NEWS: Army Bans Denver Post From Ft Carson

In reaction to a front page article in the Denver Post, the Army has barred the paper from the base. Citing unfair reporting, base officials implemented a "temporary" ban on all Post reporters and editors; effectively excluding them from all ceremonies and announcements. The banning stems from an article written concerning National Guard and Army reserve soldiers being denied quality medical care and forced out of the military without disability. Rather than keep the soldiers, regarded as "medical holds" under military benefits, they are being moved through the system and summarily dismissed.




If the military is going to continue to treat Guardsmen and Reservists in ways like this, they will lose an important asset to our military. All soldiers who have been overwhelmed by the stresses and injuries of deployment deserve to be treated and cared for, not just a portion of them. We owe them more than this. Just because they are not "regular army" should not give them any fewer rights or less access to care.

Base officials who instituted the ban need to understand that they are going to have to deal with their shortcomings and banning a newspaper will only serve to convince the public that there is something seriously wrong with the system.





Related News Links:
www.denverpost.com

[edit on 9-12-2004 by Banshee]

Interesting. Well at this point it's difficult to tell whether or not the paper should have been banned. From the sound of it the Army simply doesn't talk to the Denver Post anymore and they aren't banning the reading of it most likely it's fair. If the paper is being unfair in reporting it's fully understandable.

I know what you're saying but it is hard to see how this is unfair reporting:

Sgt. Irene Cornett spent a year in treatment for a wrist injury that occurred when a tent rope snapped. After a bad infection, doctors fused the bone, leaving her with 10 percent movement and eligible for disability pay, according to her hand surgeon. But the officer who summarized Cornett's medical records to determine her eligibility for disability payments reported she had twice as much movement, ultimately disqualifying her from a lifetime pension.

Critics inside and outside the Army say "med hold" units are choked with reservists who should have been home much sooner with family or friends. Instead, they find themselves in a system that some Army officials acknowledge was unprepared to handle the thousands of soldiers wounded in combat overseas or injured while training or serving on U.S. military bases.

from here


Either these things are going on or they are not.


bg

This article was written and posted with a large amount of bias, bg, for an official news article. Now, I'm not going to speak in this post as to which side of the fence I fall on in this matter, but just that...

"it either happened or it didn't" type response is not an appropriate response to the other member's challenge.

If ATSNN is going to report in an blatantly biased manner, you most likely need to allow fellow ATS members to voice their opinions (in whatever bias they have) in response to that biased reporting.

I have personally seen people get out with poor disability payments. These are iraq combat vetrans. One had a bad back and got 10 percent disability. This is about 90 dollars a month. The other got 10 percent for a bad shoulder injury. You receive none of your benefits unless you get at least 30 percent.

The army is very physically deteriorating on your body and it is very easy to become injured. When you do become injured if you seek medical treatment or get paperwork keeping you from doing activities that hurt you, you subsequently get treated like crap for not toughing it out. I know people who are harrased daily because they get out of certain duties due to medical problems. It is all a screwed up mess.

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The federal government is out to scr*w everyone.

In the military it does it twice as hard and twice as fast.
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Originally posted by Hoppinmad1
I have personally seen people get out with poor disability payments. These are iraq combat vetrans. One had a bad back and got 10 percent disability. This is about 90 dollars a month. The other got 10 percent for a bad shoulder injury. You receive none of your benefits unless you get at least 30 percent.

The army is very physically deteriorating on your body and it is very easy to become injured. When you do become injured if you seek medical treatment or get paperwork keeping you from doing activities that hurt you, you subsequently get treated like crap for not toughing it out. I know people who are harrased daily because they get out of certain duties due to medical problems. It is all a screwed up mess.

I agree with this...and have personal knowledge of this being true.

They don't like the reportage so they cut off access to make an example. The message is: you'd better not criticise us. If you do you'll be banned. The reporter and paper are not a security threat. They are merely reporting the news as they see it. The free flow of this kind of inofrmation is the only thing that has any hope of bringing change to the problems reported. Allow these government employees to abuse their powers with respect to these servicemen and veterans in secret and the situation will only get worse. The banning is an outrage. What are we coming to in this land of the free? When did our government servants ascend above those they serve, as they surely seem to believe they have as shown by this example.