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Welcome to GA MFSO...
We are the Georgia Chapter of Military Families Speak Out (www.mfso.org), based in Atlanta, Georgia. We are military family members who are striving to support our troops by endng the Iraq war, bringing our troops home now and ensuring proper care for them when they get home.
If you have, or have had, a military family member at any time since the buildup to the Iraq war and you oppose this war, Join us!
The MFSO organization works closely with other organizations such as Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Gold Star Families for Peace and others. Gold Star Families Speak Out is a new branch of our organization. It consists of MFSO families who have lost a loved one due to (directly or indirectly) the Iraq or Afghanistan wars.
We have chapters across America and in several other countries, we're growing every day, and together we are making positive changes in America and around the world.
Want to join? WE NEED YOU. Contact us below...
photo (above) by Al Viola 4/1/06 Atlanta, Ga
By Mark Benjamin
Photo: Reuters/Jason Reed
George W. Bush greets troops and their
families on the Tarmac before his departure from
Fort Benning, Ga., on Jan. 11, 2007.
March 11, 2007 | COLUMBUS, Ga. -- "This is not right," said Master Sgt. Ronald Jenkins, who has been ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged further by heavy Army protective gear. "This whole thing is about taking care of soldiers," he said angrily. "If you are fit to fight you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight."
As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga., is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.
On Feb. 15, Master Sgt. Jenkins and 74 other soldiers with medical conditions from the 3rd Division's 3rd Brigade were summoned to a meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon. These are the men responsible for handling each soldier's "physical profile," an Army document that lists for commanders an injured soldier's physical limitations because of medical problems -- from being unable to fire a weapon to the inability to move and dive in three-to-five-second increments to avoid enemy fire. Jenkins and other soldiers claim that the division and brigade surgeons summarily downgraded soldiers' profiles, without even a medical exam, in order to deploy them to Iraq. It is a claim division officials deny.
The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.
That is what worries Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, who has long been concerned that the military was pressing injured troops into Iraq. "Did they send anybody down range that cannot wear a helmet, that cannot wear body armor?" Robinson asked rhetorically. "Well that is wrong. It is a war zone." Robinson thinks that the possibility that physical profiles may have been altered improperly has the makings of a scandal. "My concerns are that this needs serious investigation. You cannot just look at somebody and tell that they were fit," he said. "It smacks of an overstretched military that is in crisis mode to get people onto the battlefield."
Eight soldiers who were at the Feb. 15 meeting say they were summoned to the troop medical clinic at 6:30 in the morning and lined up to meet with division surgeon Lt. Col. George Appenzeller, who had arrived from Fort Stewart, Ga., and Capt. Aaron K. Starbuck, brigade surgeon at Fort Benning. The soldiers described having a cursory discussion of their profiles, with no physical exam or extensive review of medical files. They say Appenzeller and Starbuck seemed focused on downplaying their physical problems. "This guy was changing people's profiles left and right," said a captain who injured his back during his last tour in Iraq and was ordered to Iraq after the Feb. 15 review.
Appenzeller said the review of 75 soldiers with profiles was an effort to make sure they were as accurate as possible prior to deployment. "As the division surgeon and the senior medical officer in the division, I wanted to ensure that all the patients with profiles were fully evaluated with clear limitations that commanders could use to make the decision whether they could deploy, and if they did deploy, what their limitations would be while there," he said in a telephone interview from Fort Stewart. He said he changed less than one-third of those profiles -- even making some more restrictive -- in order to "bring them into accordance with regulations."
In direct contradiction to the account given by the soldiers, Appenzeller said physical examinations were conducted and that he had a robust medical team there working with him, which is how they managed to complete 75 reviews in one day. Appenzeller denied that the plan was to find more warm bodies for the surge into Baghdad, as did Col. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., the brigade commander. Grigsby said he is under "no pressure" to find soldiers, regardless of health, to make his unit look fit. The health and welfare of his soldiers are a top priority, said Grigsby, because [the soldiers] are "our most important resource, perhaps the most important resource we have in this country."
Grigsby said he does not know how many injured soldiers are in his ranks. But he insisted that it is not unusual to deploy troops with physical limitations so long as he can place them in safe jobs when they get there. "They can be productive and safe in Iraq," Grigsby said.
The injured soldiers interviewed by Salon, however, expressed considerable worry about going to Iraq with physical deficits because it could endanger them or their fellow soldiers. Some were injured on previous combat tours. Some of their ills are painful conditions from training accidents or, among relatively older troops, degenerative problems like back injuries or blown-out knees. Some of the soldiers have been in the Army for decades.
And while Grigsby, the brigade commander, says he is under no pressure to find troops, it is hard to imagine there is not some desperation behind the decision to deploy some of the sick soldiers. Master Sgt. Jenkins, 42, has a degenerative spine problem and a long scar down the back of his neck where three of his vertebrae were fused during surgery. He takes a cornucopia of potent pain pills. His medical records say he is "at significantly increased risk of re-injury during deployment where he will be wearing Kevlar, body armor and traveling through rough terrain." Late last year, those medical records show, a doctor recommended that Jenkins be referred to an Army board that handles retirements when injuries are permanent and severe.
A copy of Jenkins' profile written after that Feb. 15 meeting and signed by Capt. Starbuck, the brigade surgeon, shows a healthier soldier than the profile of Jenkins written by another doctor just late last year, though Jenkins says his condition is unchanged. Other soldiers' documents show the same pattern.
One female soldier with psychiatric issues and a spine problem has been in the Army for nearly 20 years. "My [health] is deteriorating," she said over dinner at a restaurant near Fort Benning. "My spine is separating. I can't carry gear." Her medical records include the note "unable to deploy overseas." Her status was also reviewed on Feb. 15. And she has been ordered to Iraq this week.
http://www.salon.com/news/2007/03/11/fort_benning/
see our page "Physically and Mentally Unfit..."
Photo by Diane Lent
January 27th was an extraordinary outpouring for peace in Washington DC and in communities all around the country. The National Mall was filled with the voices of 500,000 people committed to doing their part to end the war in Iraq and bring all of the troops home. And the energy in this massive turnout was electric.
On Jan. 29, at least 1,000 people brought that energy and conviction into the offices of Congressional representatives from 47 states. It was one of the largest lobby days in decades, and capped an amazing weekend in the nation's Capitol.
~~~United for Peace and Justice
Sunday, January 28, 2007; Page A08
The Washington Post
Jan May, 48, of Atlanta, whose son, Joe, served in Iraq until his discharge for medical reasons in November:
"In the beginning, I thought this might have some reason -- that there might be some intelligence that [President Bush] knew that we didn't know. I see it now as a bunch of lies."
Jan May of Atlanta marches with
her son, Joe May, a 29-year-old Iraq war veteran,
and the Georgia chapter of Military Families Speak Out.
(Fredrick Kunkle/twp - Twp)
* * *
Myra Holiday, 47, of Buffalo, a mail clerk in a health-care facility:
"My opinion kind of changed as time went on. It seemed like in the beginning they were going out looking at weapons of mass destruction and then they found Saddam Hussein, and you would think the journey ended, but they still didn't find any weapons. . . . And I just became more skeptical and started thinking our troops should come home."
* * *
Grady Fitzgerald, 52, of Jersey City, a postal worker:
"Hey, I'm opposed to this war. I've got two children, 21 and 23, and it's now a civil war, and our troops are just being targets. I think one of the reasons I'm here today is because the president is not listening to 75 percent of the people."
* * *
Linda Williamson, 53, a homemaker from Clinton, N.C., viewing exhibits at the National Gallery of Art during the protest:
"I certainly appreciate everyone's right to voice their opinion. I think that's one of the great things about being in America. But I happen to be in support of this administration. And I think we should give this approach [the new troops] a chance to work."
Staff writers Fredrick Kunkle, Michael Laris, Ruben Castenada, Sue Anne Pressley Montes and Megan Greenwell contributed to this report.
MFSO members in Washington DC
January 27, 2007
April 1, 2006 ~ Atlanta, Ga.
Peace in Iraq
Justice at Home
photo by Al Viola
By Peter Spiegel The Los Angeles Times
Friday 05 May 2006
His speech in Atlanta is interrupted three times. In a Q&A, a former CIA analyst calls him a liar.
Washington - When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld goes on the road to deliver a speech, it's usually in front of a relatively respectful audience: U.S. troops stationed overseas, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation dinner have been among his appearances this year.
An audience in Atlanta on Thursday turned out to be a bit different.
Rumsfeld was interrupted three times by antiwar protesters during his speech, and during a question-and-answer session afterward he was forced to defend himself against charges by a former high-ranking CIA analyst that he intentionally lied to push the U.S. into war in Iraq.
Rumsfeld sought to make light of the flak during his address to the Southern Center for International Studies, a nonprofit educational group, telling the audience the protesters were just a few "close personal friends" of Peter White, the center's president.
Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran who once gave then-President George H.W. Bush his morning intelligence briefings, engaged in what became an extended debate with Rumsfeld after asking why the Defense secretary had insisted before the Iraq invasion that there was "bulletproof evidence" linking Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda.
"Was that a lie, Mr. Rumsfeld, or was that manufactured somewhere else? Because all of my CIA colleagues disputed that and so did the 9/11 commission," McGovern asked near the start of the 45-minute question-and-answer session. "Why did you lie to get us into a war that was not necessary?"
At the start of the exchange, Rumsfeld remained his usual unflappable self, insisting, "I haven't lied; I did not lie then," before launching into a vigorous defense of the administration's prewar assertions on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
But Rumsfeld became uncharacteristically tongue-tied when McGovern pressed him on claims that he knew where unconventional Iraqi weapons were located.
"You said you knew where they were," McGovern said.
"I did not. I said I knew where suspected sites were," Rumsfeld retorted.
McGovern then read from statements the Defense secretary had made that weapons were located near Tikrit, Iraq, and Baghdad, which led Rumsfeld to briefly stammer. The Defense secretary recovered after admonishing a security guard who was trying to push McGovern away from the microphone.
"It is easy for you to make a charge," Rumsfeld said, recovering his composure and insisting U.S. troops believed they would encounter chemical or biological weapons.
Rumsfeld went on to field a dozen other questions, including from a woman whose son was killed in Iraq and who asked about help for the children of slain service members. Rumsfeld asked her to submit her name to Southern Center officials. "And I'm so sorry about your son," Rumsfeld said.
In an interview after the speech, McGovern, 66, who lives in the Washington area, said he obtained a ticket for Thursday's address through an acquaintance who had forwarded him an e-mail invitation. The invitation directed him to a website that asked for detailed information about his background.
"I filled it all out and, lo and behold, there was a ticket in the mail," he said.
White, the center's president, said he had sent invitations to a wide range of civic and business groups, noting the Pentagon had put no restrictions on who should be included.
"This was not any polished group," White said. "That's how you get credibility."
Rumsfeld has a long association with the Southern Center, which holds regular gatherings of former Defense secretaries and secretaries of State, programs that are later broadcast on PBS. White said Rumsfeld had been a regular participant.
"I don't think it caused him any discomfort," White said of Thursday's disruptions. "He's unflappable."
McGovern said his question was prompted by Rumsfeld's response to one of the three antiwar protesters who interrupted the Defense secretary's prepared address, accusing him of lying about prewar intelligence.
"That charge is frequently leveled against the president for one reason or another, and it is so wrong, so unfair and so destructive of a free system where people need to trust each other and government," Rumsfeld said after the protester had been whisked out of the room.
The two other protesters stood up at various points in the speech and accused Rumsfeld of being a war criminal.
a fourth demonstrator stood silently in the middle of the room, his back to Rumsfeld, with a badge on his suit jacket reading "impeach." The man stood throughout the speech and walked out on
his own just before the question-and-answer session began."It is easy for you to make a charge," Rumsfeld said, recovering his composure and insisting U.S. troops believed they would encounter chemical or biological weapons.
Rumsfeld went on to field a dozen other questions, including from a woman whose son was killed in Iraq and who asked about help for the children of slain service members. Rumsfeld asked her to submit her name to Southern Center officials. "And I'm so sorry about your son," Rumsfeld said.
In an interview after the speech, McGovern, 66, who lives in the Washington area, said he obtained a ticket for Thursday's address through an acquaintance who had forwarded him an e-mail invitation. The invitation directed him to a website that asked for detailed information about his background.
"I filled it all out and, lo and behold, there was a ticket in the mail," he said.
White, the center's president, said he had sent invitations to a wide range of civic and business groups, noting the Pentagon had put no restrictions on who should be included.
"This was not any polished group," White said. "That's how you get credibility."
Rumsfeld has a long association with the Southern Center, which holds regular gatherings of former Defense secretaries and secretaries of State, programs that are later broadcast on PBS. White said Rumsfeld had been a regular participant.
"I don't think it caused him any discomfort," White said of Thursday's disruptions. "He's unflappable."
McGovern said his question was prompted by Rumsfeld's response to one of the three antiwar protesters who interrupted the Defense secretary's prepared address, accusing him of lying about prewar intelligence.
"That charge is frequently leveled against the president for one reason or another, and it is so wrong, so unfair and so destructive of a free system where people need to trust each other and government," Rumsfeld said after the protester had been whisked out of the room.
The two other protesters stood up at various points in the speech and accused Rumsfeld of being a war criminal.
A fourth demonstrator stood silently in the middle of the room, his back to Rumsfeld, with a badge on his suit jacket reading "impeach." The man stood throughout the speech and walked out on his own just before the question-and-answer session began.
--------"It is easy for you to make a charge," Rumsfeld said, recovering his composure and insisting U.S. troops believed they would encounter chemical or biological weapons.
Rumsfeld went on to field a dozen other questions, including from a woman whose son was killed in Iraq and who asked about help for the children of slain service members. Rumsfeld asked her to submit her name to Southern Center officials. "And I'm so sorry about your son," Rumsfeld said.
In an interview after the speech, McGovern, 66, who lives in the Washington area, said he obtained a ticket for Thursday's address through an acquaintance who had forwarded him an e-mail invitation. The invitation directed him to a website that asked for detailed information about his background.
"I filled it all out and, lo and behold, there was a ticket in the mail," he said.
White, the center's president, said he had sent invitations to a wide range of civic and business groups, noting the Pentagon had put no restrictions on who should be included.
"This was not any polished group," White said. "That's how you get credibility."
Rumsfeld has a long association with the Southern Center, which holds regular gatherings of former Defense secretaries and secretaries of State, programs that are later broadcast on PBS. White said Rumsfeld had been a regular participant.
"I don't think it caused him any discomfort," White said of Thursday's disruptions. "He's unflappable."
McGovern said his question was prompted by Rumsfeld's response to one of the three antiwar protesters who interrupted the Defense secretary's prepared address, accusing him of lying about prewar intelligence.
"That charge is frequently leveled against the president for one reason or another, and it is so wrong, so unfair and so destructive of a free system where people need to trust each other and government," Rumsfeld said after the protester had been whisked out of the room.
The two other protesters stood up at various points in the speech and accused Rumsfeld of being a war criminal.
A fourth demonstrator stood silently in the middle of the room, his back to Rumsfeld, with a badge on his suit jacket reading "impeach." The man stood throughout the speech and walked out on his own just before the question-and-answer session began.
--------
Times staff writer Julian Barnes contributed to this report.
