I had a medical appointment at Walter Reed today...

[Squatch]

...so many broken people. Missing hands, limbs, were the most common thing I saw. The sign over the prosthetics fitting room read "The Body Shop".

Sad.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. And our guv'ment makes sure we don't see those broken bodies

you know the cost of war and all that icky stuff...

Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

[MADem]

2. It's crowded up there nowadays. And the lobby doesn't look like it did before

BushCo fucked everything up--aside from missing parts, they're all YOUNG now.

[newfie11]

5. Just like Vietnam war

[Squatch]

6. The lobby was shocking...

families of wounded vets milling with a look on their faces that just looked "numb".

When I was leaving I overheard a young Specialist saying he had to get to Andrews AFB for a 1600 mass-CASEVAC landing. My heart goes out for those young men and women.

[MADem]

9. Before BushMess, it used to be mostly geezers, with the odd ACDU "athletic injury"

or other SOP medical problem.

It was actually a pretty companionable place after they moved the dispensary (pharmacy). You'd have to wait for frigging ever for a prescription, as always, but you'd usually find yourself, if you were in the mood, in conversation with a Korean War vet or a WW2 widow. Now, you're right--that sleep-deprived, thousand mile stare, that " :wtf: is going to happen to us? " look.

They bring in the really bad ones late at night, in buses that have the windows covered...

[magellan]

23. What is a "mass-CASEVAC landing"?

I'm guessing it has to do with a lot of wounded soldiers brought home?

TIA.

[Squatch]

24. CASEVAC = Casualty Evacuation

Yeah...lot's of wounded people coming home at once.

[magellan]

26. Damn.

In spite of evidence to the contrary I really hoped the surge was working...as did we all who care about the lives at stake. But the news over the last week tells me that silly hope is now officially dead.

This is just as BushCo planned, perpetual war, they never intended to leave, and the dead and wounded just keep mounting.

:mad: :cry:

[EFerrari]

3. It makes me angry that the Bush government is hiding those folks.

It denies them the support they have so earned and denies the public a dose of reality.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

25. The reason they hide them away as they tout, "support our troops" makes my blood boil.

It's one more example of just how far they will go to abuse their power.

[gateley]

4. There are no words...

and it just makes my heart hurt SO much.

I hope you're doing well....

[Squatch]

7. Doing alright...

I went in to get my knee looked at, but I felt like a monumental pussy complaining about something so benign when so many were really suffering.

[gateley]

8. Don't be silly.

You're a veteran. You're a hero in my eyes. :headbang:

[TomBall Democrat]

21. You earned the right to be there.

Thanks for posting this.

I needed, today, to be reminded of something more important than a scratching match.

Peace.

[democrank]

10. Thanks for posting this, Squatch.

A young soldier I know lost both his hands in Iraq. It`s heartbreaking.



~PEACE~

[Cant trust em]

11. There's a lot of shitty news out there today

Every time I read about Walter Reed I can feel my heavy heart. Tough to be cynical and indifferent about what happened to these brave men and women.

[Squatch]

12. The guys missing limbs was bad enough, but they had their families with them

the one that got to me was the 3rd ID soldier sitting in a wheelchair by himself under the sallyport, looking around like he had no clue why he was there. He must have been about 19/20 yrs old and his body was fucked up.

But, he took the time to put on a very sharp set of ACUs while my sorry ass was walking around the hospital in blue jeans and a t-shirt. That just showed me one thing: sometimes the most important lessons a leader can learn are the ones taught to him by his juniors. I'll never set foot in that hospital again without putting on my uniform.

[Cant trust em]

13. "The president carries the biggest burden, obviously,"

Maybe you heard Cheney's comments recently. This hit DU a few days ago.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/story?id=4513250&page=1


Then there's the contrast, Jon Stewart.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/27/daily-shows-stewa_n_93719.html

[Squatch]

14. Oh yeah. I heard them. I try not to get too bent out of shape about it.

I'm an officer...a liberal, gun-toting, socialist, progressive, tree-hugging liberal officer. There's about 2 or 3 of us in the entire DoD (sarcasm). If I paid too much attention to the bullshit that comes out of my supposed CinC's mouth, well...I'd be very inclined to resign. Knowing that officers of my stripe are few and far between, I just tune those comments out so I can "represent, yo" when a Dem takes the WH this fall.

Man, I am SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to serving under another Democrat in the Executive Branch. I got my commission when Clinton was the President, and I absolutely LOVED the Army then. LOVED IT. Now, I just tolerate it, praying that when either HRC or BHO gets elected this fall, that I will be able to love it again.

[Cant trust em]

15. Talking to guys like you is always a pleasure for me.

If you're ever in San Francisco let me know and we'll get a beer or something.

[Squatch]

16. Absolutely. I've got to get out there.

But, my travel plans for the summer have been put on the back burner since I'm deploying to Afghanistan for 13 months. I think it's going to be a hairy assignment (as in lots of bad guys trying to shoot Squatch's ass off), but I'm actually looking forward to it. (Not the shooting of my ass part...:))

[Cant trust em]

17. Good luck.

Thanks for everything.

See? Not all of us sushi-eating, latte-sipping San Francisco liberal hippies hate the military.

[Squatch]

18. Even if you did, I would still love ya, man.

:D

BTW...I can go broke eating sushi and my wife has put a tight lid on my latte-buying habits, so we have something in common. :thumbsup:

[Cant trust em]

20. Sounds like between gastronomic impulses and politics

we have a lot in common. If you like rock and roll then what else is there?

:toast:

[Olney Blue]

22. Squatch...

you are my kind of man. :hi:


Hasn't there been ANY improvement resulting from the shameful expose in the Post? This is so unacceptable.

:cry:

[TheCentepedeShoes]

19. Just a

:patriot: