The novel All Quiet on The Western Front depicts in graphic detail the harsh conditions men have to face on the front line. But what is even more appalling is the treatment they receive when they are wounded. Though this book is set during World War I, the brutality of war and the number of casualties are real--even today we watch scenes from Iraq and hear the staggering numbers of those who are injured and those who have given their lives. I wanted to share something that would make you see something more than just the war--something that I discovered when I was in Germany when the war began. I witnessed wives of U.S. soldiers collecting items for our soldiers that were wounded and in hospitals. They were gathering everyday items--toothpaste, deoderant, shaving cream, etc. When I asked why, I was told that when a soldier was injured, removed from duty, and was in the hospital, that soldier is charged for the use of those everyday items. Charged? What has become more puzzling to me is the treatment of injured soldiers even when they return to the U.S. I want you to watch the attached video. http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?030507/030507_garrett_hospital&FNL&Walter%20Reed%20Scandal&acc&Politics&-1&News&237&&&new and visit the following page http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256559,00.html
Here's the guiding questions for our discussion (commentary): What do you believe our soldiers deserve? What responsibility does our government have to them? What responsibility do we have to them?
30 comments:
I think it's terrible that people are mistreating wounded soldiers. If people don't support Bush's "War on Terror", they should take it out on the current administration, not the soldiers risking their lives in a foreign country. As for trying to cut costs by giving less than satisfactory health care; no wonder the US is running out of soldiers--their arms are falling off in the hospitals!
Throughout history, its always the veterans of honor that suffer most, as pawns of a bigger movement. They do what they are told by their superiors, and should be cared for. However, are they? Following this, compared to the tragedies at Walter Reed, its not that different. These soldiers fight under an unstable flag, and yet, they are our soldiers. We may not agree with what they are fighting for, but they deserve what humanity has to offer. Should they not be neglected the care they need, when its only a couple signatures away? Is it greed, or lack of human compassion that allows them to suffer? Either way, something should be done, and not only about the treatment of American soliders, but a new historical precedence should be made on the treatment of soldiers in general. Whatever happened to patriotism?
At least once a year you hear of people sponsoring events for soldiers and sending care packages over to them with necessary items they need daily. If people are providing the items themselves, are they getting charged for it? In other words, is the government claiming they purchased the items to earn a profit when in fact it came from the citizens? Soldiers should not have to pay for petty little items when they risk everything. Afterall they are putting their life online for others.
Since the soldier obtained an injury in the war, why should the government still pay for their necessities? With money always being a problem, and will continue to be, the government does not perceive the soldiers as their responsibility anymore, which they shouldn’t have to. If a person from any other job acquired an injury does the government pay for their daily items, no. So why do the soldiers be put above the average working man? Money is an evil object, but it is how we live.
Thought I'd give you another link to check out--this should cause some reaction: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/13660.html
I think at the least they shouldn't have to deal with a hospital that is rundown and full of cockroachs. That is gross and unsanitary, I think the goverment should atleast provide them with a decent place to recover whenever they've been injured fighting for the country.
I think it makes sense that they are being charged for these items. Yes, it is greedy and selfish. But this is for people who are currently not in action and hospitals don't usually supply patients with such things.
as cold-blooded as this may sound, I agree with Julie to some extent. They should be charged for the items they use. Who are we to place soldiers above the general population? when you enlist in the military(my entire argument is void when speaking of a draft) you are becoming employed. A worker, nothing more. they should be charged with items they use, so that those on the battlefield can still use them.
As far as the government asking for money back, I feel it is totally acceptable. In my mind, the government is asking the soldier to do a job for a set price(we'll say 30000 dollars), just as I would hire someone to mow my lawn. If my employee mows half of the lawn, does he deserve all of the money. its not like they're taking all of it back, is it?
I think it is not only a disgrace, but an embarasment to our government to not pay for our wounded soldier's goods. Our government is basically stating that they expect soldiers to "dodge a bullet" or avoid a road-side bomb. Here we have the bravest of our country and we can't even support their medical needs. How are our soldiers supposed to perform at their peak when they must worry about their personal financial needs.
Contrast to the comment earlier stated by beast from the east, I do believe that soldiers are above our general population. These are some of our best and bravest who are willing to put their lives on hold to portect our country while the rest of us sit at home. The least we could do is pay for their personal goods while injured.
I have to disagree with the comments that stated soldiers should be compensating back to the government for their daily necessities. Soldiers who go off to war go to fight for freedom. They go to risk their life for America. Why can't you or the government spare them some money just to receive some supplies? They at least deserve for their daily necessities to be paid for by the government. Because soldiers do work. Soldiers work harder than the average person. I mean, seriously, these men and women could die at any moment while in battle because they are risking their lives. A person working a regular job doesn't have that risk. The average working person only goes to take care of themselves and their family and no one else. A soldier is fighting for all people.
But in the case of Jordan Fox, he only had 3 more months to serve in the war. He would have finished but his eyesight was damaged from a road side bomb. Since he signed a bonus, he now owes the government 3000 dollars because he was unable to finish his duty. The government seems like money hungry people. He got injured during the process of war...he didn't quit...he was unable to finish. It wasn't his fault he got injured. The government should not be asking him for his money, they should be paying him back and thanking him for putting his life on the line for the government in this war.
I completely agree that this is a seemingly endless war, that is if this is still considered a war. this is, however beside the point. I do not understand why soldiers are put on some glorified pedestal of honor... why should we pay with our tax dollars for their everyday items, when every other individual has to take care of themselves? how is a soldier(especially in our countries recent dispute) putting himself at more risk than the police officers and firefighters back in our country? Where is their honor? you guys seem to have made the mistake of thinking im siding with the government. I am not pro-government, believe me... I feel this war is(pardon me for this) a pointless risk on the lives of american citizens. Still yet, no one forced soldiers to enlist did they? this, in my eyes, puts him/her equal to anyone else trying to get a job in this country. Jake Brown says soldiers are above the general population... how? sure they are doing a job not many would do, but there are plenty of those jobs that are completely overlooked. Nancy states, " A soldier is fighting for all people." how many of you feel as though we are over there for us, or "all people?" aren't we still over there to help them? how are our "people" benefitting from this war? she then contradicts herself later in her statement with, "they should be paying him back and thanking him for putting his life on the line for the government in this war." Putting his life on the line for the GOVERNMENT in this war. this seems more accurate to me. Now as much as I want to find a way to tear down cameron's argument, he makes a few valid points... everyone is assuming that the soldiers are fighting for "the good of the people", but obviously cameron has noticed another possible reason. cameron stated: maybe more people would enlist if they thought the war worth fighting. Is he implying that the soldiers are enlisting simply to line their pockets? I shudder to think that a soldier would notice the relative safety of this war, and let the signing bonus influence his decision when determining whether or not to fight "for the protection of his people."
I think it is pretty bad that the soldiers are being treated in horrible conditions; plus having to pay for the necessities they need makes it even worst. I don't think soldiers should be placed above everyone else because everybody is equal. If someone loses their job its going to affect everyone. Although soldiers do deserve the best health care they can get as well as everyone else. Not mention, we can't let our emotions just stand out there. We can't expect our emotions to do anything, so we have to take a stand and try to fix it for ourselves in which some are already doing. Congress is just out there flipping papers around and not much is getting done, so we have to make them do something.
Try something for one second. Put yourself into a soldier's shoes. What do you see? Cruelty of other countries, hatred towards cetain objects/people, and what about all the suffering people? Now think about if YOU were to get hurt. What would you do then? Because at first you were offered a signing bonus but now you have to pay that money back, as well as your hospital bills. That is ridiculious. Soldiers might have families to worry about and support so it's ten times harder to focus on themselves.
However, beast from the east does bring up a good point about only finishing half the job. But if they become injured by someone else how is it they're fault? From my understanding they want to be over there (otherwise they wouldn't have enlisted). They are standing up for what they believe in; our freedom as well as the rest of the country's. Cameron also mentions a good view about the signing bonuses and how the goverment only uses them to enlist more people. It's almost like the goverment knows half of the soldiers will get wounded, so some of the money will partially be refunded. Is this the reason for the signing bonus? Because America is supposed to be one of the wealthiest countries I thought. But evidently we seem to rip off soldier's and their families to gain every last penny we can receive. Greediness. That's the bottom line.
I was on the fence and wary of my opinion on this topic until I did a lot more researching and came to a conclusion. I agree with Cameron, especially his example of pro athletes. Mark used an example to support his side that if someone mowed his lawn and only did half, he didn’t deserve to be paid in full. For those of you that were drawn in to his example, consider this: A young naïve boy has come to your house because he needs money. He offers to mow your lawn. You lend him your lawn mower and he begins to mow. Your lawn mower, however, is faulty and goes haywire and the boy’s foot gets cut off. Are you still telling me that it is acceptable for you to ask that boy who fell victim to YOUR lawn mower for the money you paid him? Most of the soldiers are young, just like the boy who came to mow your lawn. Many don’t have money to go another route after high school and this would help. These young boys are going to be injured for the rest of their lives, we’re not talking about 50 year old men whose legs are getting blown off, we’re talking about 19 year old boys.
I would say that they signed up, they believe in the war more than I do so they should pay for it, not me. But I strongly believe that the MINORITY of soldiers truly believe in what they do. They’re just following orders. You might say that they could back out of it, but they really can’t. Mark also said that his belief was basically void when talking of a draft. Excuse me if you’re not familiar with this term, but what our country is going through now is a “back-door draft”. It would look horrible if they started drafting people who never signed up, so they draft those that thought their time was over. (When you sign up for 4 years, you really sign up for 8; the last 4 years are served in reserve).
I would like to clarify something. I do not believe wounded soldiers are heroes. They are not above any other American citizen. They are VICTIMS. I say we don’t fight so offensively. We should protect our country rather than invade others. We’ve spent almost a trillion dollars over in Iraq. That money could be used to help wounded soldiers rather than produce them.
The housing conditions for the wounded soldiers are deplorable. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan are absorbing the country's funding. The citizens of America have lost all hope in the war. Well, with that said, the war is already lost.
But back to the topic of soldiers. Like Ashley H., I was hesitant on commenting on this topic, and so I did some research. People say, or claim, that soldiers do not believe in what they are doing. That may be true for some soldiers, but not of Capt. Powell. In an interview for his local newspaper in Milwaukee, he admitted that he "didn't really want to go" which was his personal opinion. "It was my responsibility (to serve in Iraq). There's my personal opinion; then there's my opinion as a military officer," he said. (Quotes from http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=351289)
As for the treatment of soldiers, it is horrible. That has pretty much been established, looking at previous comments and articles on the topic. In some of my research, I discovered that wounded soldiers are not that only ones who have to pay for basic everyday needs. Soldiers who are well have to buy their own military necessities, such as desert boots and night vision goggles.
Senators and Representatives, and some American citizens, complain about their not being enough health care for the people. Why couldn't they just put that money they want to use on another useless welfare program towards helping our soldiers?
Okay b.brown, i put myself in a soldiers shoes, and i saw exactly what any soldier would expect to see. death and destruction. so what. now do me a favor... put yourself in an iraqi's shoes... what do you see? someone coming into your country without permission, and destroying everything you own in search of something no one seems to be able to locate. what about THOSE injured people? do we pay for THEIR everyday items as well? I realize the soldiers are following orders, thats not the point im trying to prove, but please don't make me pity those "suffering people" without pitying all of the people who are suffering. In my opinion, i cannot blame the iraqis for causing us harm... you say greediness is the bottom line? I agree, but fear is keeping it company as well... Now for Ashley H. well, first i would like to applaud you for your ability to tug at even my heartstrings. As i read your response, I almost conformed to your ideas... then I noticed something. Your scenario with the little boy is a mirage. It is out of context. The boy may be using my lawn mower, yes, but it is not what chopped his foot off. my lawn mower is not faulty, it runs just fine, but as the boy was using my lawn mower, he was shot in the foot by my unpredictable next door neighbor... the government is not injuring its soldiers(at least not literally) their are signs posted all over my next-door neighbors fence saying he was crazy, and the boy ignored those signs, and continued mowing. should i have to give him the money still, perhaps out of pity? Should i be stuck with the hospital bill as well? it is also contradictory to say that you wouldn't mind paying for the minority of true soldiers injuries, without doing so for the rest. your second to last paragraph is actually new information to me, so ill leave that one alone, saying only that once again i am not pro-government, but I do not consider any draft but a blanket, one hundred percent draft in my exceptions. a true soldier not attempting to cash in on a signing bonus and leave would be unable to leave until his job was done. Then he would be ecstatic to hear he could stay to finish the job...
To Darius' comment of "everybody is equal"...is everyone really equal...then why are there homeless people?...why are there people living on streets and some living in mansions? America is said to be equal...but really is it? This country or even world will never be equal because there's always going to be someone that wants to be better or even the best.
But back to the topic, this war has been going on for about five years now and I agree that it's been way too long, "the president and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict" but it really wasn't, they have used about 3 trillion dollars over in Iraq. So if the government can use all that money in Iraq, why can't they spare some for the injured soldiers?(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3419840.ece)
In an a videos I was watching, soldiers who get injured over there(well most of them) want to go back to help and finish the job they started. They are over there for a reason and there just not going to quit like that. These men and sometimes women are already traumatized enough and injury and their eyes have seen way more than many of ours. They haven seen people die and get injured. When they get back home they don't a bill saying you owe the government because they signed the bonus. In there mind they thought that they were going to finish their job. Where are they going to get this money since they have been in the war? Like Ashley said, these are young boys not 50 year old men.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wounded/la-na-wounded-series,0,936394.special
(link for video)
And beast from the east, I can see your point but if the crazy neighbor shot this little boys foot. He (the little boy) wouldn’t get charged but the crazy next door neighbor would. Because he shot him. Not the owner of the lawn mower. But the owner of the lawn mover is very wealthy too and he also knew he had a crazy neighbor. Shouldn't he(the owner) warn him about the crazy neighbor The little boy was just there to do his job and mow the lawn. But then, I can see where your coming from like our soldiers are going into unwanted territory (Iraq) that we really aren't needed in the first place causing this whole dispute. And then and then an Iraqi would get the fault but then you Can't charge the Iraqi people because we invaded them because our government wanted to. So since, the government wanted to invade Iraq and use trillions of dollars in the war, I ask again why can't they pay for there necessities instead of the war? The government should take a second look at what they have done causing so much trouble for everyone in this prolonged war.
When beast from the east said, to put our self in the iragi's shoes, i can understand where your coming from. The goverenment pays for the wounded soilders cause that's the least we can do. while they are fighting we are waiting. If they get injured then we should help thats what fair. the Iragi's are not our governements problem. we are helping them but we should not be responsible for their injuries.
The soldiers are out on the battlefield risking their lives for THEIR country. No one forcing them to fight, the government enters the war not the soldiers. When they get injured it should our plaesure to take care of them. We should not pawn it off on them or their family. Its the least we can do for them when they do all they can for us and our country. They should have a sanitary hospital to recover in and the neccesities the need.
I'm not saying that soldiers are better than the general population but they should be treated just as well as most everyone else is. They should be treated with respect and gratitude.
I agree partially with both Mark and Julie, serving is a job none the less. If one enrolls themselves then they should be aware of the consequences and treatment they will receive. However I can understand the other side as well. Serving for our country should and is an honor. The citizens view these people somewhat as heroes that should be treated that way as well. They ARE after all sacrificing the possible loss of their life. This is obviously a debatable issue, but in the end I don't think they should have to pay for petty everyday materials (they have to stay healthy to serve us well).
I think that mistreating soldiers is despicable. The people who do that should relize that this person just put their life on the line to protect our every day freedom and to treat them this way they should be thrown in jail. And to charge them for toothpaste and deoderant is just wrong. They have just lived through some of the harshest conditions known to man and then when they get hurt just doing their job to charge them for everyday needs is just adding insult to injury.
I think that the U.S. government is ridiculous! A soldier was paid to put his life on the line for his country but when he gets injured he has to pay that money back?!?! I simply think that this is ridiculous.
This reminds me of a similar story that happened just this year. A woman was working at wal-mart and I believe that she got injured leaving work. She had previously signed a contract with wal-mart which practically said that wal-mart would pay medical expenses if ever injured...
The lady got into a car accident and was seriously injured. If I'm not mistaken she messed up her brain too. But anyways, Wal-mart paid her $100,000 in medical bills and later told her that she had to pay all that money back. (apparently the contract also said that if wal-mart wanted to, they could take their money back)The lady did not know this! Now she can't work because of her condition, her husband has to take care of her and on top of that, she has to find a way to pay wal-mart $100,000.That's ridiculous considering Wal-mart being as big as it is and having millions of dollars. A $100,000 loss to them is like someone taking 1 penny out of $100 dollars. Point being its nothing.
The U.S. government seems to be Wal-mart in this case. If one of their soldiers gets killed or injured they act like they have soooo much to lose if the soldier doesn't pay them back. Just like Wal-mart, the U.S. government is simply being inconsiderate, selfish, and greedy.
I somewhat agree that soldiers should have to pay for these necessities. Since every other American pays for these items I don't see what makes them void. They are Americans as well and are also employees just like the others who pay up. As for repaying bonuses, I don't agree. They shouldn't have to hand over money they've been promised, that's not right. I'm sure it's pretty difficult to dodge bullets, grenades, and shoulder-fired missiles, (at least I hope), so why punish them for it? Why steal their money? We should congratulate them for not deserting and compensate them for enduring possibly the hardest durations of their lives. You mean to tell me that the wounded receive a cute purple heart, but can't receive the money they're promised when wounded? You've got to be kidding. Why honor the wounded with ceremonies and visits with the President when the administration is just going to steal money anyways? Why can't the government just say, "Let's make a deal soldier, you can have this pretty purple heart and I can take the money back we were going to give you in the first place, sound fair?" Please, at least pay them money they were promised and deserve.
Personally i think it is absolutling appoling that the government can pay over 1 BILLION on a single aircraft that will probably just get the solidure injured in the first place. It is ambarrasing that we can buy 90 multi-million ($250 million) dollar war machines and not even pay for basic materials like toothpaste ($2). you can buy 125,000,000 tubes of toothpaste for that much! But no, the government makes the basic solider pay for his bill out of his already meager earnings. As far as the citizens go we really don't need to do any thing but speak up because our taxes would more than pay for the cost of toothpaste and toilet paper. The government must take charge!
In my opinion, I think neglecting our wounded soldiers is wrong. They risked their lives to keep us safe. While we are at home drinking ice tea, they are out there protecting our freedom. The least we can do is provide them quality services for their recovery. We should "never leave a man[or woman] behind!" Just like the battlefield, this also applies to soldiers in hospitals. The well-being of a human life is much more important than saving money on our government budget.
The soldiers knew what they were going into when they enrolled into the war. Like Mark said “death and destruction.” It is a risky job to be a part of, but they decided to take it. Yes, the government enters the war and the soldiers’ fight, but no one makes you enlist into the army, it is entirely their decision. The government just needs money to fund for the war which is costing us about 515 billion dollars, how can our government afford to pay for that PLUS pay for wounded soldiers in the hospital? The official total of Americans wounded in Iraq is 29,829, with over 130,000 people serving in Iraq or have served. Only 22% of people serving have been injured. Imagine all the innocent Iraq civilians not even fighting the war, who have endured injures. Like Mark said “what about THOSE injured people?” Yes, 22% is not a good number, but that is only 22% of the people who have to give back money to contribute to the war. The bottom line is that the government can’t afford to pay for the wounded soldiers if they are not contributing to the fighting.
When going into war, soilders are fully aware of what they are getting themselves into. But are we as citizens fully aware of what they go through? sure...we all ahve heard the stories form wars and such, but we were never actually there. We ahve no idea what it is like to be fighting in a war, and most of us never will. I think it is one of, if not the most brave thing any peorson can do in his/her lifetime. I just do not understand why the government cannot supply a little more money and niceness towards them. The government payes them yes, but do we give them what they need when they are injured? no. not even colse. Sure we ahve the hospitals, but are they top of the chart?
Soldiers are half the reason we are still living today. So why can't we put forth a little more effort to give them back what they give us every day.
In the posts, many of you said that the government is doing enough. I don't think that this is so at all. If you got your eye blown out, would you want t be sitting in a dirty hospital waiting for someone to come and help you and not knowing if your going to ahve a decent dctor or not? i wouldnt think so. I think the government should be able to put forth a little more effort to help them out. What more can a person give to their country then their life? and when their life is in danger, i think the counrty would want their name to be clear, and be able to say we do the best we can.
First off, I think it's appauling that we treat our injured soldiers like they never went and risked their lives for OUR FREEDOMS. These men who fight, get injured, and even die, for our everyday rights, are being charged while they're in hospitals sick and dying from war. I'd like to ask our government, just how much is you're freedom worth to you? Our soldiers deserve to be treated better.
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