Soldier called back to duty on day before retirement

(These people are total Assholes!)

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=4664632

October 16, 2006 LINDENHURST, Ill. - Army Staff Sergeant James Engle is scheduled to return to Iraq at the end of this month, just days away from retirement after a 20-year military career.
Engle applied for retirement in January and even received a retirement award from the Army.

But late last month he was told paperwork was missing and he should report to his unit.

The Army then denied both his retirement request and a request for exemption from deployment to Iraq.

The Army said that the requests were neither "compelling nor compassionate enough in nature."

The 38-year-old Lindenhurst man joined the Army in August 1986.

During his two decades with the military he spent nine years in combat zones, including Somalia, Bosnia and Afghanistan.

:mad:

Aurora Marine killed in Iraq

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=4683281

October 21, 2006 - An American Marine from Aurora has been killed in action in Iraq. Eduardo Lopez was just 21-years old. Lopez graduated from East Aurora High School in 2003. One of his classmates, Hector Ramos, was killed in Iraq last year.

snip>>>>>

His 20 year old brother Alex--a college student--lost his only sibling and his best friend:

It hurts so much to lose someone. Your only brother, that you grew up with, played ball with, like football, you know was here, watching over you," said Alex Lopez

For the past three years photos of Eduardo have dominated the Lopez living room. His service was and continues to be the family's pride and joy.

But as wars continue in Iraq and Afghanistan with no foreseeable end...the Lopez family's patience is wearing thin. "I say to myself, bring them home. It's done with," Alex said.

:cry:

This guy has done his duty and fulfilled all his obligations. Let him go enjoy the rest of his life.

There's wars to be fought and money to be made. And since they can't draft (because people would storm the Blight House if they did and they know it), they pull bullshit like this. Callous and cruel until the very end and they don't care one iota.

then I don't know what does! And it also shows how desperate Rummy is for manpower.

"Paperwork lost" my ass. This kid is going through hell because of bush and rumsfeld's intentional misuse of the military. My hate is rational.

She's the congress person for Lindenhurst IL.

I contributed to her campaign in 04 and had hoped she would straighten out a bit by now but it doesn't appear to have happened.
I can't complain though, at least there is a "D" after her name. We need the majority to pull her back.
I'm stuck with Judy Biggert (R). I don't know how they sleep at night. In my neighborhood there was a house with a count down sign till there loved one came home, I passed it everyday hoping to see it get to the last day. I was so relieved to see the welcome home sign.
I'm not sure how many soldiers we have lost in her distict as a whole but here in Naperville we have lost six.

After over 200 years the system is broken.

who is Ret. Army, so siblings needed help w/caring for him.

The dems told Jim Nicholson to "take the money, your system is broke, and it won't be able to adequately treat the thousands of wounded coming in from Iraq/Afghanistan, let alone retired vets."

Nicholson refused, which makes him another standard duffus in the Bush administration.

A total Crony drone! Should have been fired for losing our records.

Every sailor or marine who worked for me were my kids. When I was in a joint command the Airmen and Soldiers who worked for me were my kids. No one fucked with my kids. Its a term of endearment and I wish that Soldier the best of luck in his attempts to be released from the tentacles of military bureaucracy.

me a kid too. :)

Let's make a list of people they won't redeploy and see how long it takes for the bastards to work through it.

I'll start:

Pregnant women
One missing limb
Paraplegics
Quadriplegics
IQ under 80
Multiple Personality Disorders
Blind, Deaf
Financially strapped (late add, see below edit)

Already struck from list:
PTSD diagnosed
Medicated with psychiatric drugs
Multiple combat missions
Over age
Retired

I don't know much about the military, so please chime in. Perhaps we could have a celebration when they've gotten through the whole list. Like a coast to coast "Second Line." We could get HS marching bands to participate, if they haven't been recruited by then.

Edit to add this from another thread:

"Troops who can't pay bills can't be deployed
In this fucking incredible bush economy our kids in uniform are having a tough time paying the bills and those who get into financial binds jeopardize their security clearances and make them nondeployable.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/10/22/m... / "

Thread link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2900206

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-05-cover-fit-to-serve_x.htm

And the "one missing limb" thing predates this Bush administration: General Fred Franks led VIII Corps to victory in Desert Storm on the artificial leg he earned in Vietnam, and there were a few one-legged active-duty snake-eaters on Bragg during the Clinton administration. One of their biggest peacetime missions is demining, so guys losing legs during peacetime happens.

Do you know whether they can opt out of combat, and would have to volunteer for that duty?
And whether the rules, or interpretation thereof, changed within the last five years?

I haven't seen any reports of one-legged men being returned to Iraq, and if they were I'd know about it because it would be in the local paper.

Well...it would be in the local paper if the soldier had children. This fucking newspaper in town goes out of its way to run pictures of kids. This is no shit: the last time there was a funeral for a soldier in Fayetteville (you remember, it was one that Phelps was going to take his gang to), the newspaper ran three photos to illustrate the article and they were all of children. They didn't even run a picture of the guy who got killed. I don't remember a picture of this guy ever having been in the paper, but they ran a picture of the guy's kids, and two pictures of other soldiers' kids.

Soldiers come home from the war? They always run a big picture of kids. They NEVER run a picture of soldiers getting off the plane, and they've stopped running pictures of soldiers marching in formation away from Green Ramp...but they always run pictures of kids. Preferably kids with flags in their hands.

past few years about a soldier (not sure if he was 82nd or special forces or what but he was very gung ho) who lost his leg, came back to get his prosth. with the goal of going back to Iraq. I believe I read that he was told that if he passed all physical requirements he'd be allowed to go back over. I saw that as a clip posted here at DU so I don't know if he made it over after all.

If you are in the Fayetteville NC area, do you have any idea what the word is around town about Larry Kissell who is running for Congress? Thanks

is the fall back excuse for all things governmental. I cannot stress enough...please, if you are in the military, active or reserve, make a full attempt to get copies of your records. It isn't easy, but it's worth the hassle. Having copies of my paperwork is one of the main reasons I was awarded SC disability after ETS. They couldn't deny my injuries.

That's more like it.

:mad: