policy on admissions; previously they used to put out a list, not sure if that continues nowadays.

That said, I understand the protesters' sincere desire to make the cost of war more visible. Just not sure this effort would be universally supported by the kids being hauled in on guerneys, stretchers, wheelchairs, and so on. I certainly would not have liked a camera in my face or my photo on the front page while going to or in hospital. Coming out, maybe, but only with warning first. But that is just me....