Military: No link between trash and health (xpost from Veterans)

[unhappycamper]

Military: No link between trash and health
By Sandra Jontz, and Lisa M. Novak, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, February 15, 2008

NAPLES, Italy — Military commanders told irritated Naples residents that perception isn’t always reality: Hospital records don’t back the perception that living amid piled-up trash in Naples causes more health problems than living elsewhere.

“I have a hard time believing you have no data to back up the fact that the whole base is on Flonase (nasal spray for allergies),” Jennifer Moore countered at the meeting Wednesday night at the support site base in Gricignano.

“I can’t make stuff up. Data is data,” said Navy Capt. Dale Molé, commander of the U.S. Naval Hospital. “I don’t have the data to support what you’re saying.”

Navy officials encouraged residents who are feeling ill to seek medical help instead of “gutting it out,” said Capt. Floyd Hehe, commander of Naval Support Activity Naples. Doing so helps experts build a database and gain a better understanding of health risks associated with living in Naples, he said.

The number of patients treated for respiratory illness at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Naples mirrors database records for sailors and families living at the Navy base in Sigonella, Sicily, the Navy base in Rota, Spain, Army bases in Germany, and some areas in the United States, Molé said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52498

[flashl]

1. Civilians not liking the military’s reasoning when assessing healthcare?

They seldom do.