From the New England Journal of Medicine. Typical injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device explodes under a humvee.
Spc. Thomas Wilson: "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?" Shouts of approval and applause arose from the estimated 2,300 soldiers who had assembled to see Rumsfeld.
"You go to war with the Army you have," Rumsfeld replied, "not the Army you might want or wish to have."
It is obvious to me that Mr. Rumsfeld has never stood by and watched a human blown to bits. It is equally obvious that he has never cared for someone who has sustained a severe traumatic injury, nor has he stood by while the victim has worked to learn to live with the aftermath of the injuries sustained.
Due, in large part, to medical advances and rapid medical response teams, many more soldiers are surviving what would have been in prior wars, a fatal injury. It remains to be seen if we are doing these soldiers any favors.
Mr. Rumsfeld's response to this soldier's inquiry was ludicrious. Even if this war had been a "necessary" or "just" war, we have been engaged for some 20 months and US taxpayers have paid billions of dollars to finance it. I am sure most Americans had the expectation that our troops would have the best safety equipment available to do their jobs. We were told multiple times that that was the case by Mr. Rumsfeld and other members of the Administration.
Specialist Wilson's question is a valid one. It is one that should be asked by ALL Americans.
To read the full story link here: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041208/ap_on_re_mi_ea/rumsfeld
To view the full slide show published in the New England Journal of Medicine, link here: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/24/2476
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