Prosecute Army For Dereliction Of Duty

I was thinking about some of the stories I've posted this year and this was one of the ones that made me think of how many others like 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside there are. What if Dana Priest and Anne Hull didn't report on what she was going through? What would have happened to Whiteside if the Army got away with just prosecuting her?

Update on Veteran Army 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside
Army 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, who was recently profiled by Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull, has received good news: an Army hearing officer has recommended that she should not face a court-martial for attempting suicide and endangering another soldier while in Iraq. Whiteside, who is undergoing psychiatric treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, should be allowed "to end her military service and receive the benefits that she will desperately need for the remainder of her life," said Maj. Mervin H. Steals, the officer assigned to conduct a preliminary hearing. His decision will be passed along to an officer who has jurisdiction over the matter and can accept or reject the recommendation. Whiteside suffered a mental breakdown earlier this year, waving a gun and threatening others before she fired a shot into her stomach. She faces the possibility of life in prison if she is tried and convicted. Her story was part of the Post's ongoing coverage of the treatment of veterans at Walter Reed.

By The Editors December 11, 2007; 10:00 AM ET Walter Reed Previous: Responding to a Critic Next: Meet the Reporters and Editors

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Dana Priest and Anne Hull have done a great service to the men and women who risk their lives everyday and for all veterans who were ignored by the media before. They've done it time and time again. In each case we really need to wonder what would have been done or allowed to go on if they didn't bother?

Would Walter Reed hospital still be treating the wounded as if they were lucky to be there at all in squalor? Would the DOD still be allowed to ignore the suffering of thousands of veterans, forced out under "personality disorders" unable to be compensated for their wounds or support themselves or their families? Would the VA get away with ignoring the problem of suicides reaching epidemic proportions doing absolutely nothing to open clinics and veterans centers, hiring more psychologist and therapists as well as claims processors? Not that they have even come close to fulfilling those needs still.

Without reporters and families standing up to say this is all wrong, nothing would be fixed at all. We owe them our willingness to fight for all of them, to stand up and say "you can't get away with treating our troops like this" to the Army. As a matter of fact it needs to be said to the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force and the National Guards as well. It is dereliction of duty to leave any of these wounded behind and without their wounds being tended to.

As the brass contemplates any more charges against them they should wonder what they did that caused it to happen because it begins and ends with them. kc