Holy crap!
I am getting chills from thinking of this:
http://www.military.com/NewsContent?file=FL_mystery_100703
It leaves me wondering if the huge bruise on my leg was simply coincidence and the clots in various parts of my chest were caused by something the Army put into me.
I know if I was still in I would be dead right now, either way. They would have told me I was faking or that I was dehydrated. "Here. Have some Motrin and shut the fuck up and get back to work you lazy malingerer." And by the time they realized it was actually serious it would be too late. "Hey! He wasn't faking! He's dead! Damn. Now I have to fill out more forms."
The common attitude toward sick soldiers seems always to be the same. Unless you have some obvious manifestation of your problem (like limbs bent at unnatural angles or bleeding) they automatically assume you're either faking or being hypochondriac. This has led quite a few people not to seek treatment and actually use the medical benefits (however crappy) to which they are entitled. It is really hard to get anything done in the Army in that area. It has also caused quite a few people to become a whole lot worse than they would have been if they had sought treatment earlier.
It leaves me wondering quite sincerely if higher-ups don't perpetuate this attitude in hopes of saving money on medical expenses. I would definitely not put it past them. It fits very well with current practices.
The unit I was last in went to Iraq very shortly after I got out. I went back for a signature and my platoon sergeant was packing up to go. It was that close. I keep hearing from people over there and they are being mistreated pretty badly. They aren't given water like they are supposed to and when they are it's nasty. They are denied the food they need. The fellows who are temporarily my roommates just got out of the Army and just came back from Iraq. Terry says that his ribs were showing pretty badly and he had to work and eat to gain the weight back.
Well I'm glad I dodged that bullet.
Just to show how much that unit sucks, the senile Battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel Battaglia, just in case you get a chance to spit on him, kick him, or do him harm in some way) left to go back to the States just before they deployed from Kuwait. His goodbye speech consisted of him telling the guys, "You're going to die."
How fucked up is that? I knew I should have poisoned or shot him when I had the chance... Or set him on fire...
"Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life."
- posted on the Diesel Sweeties forum
http://www.military.com/NewsContent?file=FL_mystery_100703
It leaves me wondering if the huge bruise on my leg was simply coincidence and the clots in various parts of my chest were caused by something the Army put into me.
I know if I was still in I would be dead right now, either way. They would have told me I was faking or that I was dehydrated. "Here. Have some Motrin and shut the fuck up and get back to work you lazy malingerer." And by the time they realized it was actually serious it would be too late. "Hey! He wasn't faking! He's dead! Damn. Now I have to fill out more forms."
The common attitude toward sick soldiers seems always to be the same. Unless you have some obvious manifestation of your problem (like limbs bent at unnatural angles or bleeding) they automatically assume you're either faking or being hypochondriac. This has led quite a few people not to seek treatment and actually use the medical benefits (however crappy) to which they are entitled. It is really hard to get anything done in the Army in that area. It has also caused quite a few people to become a whole lot worse than they would have been if they had sought treatment earlier.
It leaves me wondering quite sincerely if higher-ups don't perpetuate this attitude in hopes of saving money on medical expenses. I would definitely not put it past them. It fits very well with current practices.
The unit I was last in went to Iraq very shortly after I got out. I went back for a signature and my platoon sergeant was packing up to go. It was that close. I keep hearing from people over there and they are being mistreated pretty badly. They aren't given water like they are supposed to and when they are it's nasty. They are denied the food they need. The fellows who are temporarily my roommates just got out of the Army and just came back from Iraq. Terry says that his ribs were showing pretty badly and he had to work and eat to gain the weight back.
Well I'm glad I dodged that bullet.
Just to show how much that unit sucks, the senile Battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel Battaglia, just in case you get a chance to spit on him, kick him, or do him harm in some way) left to go back to the States just before they deployed from Kuwait. His goodbye speech consisted of him telling the guys, "You're going to die."
How fucked up is that? I knew I should have poisoned or shot him when I had the chance... Or set him on fire...
"Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life."
- posted on the Diesel Sweeties forum