Letters to the Editor
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Way to go Mark Benjamin!
It's about time that US military leaders are finally listening to the reporting of injustices being done to our soldiers.
Hopefully this will lead to much overdue corrections of the abuse soldiers take at the hands of their superiors.
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Come get your 8 minute physical exam
Mark Benjamin was on Hardball tonight. He brought with him a staff sergeant with 21 years in the Army who has four surgically fused vertebra, C-4,3,2,1, I think he said.
The sergeant spoke of how his medical "review" went. He said he arrived at 9 a.m. and that there were about 75 soldiers in line, their profiles (paperwork) in hand. He said he waited half a day and decided to come back later.
He returned at 7 p.m. and there were only "a few guys still hanging around."
Do the math. Even if the two Army doctors didn't take any breaks from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., 10 hours by 75 guys gives each man or woman about 8 minutes. That's some complete physical, wouldn't you say?
The sergeant said that because of Salon's reporting, the Army took another look and decided not to deploy him again. But when asked what they would have him doing instead of going to Iraq, he said: Oh, I'm not staying in. I'm going before a medical review board soon. I'm getting out.
Nobody asked why. But it was pretty obvious that after the Salon article, the Army wants to get rid of the guys who caused trouble. It's either get out and take your 20 year pension, such as it is, and your disability (if you can prove service-connection) or they'll send you somewhere like Greenland to chip ice off polar bear nuts until your time is up.
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You are a hero!
Mark,
I am thrilled to hear that your article was a catalyst for action. I was going to send it to my senators and congressman but decided they would never read it (especially Obama, who is busy campaigning). I will not hesitate again to forward another article I feel must be shared with the people who can make a change.
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Thanks for supporting the troops
In a time of meaningless words from our Nations leaders Marks story does more to support the troops than any yellow ribbion and any fake rhetoric.
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I'm so Proud of Salon
I am so glad to see Salon returning to its roots and breaking an important story that is being taken seriously by Congress. This is what I want from Salon. Bravo, to a job well done.
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oh FUCK!
Now dave sugarman will be back.
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Congrats, Salon
You guys are really kicking ass lately. Keep up the good work!
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Thanks for your original article and CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations on the results your reporting is already producing!!!!
Your article about sending injured troops to Iraq was so important, and I had been so distressed to see how little coverage it received in the mainstream media. I assumed it would require reporting by the msm for the Congress to take notice.
But it's a new day, and a few Democrats in important places in Congress proved that the recipients of the message, namely Democrats in the majority, are more important than the messenger. Even if GOP Senators and Members of Congress had read such an article in Salon just a few months ago, they would not have said a thing publicly. They have already demonstrated their cravenness in the way they either ignored or tried to deal quietly -- and ineffectively -- with the outrageously poor medical and bureacratic treatment received by far too many of our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The quick response by Democratic lawmakers to your reporting makes the GOP's lack of action look even more shameful.
Salon has always done such an outstanding job of covering important issues and developments. It is a thrill to see your investigative reporting produce such quick, if preliminary, results. Thank you, Mark Benjamin and Salon!
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Reaction instead of Denial? Amazing.
A truly wonderful interaction between journalism and the government (well, a branch, at least). Independent investigations uncovering negligence; government response to, at the very least, address what may be amiss.
I'm not that young, but I'm not that old, and it seems like ages since there's been both journalism not spoon-fed by the executive branch, and proper response when allegations do arise. That saddens me.
That said, I don't know much about the Army medical classification system above and beyond what was written in the article. I do know, however, that a friend previously deployed in Iraq was classified as unfit for a second tour. His injury would have prohibited him from doing his job properly, but it is nowhere near as severe as those outlined in the original article.
This makes me wonder if it's individuals, rather than Army-wide policy, responsible for the injured troop redeployment. While I'm sure there's plenty of pressure to get the "numbers" up, it may be only certain Army officials feeling pressure (career advancement, maybe?) to pull this sort of nonsense.
If that is the case, however, it's still a direct result of pressure from above, which should be addressed.
My thoughts go out to the 2 injured soldiers already deployed. Hopefully the system will respond appropriately.
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I worry about Salon
Does Salon have enough Premium memberships to stay alive? I log out and go on as non-premium so I can click on some ads, and all the ads I see are for Salon Premium, or Joe Conason's book, or something else home-grown.
How is Salon supporting itself, doing what is increasingly mainstream reporting, when the majority of letter-writers responding to articles are non-Premium?
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Thanks Mark Benjamin
for the initial story and extraordinary follow-through. Nice that you caught the army with its pants down.
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salon deserves credit - something i was loathe to give before
an article that made a difference. going down the "chain of command", mr benjamin and the GIs that spoke to him and yes, the letters column that encourage salon in the first place. of the letters, no one can deny that locutus was the Heart of this discussion (i myself will modestly accept the title of brain). relax nooble, i think i'll take a rest this thread. i've said all i've needed to, learned all i wanted to and though my thoughts always bear repeating - not every day. all of us can congratulate ourselves on our interest and level of discussion - far higher than that of the evening news. and all of us being people, we influence, subtly, every one we interact with. we are seeing a building of an american consensus and for one, i find it exciting that i can be a part, however small. thanks to everyone who talked to me and i'll be following you on the sidelines.