Speak Out, Lose Job
USA Today
Wed August 20, 2008
Area: Wichita, Hutchinson
Speaking up in the military can be hazardous to the health of your career, even when it's done to help wounded soldiers or the families of fallen warriors.
Last Friday, an Army social services coordinator who told USA TODAY about poor conditions in barracks for wounded soldiers at Fort Sill, Okla., was forced to resign. In June, the public affairs director at Arlington National Cemetery was fired after she defended news coverage of funerals when the families of fallen soldiers wanted that coverage.
Chuck Roeder, the now ex-social worker at Fort Sill, was a strong advocate for soldiers' concerns. He "saved a couple of soldiers' lives" by helping them get through tough times, Sgt. Willard Barnett, a veteran of the Iraq war, told USA TODAY's Gregg Zoroya. Based on a tip from Roeder, later confirmed by several soldiers, Zoroya reported Monday that a unit for wounded soldiers was infested with mold and that soldiers had been ordered not to speak about the conditions. Fort Sill's commander said the problems are being fixed. But Roeder won't be around to see the results of his advocacy.
Ditto for Gina Gray, whose actions helped spur a fresh look at policies for covering the funerals of men and women who've died in their country's service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Photos and stories of those funerals are a sad and necessary reminder to the public of the sacrifices that come with war. But in the past three years, Arlington officials had pushed reporters so far away that they could seldom hear the eulogies, even if families requested their presence. Gray tried to change that, and promptly found herself out of a job.
Army brass and spokesmen offer several explanations: No one in the chain of command knew Roeder had tipped off the press. His departure Friday was purely coincidental. As for Gray, the Army says it can't talk about personnel matters.
The explanations would be more convincing if not for a pattern of intolerance for squeaky wheels. Consider Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who investigated the abuses at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Taguba broke from the Pentagon's preferred version and concluded publicly that responsibility wasn't confined to a few bad apples. Last year, he told The New Yorker he was ostracized and ultimately forced to resign after his findings pointed to wider blame.
The military could use more generals and civilian workers willing to buck the official line and advocate for beneficial change. They should be prized - not forced out.
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