Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch

[babylonsister]

This is so unacceptable; imagine being a family member in mourning, and getting a letter like this. Just more incompetence...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/05/dead.letters.ap/index.html

Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch
POSTED: 9:39 p.m. EST, January 5, 2007



WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army said Friday it would apologize to the families of about 275 officers killed or wounded in action who were mistakenly sent letters urging them to return to active duty.

The letters were sent a few days after Christmas to more than 5,100 Army officers who had recently left the service. Included were letters to about 75 officers killed in action and about 200 wounded in action.

"Army personnel officials are contacting those officers' families now to personally apologize for erroneously sending the letters," the Army said in a brief news release issued Friday night.

The Army did not say how or when the mistake was discovered. It said the database normally used for such correspondence with former officers had been "thoroughly reviewed" to remove the names of wounded or dead soldiers.

"But an earlier list was used inadvertently for the December mailings," the Army statement said, adding that the Army is apologizing to those officers and families affected and "regrets any confusion."

[Jeanette in FL]

1. OM-F***king God

That is unbelievable. I cannot even imagine. They "regret any confusion". There are no words for this.

[LiberalinNC]

2. It shows how desperate the Army is...Hey Jen & Barb...it's time to sign up!

[madokie]

3. a perfect example of what you get when lead by a person going through life

so gleefully as the little tyrant, incompetence everywhere.

[magellan]

4. Sickening. How do you adequately apologize

...for such an onerous gaffe? "Regrets any confusion" isn't the way to start.

The Army has become its own worst enemy.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. And they wonder why things aren't going well for them these days.

[Vidar]

6. Ah, the dreaded ghost rider strategy.

[HereSince1628]

7. A call from Military personnel will make everyone feel better.

r i g h t.

Army Strong. Army Zombie!

[salin]

8. I can't imagine how I would feel

were I the widow or mother opening that official piece of mail from the Army. :-(

[Tsiyu]

9. Does anyone involved in the current administration actually WORK?

I mean, they screw up EVERYTHING they touch.

EVERYTHING.

It's like actually doing your job, cross-checking, spending a bit of time on actual WORK is just some foreign concept to these people.

My condolences to those poor families. Perhaps they will all be Dems after this heartbreaking experience.

[babylonsister]

10. And let's not forget the 50,000+ the Army is trying to re-recruit. I'd

love to see a copy of this letter...

And yes, I've often said this admin and everything it touches seem to have the reverse Midas touch, whatever that's called.

[Tsiyu]

11. Total and complete incompetence

You know the scene in "Saving Private Ryan" where people notice all the sibling deaths from the condolence letters? Their attention to detail leads to the search for the last surviving brother.

I can't imagine that happening today. No one in any government position - civilian or military - seems to give a damn about anything but having more money to pass down to their ugly kids or to stuff in their fine coffins when they go.

Poor performance is now the new adequate. The suffering of others doesn't matter one bit.