- WASHINGTON -- The planned
rotation of roughly a quarter-million soldiers into and out of Iraq and
Afghanistan next year is threatening to overwhelm the Army's medical system,
according to military and political leaders.
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- Top Pentagon brass and congressional leaders fear that
between the needs of Reserve soldiers unable to deploy because of previous
medical problems, the health issues of returning soldiers, and a record
number of troops in transit, the problems experienced this fall at Fort
Stewart could resurface nationally. The Georgia military base, suddenly
faced with handling the medical needs of thousands of troops returning
from Iraq, came under sharp criticism for long delays in care that especially
affected reservists, and for shunting ailing reservists into substandard
housing to make way for the returning soldiers.
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- "Our concern and the concern on [Capitol Hill] big
time is that the situation at Fort Stewart is going to be replicated over
and over and over and over," said Derek Stewart, director of defense
capabilities for the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of
Congress, which is examining the issue. "But I'll tell you -- we're
not getting a good feeling that they're preparing."
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- A major problem facing the military medical system is
the ill health of thousands of reservists even before they ship out to
battle zones. Overall, according to an Oct. 25 study by the Army surgeon
general's office, 1,800 to 3,600 reservists -- members of the Army Reserve
or Army National Guard -- were activated but were unable to deploy for
Operation Iraqi Freedom because of health problems. Under Army regulations,
once soldiers are called up to duty, the Army is responsible for their
treatment until they return home.
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- The preexisting injuries and maladies run the gamut from
heart and back problems to diabetes and rotten teeth, said Brigadier General
Richard Ursone, the Army's assistant surgeon general for force projection.
Historically, dental problems have been among the most common: One military
study of Army Reserve soldiers activated after the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, found that about a quarter had dental problems that prevented
their deployment.
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- Now, the Army is trying to keep the health system from
clogging by beginning to screen out reservists who will be medically unable
to deploy and by anticipating the burden of returning soldiers who require
extended medical treatment.
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- "Are we concerned? Heck yeah," Ursone said.
"We're very concerned. We want to make sure we have a very elaborate
and detailed plan."
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- At Fort Stewart, hundreds of reservists activated for
duty in the Iraq war were receiving medical attention, primarily for illnesses
and noncombat wounds -- when 18,000 soldiers of Third Infantry Division
returned from Iraq, with nearly 2,000 needing medical care. In addition
to facing long delays for care, the reservists were moved to barracks that
the Georgia National Guard typically used as temporary housing for summer
training sessions and were forced to live in conditions that members of
Congress criticized as substandard. About one-third of the reservists getting
medical care at Fort Stewart had never been deployed overseas.
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- Reservists do not have the regular training regimen of
active soldiers and are required to have a physical exam only once every
five years. An April study conducted at seven sites visited by GAO investigators
found that 13 percent of reservists had not undergone those exams. In addition,
although reservists are required to submit an annual medical certificate
detailing any new medical problems, those documents had not been filed
at any of the sites the GAO visited. These problems are not new. In 1991,
the Army inspector general found that 8,000 Reserve personnel were activated
but could not deploy for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm because
of a variety of maladies that included, according to the GAO, cancer, heart
disease, double kidney failure, muscular dystrophy, and in one case, a
gunshot wound to the head. And the GAO found that the Army had more than
22,000 reservists with medical conditions that would prevent them from
deploying.
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- "Just like you've read the reports about the large
numbers of Americans who don't have any medical insurance -- a percentage
of those are reservists," said John O'Shea of the Reserve Officers
Association. "When families have reduced incomes, one of the things
they normally consider a luxury, believe it or not, is medical care or
dental care."
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- Ursone estimated that about 10 percent of returning troops
will require some sort of medical attention for maladies that may not have
been caught while deployed but that show up during checkups once their
tour of duty ends. Between those returning requiring medical care and soldiers
unable to deploy because of health, bases like Fort Bragg in North Carolina,
Fort Hood in Texas, and Fort Campbell in Kentucky -- where many from the
next wave of troops returning from Iraq are based -- could repeat the Fort
Stewart experience, some officials fear.
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- "Obviously, it's a major concern," said Senator
Kit Bond, a Republican of Missouri who cochairs the Senate National Guard
Caucus. "That's why we've been working on trying to make sure the
medical needs of those going both ways are accounted for and taken care
of."
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- The Army is building very "elaborate tables"
of expected medical needs to help anticipate where demand for medical care
will spike during the rotation, Ursone said.
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- - Robert Schlesinger can be reached at schlesinger@globe.com.
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- © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
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- http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2003/12/13/army_facing_medical_crisis/
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