[wvns] "Civilian" Soldiers Denied Army Benefits

"Civilian" Soldiers denied Army benefits

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20070730&s=truthdig2
http://tinyurl.com/3d8gzw

"Helms, 31, a civilian counterintelligence expert with the Army's
902nd Military Intelligence Group, had been sent to Iraq in 2004 to
help fill a critical intelligence gap in the area known as the Sunni
Triangle. While in Iraq, he lived with soldiers and ate military
rations, took fire from mortar rounds and small arms, and clocked
hundreds of miles manning a machine gun on the back of a Humvee.
Nevertheless, his status as an Army civilian would leave him stranded
in the aftermath of the June 16, 2004, attack, when the bomb hit his
Humvee so hard it blew his M-60 off its turret. In the months that
followed, Helms recalled, he was denied vital care for his wounds --
ranging from shrapnel in his left arm to traumatic brain injury.
Forced to rely on federal workers' compensation and turned away from
regular care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military
hospitals, Helms has faced years of frustration grappling with
bureaucracies unprepared to help a government civilian wounded in combat.

"I did not have an 'accident' while working. I was subjected
to an offensive attack by an enemy of the U.S. government
who attempted to kill me," said Helms, now a counterintelligence
agent at the 902nd's Fort Knox, Ky., field office. "Why am I under

workers' comp if workers' comp does not recognize a combat injury?"
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan strain the U.S. military, the
Pentagon is sending civilian workers such as Helms into war zones to
provide critical support to the troops, raising questions about their
status and treatment." Ann Tyson

.. Answers?

*********************************************************************

WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE

To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

NEWS ARCHIVE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEW
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/

Need some good karma? Appreciate the service?
Please consider donating to WVNS today.
Email ummyakoub@yahoo.com for instructions.

To leave this list, send an email to:
wvns-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/join

(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:wvns-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:wvns-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wvns-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:

http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/