Fort Sill liaison forced to quit amid mold problem (told USA TODAY about poor conditions)

[sabra]

Source: USA Today

FORT SILL, Okla. — An Army social services coordinator here who told USA TODAY about poor conditions at Fort Sill's unit for wounded soldiers has been forced out of his job, the employee and base officials said Tuesday.

Soldiers meeting with Army Secretary Pete Geren here on Tuesday said Chuck Roeder, 54, was a strong advocate for their problems and should not have been forced to leave.

On Monday, USA TODAY reported that the unit's barracks were infested with mold and that soldiers had been ordered by commanders not to speak about conditions there. Maj. Gen. Peter Vangjel, Fort Sill's commander, said base officials had started to investigate and fix the problems.

Roeder was hired at Fort Sill in January. He contacted USA TODAY in July about problems at Fort Sill, which were confirmed by more than 20 soldiers.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-08-19-fortsill_N.htm

[MonteLukast]

1. "He said Roeder has a history of confrontations with base officials..."

Of course. The ace in the hole-- say that X employee was difficult to get along with.

Don't just let him go, don't just make his job contingent on looking the other way, but seal the deal by tarnishing his character and his work ethic. Par for the course.

I hope he gets a new boss very soon, one who respects professionalism. One to whom "doing your job" means protecting our soldiers, NOT burnishing the Bush gov't image.

[Raster]

2. Let's call a spade a spade: he was forced out because (1) he told the truth;

(2) was an advocate for wounded soldiers; and (3) they couldn't intimidate him into shutting up so they canned his ass. Typical bush*.

[gratuitous]

3. Well, he disobeyed an order

And for a lot of folks, that's all it takes. Other people are following orders to torture, maim and kill, and this guy can't even follow an order to keep his trap shut about appalling conditions? What a goof! Where would our military be if everyone decided to follow only the orders they liked?

Can I get a boo-yeah?

[blackspade]

4. A disgrace

Do they hand pick base commanders based on their indifference to the soldiers in their command?

[yardwork]

5. Yes. Under bushco, that's now standard.

[classysassy]

6. Support the troops

and get screwed.