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Victims of the “Feres Doctrine” Part 2, Chapter 1 – Vietnam Veteran sent to War with a Broken Neck
Victims of the “Feres Doctrine” Part 2, Chapter 1 – *Vietnam Veteran sent to War with a Broken Neck.
*Based upon the Synopsis Manuscript “Veteran Without A Country” by Robin J. “Rusty” Rustan, and as Edited by Terry Richards who was given exclusive Editorial Rights.
On January 28, 1969, Robin J. “Rusty” Rustan was drafted into U.S. Army and was ordered to take his military basic training at Fort Ord, California. After basic Rusty was issued an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) as an “Auto Mechanic” but was assigned to take Tank Mechanic Training with the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas.
After about 8-months at Fort Hood Rusty volunteered to go to Vietnam. However, soon after that while on firing exercises at Fort Hood waiting for his orders to Vietnam, on December 02, 1969, Rusty was “crushed” by the Main Gun inside an M-45 Tank and sustained a broken neck injury. Rusty was rushed to Fort Hood Darnell Army Hospital where he was treated and placed in traction for an unspecified period of time.
Yet, only 5-days later, while still in traction, Rusty was ordered by his Company Commander to take “pre-deployment” Republic of Vietnam (RVN) training exercises and to be deployed to Vietnam as soon as possible even though he still had a broken neck.
Released with no medical care and No Neck Brace, and only a bottle of pain pills and orders to report to Vietnam, Rusty was expected to report to the RVN Training Detachment Center on February 6, 1970 for a training schedule that would last 6 days.
The RVN training which would start on February 6, 1970, was intense training that would take a Soldier into classes starting with Jungle Survival, Military Intelligence, Handling of POW’s, Duties of a Sentry and Perimeter Defense, “Viet-Cong” (VC) and Ambush Techniques, Communications Security, Helicopter Safety Air Assault, and MEDEVAC, among other things. Rusty was ordered to do all this with a broken neck. It was from this point forward that Rusty, now holding the rank of Private First (PFC) would refuse all orders to go to Vietnam, refused to wear a Military Uniform, and would eventually go AWOL from all this madness before reporting to the Mental Health System at Fort Hood, Texas.
On March 9, 1970 more abuses would begin starting with the Military’s Mental Health Care System Psychiatric Department so that the Army could cover-up medical abuses suffered by ignoring Rusty’s broken neck. The cover-up began with Army Doctors “labeling” Rusty with Psychiatric disorders in only his first interview with a Psychiatrist. One Doctor gave Rusty a “Profile” stating that –Rusty was – “Incapable of understanding orders, and incapable of carrying out any orders given to him.” At this point in time, Rusty felt that he had no other choice but to go AWOL from Fort Hood. So Rusty did in fact go AWOL, and he went to his Home State of California where he planned on obtaining real medical care for his serious injury.
Rusty’s first plan was to check in as a patient with one of the best neurosurgeons in Newport Beach. When Rusty arrived he was advised that emergency medical care was needed but that he would have to seek it in a Military Hospital because he was on active-duty and he was considered “Government Property.” However, after giving Rusty a Physical, Dr. Francisco Alvarez, M.D., that Rusty’s Broken Neck injuries would suggest the necessity of discharge from the Army, and Dr. James Witwer, M.D., an Orthopedic Surgeon at the same hospital concurred with Alvarez’s findings.
Again, left with No Neck Brace and No Medical Care, Rusty sought medical care at the VA Hospital in Long Beach but was also refused treatment there because according to VA Staff “VA Medical Centers only provide medical care for discharged Veterans and not to active-duty Soldiers.” By refusing medical care to Rusty, Rusty felt that the VA Hospital broke their own guidelines and Human Rights Clause that allowed them to treat any person who had a serious injury on a one-time-basis while in the Emergency Room in order to stabilize them before they let them go to a different outlet for follow-up medical care.
Again, leaving a government hospital with no neck brace, Rusty felt that he had no hope in obtaining the proper medical care for his broken neck. And Rusty thought to himself how such an injustice like this could happen to a War-Veteran, especially when he had once read where a “Death Row” inmate in the California State Penitentiary was given a Kidney transplant costing California Taxpayers $140,000 so they could keep this murderer alive long enough to Execute him.
The “Chilling Effects” of the “Feres Doctrine” not only hurt Rusty physically for the rest of his life, but also financially, as his service-connected broken neck injury would prevent Rusty from earning his full-potential of life-time employment earnings had he not sustained a broken neck while in service. The “Feres Decision” would also leave Rusty without recourse to be “compensated” for loss of his full-potential life-time earnings as a “Civilian” would have been eligible to be “compensated” if the same kind of Negligence and Malpractice had happened to them on a Military Base.
To “add insult to injury,” this once “dedicated” and “patriotic” American Soldier after returning to Military Custody would now be treated like a Criminal. And concerned for Rusty’s mental and physical health and welfare, his parents wrote Members of the House of Representatives and Senate on his behalf. Some responses came back but the truth of the matter was that due to the “Feres Doctrine,” it was Congress’ view during the Vietnam War as well as today, that they do not have to address injury or injustice or abuses by Federal Employees perpetrated against the Men and Women Soldiers of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Click onto link below to go to: Part 1 – Introduction to the Series Victims of the Feres Doctrine, and Chapters 1 through 5 of Part 2 -Vietnam Veteran sent to War with a Broken Neck. http://www.veteranstoday.com/?victims+of+the+feres+doctrine
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=39269
Posted by Terry Richards on Jul 8 2010, With 0 Reads, Filed under Military. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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“Rusty couldn’t understand how something like this could happen to a war-veteran”. I don’t understand, I thought by reading your article that this guy got hurt before he got to Vietnam, like a broke neck while in training, so where did he become a war veteran. I don’t like calling people liars, but you BS to much in your articles.
SENDING A MAN INTO INTENSE TRAINING , INCLUDING JUNGLE SURVIVAL
FOLLOWED BY DEPLOYMENT IN A “LIVE” THEATER IS MADNESS,
YES OF COURSE WHEN YOU PULL DUTY IN A BATTLEZONE YOU
HAVE AN EXPECTED CHANCE OF BEING INJURED OR KILLED IN ACTION.
SENDING IN A MAN WITH A BROKEN NECK IS , HOWEVER ,
MANSLAUGHTER.
( SENDING A MAN WITH A BROKEN NECK INTO … )
This is one of the most horrible stories I’ve ever heard. How can you send a man with a broken neck anywhere let alone to Vietnam.
When I was in a hospital bed in Vietnam, they were sending a guy back out into the field and they didn’t know what was wrong with him.
Terry you should send the artice on Robin Rustan, victim of the Feres Doctrine to:
CBS ” 60 Minutes ”
c/o The Story Editor
524 West 57th Street
NY NY 10019
After the death of Carmelo Rodriguez, Sgt, USMC (a New Yorker) as the result of military medical malpractice Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced H.R.1478 – The Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act of 2009. This legislation would repeal the Feres Doctrine and allow active duty military personnel to sue the government for medical malpractice, the same right civilians, federal prisoners and illegal aliens have always had.
Congressman Hinchey’s staff has been actively pursuing this legislation in the US House of Representatives and has met with considerable success. Unfortunately, Senator Chuck Schumer and his staff have done absolutely nothing to support the US Senate version of the same legislation, S.1347. Since Senator Schumer committed to be the Senate sponsor in June 2009 his staff has not made the slightest effort to add additional Senate cosponsors or attempted to bring this issue before any Senate Committee for discussion and support. Since Senator Schumer is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration could it be that he has never had any intention of doing anything for the military personnel he represents and just wanted to put his name on something that would look good in a year he is up for reelection?
With over $21,000,000 in campaign funds on hand it is no wonder Senator Schumer has no concern for those who only contribute with honorable service.
In 2004 I was on the Board of Directors of “VERPA” and collectively we submitted the VERPA ACT Veterans Equal Rights Protection Act to Senator Arlin Spector with critical information from thousands of victims of the Feres Doctrine as proof to why this evil doctrine was unfair and its sitting gathering dust. We thought we had some progress to because Senator Spector is the Chairman of the Judicial Committee. The Congress and the Senate in my mind are all in the “Hall of Shame” until they abolish Feres Doctrine and give us back the very same rights that we all risked life and limb for while serving our Country. The Armed Services Committee has to be pro-active with the Judicial Committee to be effective in getting Feres Abolished. No Action is taken many more will die from the abuses of federal employees and its all written off as collateral damage with no recourse to those that serve?
Rusty
http://www.vfvs.com
founder of Voice For Veterans Services
Posted this reply in Chapters 4 and 5
To loose the focus of the real crime, sending men and women to War with critical injuries or sending men and women back into War when they cannot defend themselves is the real crime here and the proof is on the table. The Officers in charge should all be in prison and the FERES Doctrine should be abolished today.
To focus on the purple heart award instead of the real story here “FERES Doctrine Abuses” tells me a lot about who wrote the comments at the end of this horrific story of being sent to War with a Broken Neck.
FERES Doctrine is the Cancer inside military hospitals and VA hospitals. How can Congress say that we are FREE when we have no rights to protect ourselves with the U.S. Constitution from redress of gross criminal negligence caused by the abuses of federal employees is the real story here. In my case the enemy fire is FERES Doctrine which allows Officers to murder those in critical care. When a Company Commander ignores human rights its all because FERES Doctrine protects Officers in charge from radical crimes like this and Congress looks the other way. No wonder why the moral is so low inside the military and suicides are off the rector scale. The very same rights that we all risked life and limb for and so many died for we do not have while we dawn the uniform. No men or women who are in the U.S. Military should have to sacrifice their Constitutional Rights to defend this Country of Ours!