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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

An Army of None

posted by on March 28 at 9:40 AM

Just…shameful:

The Army’s new acting surgeon general said Tuesday she is concerned about long-term morale because the military lacks money to hire enough nurses and mental health specialists to treat thousands of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

We send our troops into combat without proper armor. We keep soldiers in Iraq well beyond their expected tours. Then when they get out, we don’t even have the staff available to help them through their post-war trauma. And as usual with the Iraq war, it all comes back to this:

“When the original plans were made, we did not take into consideration we could be in a long war,” said Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock. She became surgeon general earlier this month after Kevin Kiley was forced to resign in a scandal over poor treatment of war-wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

But hey, at least acrotomophiliacs are getting something out of all this.

(Via Think Progress.)

RSS icon Comments

1

Shameful, yes. Unprecedented, no. No war this country has every fought has been fully equipped in personnel and equipment.

Posted by raindrop | March 28, 2007 10:16 AM
2

If you care so much join the fucking Army.
I am guessing you are young enough and healthy enough Bradley Steinbacher.

Posted by you're a libra, arentcha darling | March 28, 2007 10:17 AM
3

Wow a female Surgeon General. Is she going to be like mom? "hey kids clean up your act, eat an apple, and go outside and socaiize and make friends."

or dad "hey whatever! just do what you want, kids should be seen not heard, and screw those bullys son kick them in the nuts. Oh yeah don't forget to take out the garbage while you grab me a beer"

I thinks shes going to be awesome as Surgeon General.
why not? is she the first women surgeon general? and why?

Posted by a yeastie girls consalidated drone boy | March 28, 2007 10:23 AM
4

Huh?

Posted by Fnarf | March 28, 2007 10:24 AM
5

Yep, this is Rome revisited. Now we are going to have a ticked off military who just may want to turn their weapons on the state.

Everyone make sure you watch Rome on HBO! It is coming to America and this time it will be high tech weapons that will be used. Wonder who Augustus is this time around

Posted by Andrew | March 28, 2007 10:28 AM
6

The first female Surgeon General was Dr. Antonia Novella.

Posted by Learn Your History | March 28, 2007 10:29 AM
7

oh and number one We put more money in the machines of war not the human being.
Not even the soldier.
The soldier just there to operate the machine. He's comes second to the equipment.
That Nuclear bomb is worth more than 20 divisions of troops. The laser guided missile launching jets billions poured into that to outdo the last cool one. Just because it never gets better with age when it comes to machines. You gotta keep the dragon fed, and that could mean sacrificing men to feed the dragon. After all it is a god of war.
Its metal so shiney , its gyros spinning, wow look at those rocket boosters. So damn beutiful.
"Hey soldier grab a wrench and start working on it. test fly it. Drive it around , shoot some of those 100,000 billion dollar rockets out of the tube to see if it blows some tanks up?
"oh and we never even met. Don't forget that. If you need any money don't come askin me. Just do your job.
that green stuff glowing in that building when you had your NVGs on. That night you were positioned by command on the airfield. don't worry you'll be o.k. its nothin."

Posted by a yeastie girls consalidated drone boy | March 28, 2007 10:36 AM
8

I just love how they say "we don't have the $" when it comes to boring things like nurses, and at the same time get all bent outta shape when someone wants oversight for all the civillian contracts. Don't have the money?!?! Why can't someone just find one of the billions of $ that disappeared? Or how about firing one of the useless pointless "reconstruction" contractors? You could buy a lot of nurses with that kinds cash...

Posted by Mike in MO | March 28, 2007 10:52 AM
9

This is utterly disgraceful.

Whether or not you think this war is or was a good idea or bad, it is absolutely appalling that our troops are so casually discarded. I am an 8 year veteran (about 20 years or so ago), and I can't begin to tell you how angry this makes me.

Is this what they are talking about when I see all those right wing wackos driving around with "support your troops" stickers on their cars? Proud of your president now, are you?

Posted by SDA in SEA | March 28, 2007 12:06 PM
10

Mindblowing how young most of these kids are that are coming back, too. Where to go while nudge-nudge having to fuck off?

Posted by Lloyd Clydesdale | March 28, 2007 1:14 PM
11

of course i agree with most of the above comments, but...is anyone else goobed out by acrotomophilliacs? a part of me wants to be open-minded, non-judgemental--after all, if i can be generous to foot fetishists, why can't i also be with no-foot fetishists?--but having an acrotomophile hot for you seems like cold comfort for losing all your stuff and, hell, it just seems so creepy.

Posted by ellarosa | March 28, 2007 3:24 PM
12

I'm with you, Ellarosa. It's not acrotomophilia in general that disturbs me, but the way that article was written in context with the war was totally fucked up. Not to mention, this person clearly wants people to lose limbs...

"Berry hasn't lost a limb in a traumatic accident. (Though if she keeps drunkenly crashing into things she might soon. Remaining fingers crossed, everyone.)"

Um, yeah.

Posted by Red Wendy | March 28, 2007 9:43 PM

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