90,000 US soldiers medically unfit for combat: report

[unhappycamper]

Source: The Nation




90,000 US soldiers medically unfit for combat: report
Submitted 4 hrs 28 mins ago

Nearly 90,000 U.S. soldiers are either unfit for combat with health restrictions or are otherwise unavailable for combat, according to data released to USA Today.

Although the Army said it can fill combat brigades heading to Afghanistan with healthy soldiers — some rushed in at the last minute as units head overseas — the growing list of ill, injured or wounded is making the job tougher, military officials said.

“The problem of a growing population of not-medically ready soldiers has begun to erode the readiness of the Army,” the service’s surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, recently said at a military conference in Washington, D.C.

Army data show record numbers of soldiers either on the sick list, with limited-duty issues, or unfit and waiting months to receive their medical retirement. Plans are in place to reduce the Army by nearly 50,000 soldiers in coming years, further diminishing the pool of healthy GIs, said Claude Chafin, a spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee.

Read more: http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/04-Nov-2011/90000-US-soldiers-medically-unfit-for-combat-report

[Demeter]

1. Gee I Wonder Why

this is surprising to them. And yet, some people want yet another pointless, illegal war.

[fasttense]

2. That's the problem with people.

They tend to break down when you shoot at them.

[RKP5637]

3. Next will be the draft for Iran. I'm no expert here, but I don't see how the

number of volunteers will be able to keep up.

[Scuba]

4. Easy. When it's the only job being offered. n/t

[RKP5637]

5. Yeah, that's what it's coming to, isn't it. Warrior Nation, our chief export. n/t

[No Elephants]

10. Yes, but we privatize and offshore even war.

[tcaudilllg]

12. If there is a draft, we march on the Pentagon.

Take the silos, take the statehouses, choose who lives and who dies, if others dare to make such decisions for us.

[a simple pattern]

13. They'd rather someone else fight our young men "over there"

so they can't occupy here?

[FarCenter]

6. If they are unfit, muster them out

[xchrom]

7. How much does it cost to care for that many soldiers? Nt

[UnrepentantLiberal]

8. Not too much if they keep commiting suicide

at the rate of 18 per day. I guess seven tours of duty in a row will do that to a soldier.

[ensho]

11. kick

nt

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. While I deeply respect the Pakistani press ...

I suspect the number is overblown, even if their accounting is accurate.

They are counting as "unavailable for combat":
People who are ill. Got the flu? You have to stay in the sack, no sneezing in your crowded armored personnel carrier.
People who are on light duty. Strain a hamstring? Got some stitches? Take it easy for a week. Wield a mop, not a .50 cal.
People who are in school. Sometimes soldiers are sent for training. Like airborne school, ranger school, stuff that's not taught at their home camp. Ok, so they're temporarily unavailable. To mis-quote Arnold: "They'll be back".
People who are waiting for medical retirement paperwork? Yes, unfortunate but it happens. There have always been people in this administrative limbo.

So, I guess I don't "get the point" of the article.

Or why the Pakistani press is so interested in the health of U.S. soldiers. But I appreciate their concern.

[TheDebbieDee]

14. Not to belittle the importance of being medically fit, but

some unresolved dental issues can make a soldier undeployable........

A soldier that is a parent without a feasible care plan for his/her children can also be undeployable. If they don't correct the deficiencies of the care plan, the soldier could be discharged from the military.........