So here we see the new plastic turkey brought out:
More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show.
This reliance on troops found medically "non-deployable" is another sign of stress placed on a military that has sent 1.6 million servicemembers to the war zones, soldier advocacy groups say.
Well, "soldier advocacy" groups say so, so it must be real.
But having read so many plastic turkey non-issues, I looked for the flaws that undermine the leading tone. The best plastic turkey stories contain the very evidence to undermine them and this is no exception.
First, medically non-deployable is a broad category:
A Pentagon staffer examined 10,000 individual health records last year to determine causes for the non-deployable ratings, Kilpatrick said. Some reasons included a need for eyeglasses, dental work or allergy medicine and a small number of mental health cases, he said.
Hmm. So three-limbed, one-eyed, catatonic soldiers aren't actually being sent to war.
And we don't even know if this is a unique problem in this war:
This is the first war in which this health screening process has been used, the Pentagon said.
If I had to guess, I'd guess that the military personnel we send to Iraq and Afghanistan are in far better shape than the troops of any other war we've fought.
And remember that unit commanders have the final say with these screenings as one tool:
"The commander consults with health care professionals to determine whether the treatment a soldier needs is available in theater," said Army Col. Steven Braverman of the Army Medical Command.
A commander doesn't want a soldier unable to perform, remember.
The details of those deemed "unfit" is important. Somebody unfit because they need glasses is easily remedied. Dental work, too, is hardly a crippling disability. So what is the scope of the problem? Here's a hint:
At Fort Carson, Colo., Maj. Gen. Mark Graham ordered an investigation into deployment procedures for a brigade deployed to Iraq late last year. At least 36 soldiers were found medically unfit but were still deployed, Graham told USA TODAY.
For at least seven soldiers, treatment in the war zone was inadequate and the soldiers were sent home, he said, and at least two of them should never have been deployed.
So 36 out of this 3,500-strong brigade were judged medically unfit but sent anyway. Like I noted, this is a broad judgment that can include fairly trivial causes. Seven of the 36 sent were treated in the war zone and the oversight was enough to return them stateside. So the Army was monitoring this. And two of the soldiers were judged as really unfit for deployment in the first place, the whole point of the complaint.
Two. Out of 3,500.
This is an issue to address, and not a crisis that justifies headlong retreat out of Iraq. Multiple tours for soldiers simply isn't the massive crisis that our press has led you to believe it is. And this will turn out to be pretty much a non-issue, as well.
Next plastic turkey, please.
UPDATE: Strategypage, with good timing, discusses the issue. The bottom line?
The mass media made a big deal out of some of these troops having psychological problems, and Congress is looking for some media love by holding hearings. The reality of all this is less exciting. It usually is.
I don't know why they are called "hearings" when nobody actually listens to what is said. Those holding the hearings already have their "solution" ready.
