Army Blocks Disability Paperwork Aid at Fort Drum

[Ken White]

receiving end of a Congressional inquiry conducted at the staffer level. The real issue was that things were not happeningfast enough for the soldier in question who was concerned that nothing at all was happening. A phone conversation between me and the staffer clarified things - the staffer understood that I was on the soldier's side but it was going to take a little time to resolve.

My experience with Congress and staffers has been that they are patriotic people who try to be reasonable when doing constituent service.

Cheers

JohnT

There was one minor problem with the kid who was kidnapped off Hay Street in Fayetteville and whisked to Miami in a white Cadillac and whose mother was convinced this was all that was required to explain his sixteen days AWOL/ UA. Fortunately a move from her cousin the Congessman's staffer to that persons boss got that straightened out...

Don't let my Congress bashing obscure the fact that I think I've said several times that they generally mean well -- and that I understand they're necessary and think they generally do an all round marginally acceptable job.

I agree with you that they are very responsive and responsible when doing constituent service -- my concern is that when they get into their legislating and oversight roles they in too many cases do not understand all they know about what they're doing. Let me also clarify that when I mention many staffers have pet ideas they push, that too is in the lawmaking and scrutiny side of the work and is particularly applied to the Armed Services Committees, their members and staffers.

I do not question the loyalty or patriotism of anyone on Capitol Hill. Nor do I have any doubt about their concern for their State or District and its voters.

I do question their tendency to put those concerns and a quest for reelection as well as their political party ahead of the good of the Nation even though I understand the realities of the situation. I also question some laws that get passed, generally as kneejerk reaction to an event, simply so they can say "We did something" and a number of laws that seem to transcend reality. In short, I wish they put as much effort into the nuts and bolts of their lawmaking as they do into voter services.

[selil]

Ah Ken you make the same mistake many men of military mind make about congress. You can't expect a body politic bent on the needs of some, agreed to by a few, organized by a couple, and working towards some goals to have the efficiency of the military hierarchy which as we all know isn't much better at the higher levels. The Constitution of the United States is about insuring inefficiency and obstructing change without consideration for the needs. 2 years elected for representatives and six years elected for senators. Emotional in one chamber responding to whims and staid and considering in the other chamber. A President sitting between. A Supreme court above them all appointed for life.

[Ken White]

with the concept. Strongly support it, in fact -- it's far better than a Parliamentary system in my view. I also understand all politics is pandering and the art of the possible. I do not object to sausage making, love Bratwurst in fact.

My complaint is with the corruption of that model you cite -- the two year elected Representatives seem to stay a whole lot longer then they need to; the "staid and considering" chamber is unstaid and as flighty as is the emotional chamber; the Presidents sitting in between in the last seventy years seem to be more concerned with their crooked and venal parties than they do with nation and all of them, all 536, seem to forget that their Oath bears a great deal of similarity to the Oath taken by those military minds. The Consitution is more often ignored than followed...

The Supreme Court hasn't annoyed me yet but they probably will.

[selil]

Ken I need to buy you a beer.

[Schmedlap]

Personal observation...

I got my ETS physical last month. I am not a "wounded warrior". I did 3 trips to Iraq and got hurt no worse than when I was a kid playing in the woods or a teen playing football - just scrapes, bruises, and a minor concussion. However, when I went into the ETS physical, I was at least expecting, well, a physical examination of some kind.

The entire procedure consisted of filling out a one-page questionaire about my general health and then reviewing it. In the question asking, "do you have any concerns about your health?" I answered yes. In the comment section where you expand upon affirmative answers, I cited that I spent over 3 years of my life in combat zones, inhaling burning trash, burning feces, interacting with people who do not have vaccinations, eating tainted food and drinking dirty water that made me sick, and being in filthy urban environments with open sewers, diseased animals, and assorted other things.

I figured that I would at least get a blood test or maybe a routine screening for something. I don't know - I'm not a doctor. But, even if I had said that everything was peachy-keen, I would think that the fact that this was an ETS physical and my first "full" physical in nearly 7 years would prompt at least the standard blood pressure check or cold stethoscope on my back. My physical exam was neither physical, nor was it an examination. It just consisted of me sitting down with some health care provider who may or may not have been a doctor and reviewing my answers to the questions. When we happened upon the "health concerns" question, she said something along the lines of, "yeah, a lot of people cite those concerns." It seemed that simply documenting it was the way to address it. I guess the assumption is that if I get leukemia in 2 years then my insurance company can blame it on the Army and get them to pay my medical bills while I whither away.

The whole "ETS physical exam" took about 10 minutes, to include filling out the form.