Fort Sill soldier taking on Surgeon General's office

[Nicole]

LAWTON--For Army Specialist Frank Chapman the decision to donate a kidney to his ailing mother is a no-brainer. For the Office of the Surgeon General it's not so cut and dry.

Chapman's mother, Patricia, has been on dialysis three times a week, three hours at a time, for three years. Specialist Chapman is a perfect match and has been cleared as physically fit by doctors at Reynolds Army Hospital and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida where the transplant would take place.

"The surgeon at Shands said we could do the surgery as soon as possible if they had time for it," Chapman said.

Chapman put in for what's called a "compassionate reassignment", which means he could be reassigned from Fort Sill to an Army job closer to Gainesville where his mother lives. Chapman said his mother would need care and someone to drive her almost an hour, three times a week for checkups. That someone would be Chapman's wife, but here's where the problem begins.

"Some guy who I've never met in the Surgeon General's office says he doesn't like my blood pressure readings," an upset Chapman said.

Without the approval of the Surgeon General's office Chapman cannot recieve a compassionate reassignment. Chapman said the blood pressure readings were higher than normal because two of them were taken after PT when he ran four and five miles, respectively.


More at link....
http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=6595218

I'm sure his blood pressure "problem" will keep him from being deployed to Iraq. :sarcasm:

This sums it up pretty well IMHO

"The military, all the branches of the military, are always preaching family first," he said. "This is kind of putting family last and I don't believe that's right."

[orleans]

1. !

"The military, all the branches of the military, are always preaching family first," he said. "This is kind of putting family last and I don't believe that's right."

well, you're in george bush's army now, sonny!

[Nicole]

2. He sounds like he's determined to do it anyway.

Will they discharge him after the surgery for damaging government property? Or will they restrict him to post to prevent the surgery from taking place?

It should be interesting to see what happens with this.

[Ganja Ninja]

3. I would think that once you've lost a kidney they would give you a

medical discharge.

[Nicole]

4. I think they treat losing a kidney & giving it away differently.

"If Chapman doesn't receive the approval of the Surgeon General's Office, and undergoes the surgery and can't return to duty he could be given a less than honorable discharge because he's damaged government property. That government property is himself."