“Every letter that is written to me by the Army telling me a load of crap only makes me fight harder”

Sept. 8, 2004

To: Mr. President,Mr. Vise President,Senators, Congressmen, Colonel Short, America

It has now been just over 1 month since my husband was forced back into Iraq and I am still going strong. Especially since I have been challenged by an officer, by lies that the Army has told me and the nerve of a Commander telling me that my husband seems to be getting better. The support that I get from so many, and the look in my children’s eyes that wonder where the daddy is, also keeps me going strong. Here is a complete update of my husband as of Sept. 8, 2004.

I wrote a letter to my husband’s Commander, Colonel Short, and told him that I did not think that what was said in the Congressional sent to Senator Hutchison was right, and that I was not going to stop fighting for my husband’s return. In the letter that he sent me dated on Aug. 16, mailed Aug. 21, and after taking 7 days for delivery, it was delivered Aug. 28th. Anyway, in the letter it says:

Dear Mrs. Lampin,
Thank you so much for your letter. Your husband is doing an outstanding job for us. He is the best mechanic that we have. According to CSM Perez, he is extremely motivated and seems to enjoy our mission and his part in it’s success. Even his physical problems seem to be improving. We are taking good care of him like I promised. He is a fine soldier. We are proud to have him as I am sure you are and the nation is lucky to have him as a soldier.

Thanks again for your support and concern.
Sincerely,
Col. Short

I am guessing that the Colonel never read my letter, and just had his secretary type something up, that sounded good. Does Short think that I would believe him and not my husband on how his physical problems are? I got news for him, how does he expect me to believe him if he has lied to my husband himself. If he seems to be getting better, then why is he still going to sick call for pain?

After a phone call from Tony on Aug. 28th, before the arrival of the letter, Tony informed me that the command is well aware of my actions, and was confronted by his Lieutenant, Lt. Stovall, asking him if he knew what I was doing. My husband told him yes, that he is aware of my actions. Lt. Stovall then told my husband that I could do anything that I could, and that it wouldn’t matter because he would not have Tony sent back. This made me very angry, and I took it as a challenge and in my opinion, the Lt. challenged the government into making him have Tony sent back. All I can say is “Lt. Stovall, BRING IT ON.”

I just recently got back from a trip to my family back in Texas on Sept. 6th. In the mail, was a letter from the Adjutant General (AG), Mr. Dane Goodwin, telling me the biggest load of crap that the Army could ever tell me. The Army is responding to my correspondence to the local media in La., about my husband’s medical issues and his recent deployment to Iraq. It says that Fort Polk officials are pleased to provide information regarding my husband’s deployment and to address my concerns about his safety and present medical condition.

In the letter, it is written:

The Battalion Commander, at that time, Colonel Richards, spoke directly with the orthopedic surgeon who was treating Sgt. Lampin. The orthopedic surgeon concluded that, medically, Sgt. Lampin was capable of performing his duties and any additional procedures and/or medical boards could be postponed until the unit returns to Fort Polk. In addition, Colonel Short, Commander, 115th Field Hospital, who took command one week prior to deployment, was in frequent communication with Colonel Richards regarding Sgt. Lampin’s medical condition and deployability. Colonel Short did not speak with the orthopedic surgeon prior to deploying; rather he chose to support Colonel Richard’s decision unless there was a significant change in Sgt. Lampin’s condition in the week prior to deploying.

It goes on saying that my husbands condition has not prevented him from performing his duties, about the combat gear he is wearing is within his profile restrictions, not to lift or carry 30 lbs, and that he is not having to wear it but for approximately one and a half hours. What I didn’t want to hear is this:

The combat uniform and force protection policy is designed to increase the survivability of the soldiers in the event of a mortar attack and is considered protective equipment. All soldiers leaving in the immediate Life and Support Area (LSA) who move around the Forward Operating Base are required to wear their combat gear and carry their weapon. However, Sgt. Lampin lives and works inside the LSA and is not required to wear his combat gear during the time he is at work or off duty. On a normal duty, he is required to wear the combat gear approximately one and a half hours. The time is obviously increased when Sgt. Lampin is required to conduct convoy operations, which is very infrequent.

This is what scared me. Are they saying that inside the LSA is safe? If so how can they say that, because there is no such place in Iraq. What if an attack was to occur, and my husband doesn’t have his gear on? What then? Is this how the Commander is saying that he is taking care of my husband? Again, I am being lied to so the command can cover their ASS. What about the part about the doctor saying that my husband can perform his duties. I don’t believe this because I talked to my husband’s doctor in person, and according to him, and I have it on recording, he told Colonel Richards that he DID NOT advise my husband to be deployed to Iraq, and that he never did speak with Colonel Short to advise him the same thing. If he said what is in the letter, then why did he write NON-DEPLOYABLE on my husband’s medical profile? What about Short telling my husband that if he was told by his doctor that he would only get worse he would not take him? Again, LIES. What about the part that my husband has been able to perform his duties? Then why did my husband inform me on the 28th of Aug. that he hasn’t been able to do anything but sit around and staying off his knee? I think you can guess that on your own. The part about his protective gear weighing within the limits of his profile, that too is a LIE. According to the company that makes the vest, a large vest weights 10 lbs, and the inserts, that the Army uses weighs 9.5 lbs each. That is a total of 29 lbs. Now if you add the weight of the extra gear needed including his weapon the total weight that he is carrying weights well over 30 lbs.

Another part of the letter reads this:

An orthopedic surgeon evaluated Sgt. Lampin on Aug. 19th, for pain he was experiencing in his left knee. The surgeon reported that after evaluating the knee and the existing medical records, he concurred with the treatment plan and medical work-up Sgt. Lampin has received to date, and he does not recommend redeployment. The surgeon offered Sgt. Lampin pain control by steroid injections; however, at this time he rejected this method of treatment.

According to my husband, the surgeon there didn’t want to go into his case, and that it was more administrative than medical. About the injections, my husband hates needles, and was told that the steroid injections would only control the pain a certain amount of time, and that there is a series of 5 to 6 shots, and I was warned, by a private doctor, that the steroid itself would only cause more damage in the long run by deteriorating the knee. I ask this, what would you do? It is obvious that my husband is in pain, if he is going in to see a doctor. It is obvious that his knee is getting worse.

Another written passage:

Colonel Short, as the commander, has the authority to deploy a soldier depending on the needs of the unit and the US Army. By Army policy, a doctor provides recommendations to the soldier’s commander based on his physical restrictions. In the case of Sgt. Lampin, as with all soldiers, the doctor’s recommendations are strongly considered. Colonel Richards’ decision to deploy Sgt. Lampin was made in conjunction with the doctor’s assurance that Sgt. Lampin’s medical condition would not limit his deployability.

Again, Tony’s doctor said that he advised Richards that Tony should not be deployed, not what the AG said in the letter. I ask this: why does a soldier bother going to a doctor for his/her medical needs when a commander has the right to override their needs and send them into war? This needs to be changed. A doctor’s recommendation should be taken seriously and accepted so that no future injury will occur causing more pain to the soldier who has to live with it for the rest of their life. They are the ones with the pain, not their commander. On any other given military day before this war, a soldier that is to be medically boarded out of service, would be told thank you for your service, and good luck in the civilian world. Instead, my husband is told, “oh well, we don’t care, you’re going to war.” Also, Colonel Richards at the time he was in command had changed, 1 week before turning over his command, his mind to not have Tony sent to Iraq.

The constant excuse that Colonel Short and Lt. Stovall keeps saying “BECAUSE WE NEED HIM,” is not an excuse. They say my husband is their best mechanic. So are they saying that they can’t rely on the other mechanics who are there? Also, if he is needed so badly, then why back in Feb. of this year, before my husband’s 2ND surgery, was he being assigned to a quartermaster unit? It’s because the company did not rate more than one NCO, and that the company already has a Motor Sgt. and Tony being a Sgt./NCO, did not have a specific duty in the company. Knowing this, and the fact that they knew he was eventually going to be medical boarded out they thought that they would just hand him to another company. My husband, having a profile for well over 2 years, also participated in only two of the training exercises that pertained to this deployment. In the last one on the last weekend of June, they practiced convoy attack maneuvers to be better prepared which included practicing 3 - 5 second rushes, this was a live fire exercise. Was my husband able to do this? NO, he wasn’t. All he could do is put the vehicle he was driving in a combat position. When confronted by his Sgt.Maj., he was told to just lay down on the ground. I’m not saying that my husband did not know how to do rushes, but this was a refresher course, and laying on the ground is not training. Being told to lay on the ground is saying, “hey you have a profile that says you can’t do this, so, and this is my opinion, pretend you are dead.” If during training they can accept his profile, then why can’t they accept it now and let him have his medical board? I have also found out that my husband was not supposed to be extended an extra 28 days on his EAS by the Stop-Loss program. According to the rules, paragraph 6 section B it states that Soldiers eligible for disability retirement, separation for physical disability, or other physical conditions. This includes Soldiers who have a permanent 3 or 4 profile (which is what my husband has), the Stop-Loss does not take effect.

With every letter that is written to me by Colonel Short, or the Army itself telling me a load of crap, only makes me fight harder. I know that what I am doing is drawing concern with them, because they are trying to assure me that Tony is safe and not in any pain, and I guess they think that the letters will stop me from my mission. Well, they can think again. They know that what they did was wrong, and they are trying to cover it up by telling me lies that I can see a mile away. They think they are talking to just another spouse, but guess what, I am not just another spouse, I am a former Marine, and people know, that you don’t mess with a Marine, especially this one. I was not called Cpl. Chucky for nothing back in my service. I am a fighter for rights, and my husband deserves his right to be medical boarded out of service NOW. Send my husband and the other medically unfit Soldiers home, they deserve their rights that they fight for, that they have earned. Don’t crap on them like you did in the past with our Vietnam Vets. Bring them home, bring them all home.

- Brandie Lampin
165 Eubanks Rd.
Leesville, La. 71446
(337)238-0121
BLampin4036@aol.com

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