Army orders wounded vets not to speak to media.

[11 Bravo]

Wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have been ordered to take any statements or concerns solely through the chain of command, and not to speak to the media. Troops have aslo been told that they will move from Building 18 to Building 14. This is significant because Building 14 is located on-campus at Walter Reed, in an area where visitors must be accompanied by an Army representative. Building 18 was just off-campus and easily accessible to visitors (ie: reporters). Troops have also been ordered to begin preparing their rooms for inspection at 6:00am every morning. Some feel that this is a form of punishment for the revalations which have recently come to light pertaining to conditions at WRAMC. Damn, do these boys know how to \"Support the Troops\" or what?

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/TNSreedinspect070227/

[wakeme2008]

1. kick and nom 11B:) nt

[gratuitous]

2. Thank God that problem's been solved

Swift, decisive action we've come to expect from our faultless, freckle-faced, star-spangled military. Let's all wave our patriotic flags in support of our glorious military! God Bless America.

[Blackhatjack]

3. See how easy that was to fix? Just end the negative comments & all is ok...n/t

[Monkeyman]

4. K&R

11 B we have it up a Veterans For America look in the blog http://www.veteransforamerica.org

[TahitiNut]

5. "on-campus"? "off-campus"??

Well, isn't that a nice, arboreal image right out of Norman Rockwell? Newsflash, Army Times: It's a military post, not a college. They're severely injured patients, GI's, not coeds.

[Hubert Flottz]

6. K&R and KO

KO does a great job of telling the truth.

[Monkeyman]

7. 11B there is a vidoe you might want to see here

http://www.vawatchdog.org

[CoffeeCat]

8. People have to say NO to these thugs!!!

Clearly, this administration understands the powerful impact that
wounded soldiers have on the American psyche.

When our vets don't get adequate medical care, when they are dumped
by the roadside by our government---BushCo needs to cover up.

That's what they're doing. They're painting over the truth by
muzzling the troops.

Every soldier should REFUSE these orders!! Who in the hell do
these bastards think they are---ordering our soldiers to shut
up about the rancid conditions in military hospitals? Who
are these thugs who strip our veterans of their First Amendment
rights????

No one should listen to these criminal thugs! No one!!

When the Vietnam vets joined the anti-war movement--that's when
things really heated up. BushCo knows this. They'll do anything
to hide the truth and these soldiers from this country.

[robinlynne]

9. uhh. the first amendment...I guess that isn't part of the "freedom' these guys are

supposedly dying for...

[TahitiNut]

10. As active duty personnel, they're not afforded the same liberties.

In essence, they're part of government and acting (at all times) under the authority of government. The euphemism "G.I." (For "Government Issue") implying that they're 'property' rather than citizens isn't mere euphemism. They're subject to the UCMJ and can be ordered to do things that no ordinary citizen must do.

It'd be a different deal if they were former service personnel (i.e. veterans) but thse are active duty personnel.

That said, an order that they not speak to their Congressman would be an illegal order (under the UCMJ) that they wouldn't be required to obey.

[Kolesar]

11. sounds like "house arrest" to me

the Army is in a tricky place managing the PR for this.

[EFerrari]

12. Criminals in command.

[Done]

13. Reminds me of the scene from Platoon...

"Take the pain"

[brystheguy]

14. That link is now AWOL.

Big surprise!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. Turning the military into a political arm of the politicians

Bush should just open up and get in touch with his inner Nazi. He would be much happier commanding something like the Sturm Abteilung or S.A., the brown-shirted political army of the Nazi Party.

[jannyk]

16. kpete posted this earlier - here's the thread...

lots more comments and regs
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=307567&mesg_id=307567