Soldiers allege the medically unfit sent to Afghanistan, Iraq: Military

ALASKA'S NEWSPAPER

Help | Follow on Twitter | alaska.com

| Updated: 7:10 PM

Home | Alaska Newsreader | Obituaries | Archives

TV Listings | Movies | Music | Restaurants | Submit Event

Military features

PHOTO GALLERIES

Homecoming

The first plane load of "main body" paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, were welcomed home to Fort Richardson on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, after a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pilot for a Day

Brendan Thompson is guest of honor in the Pilot-for-a-Day program Friday January 29, 2010 at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

SOLDIER PROFILES

Alaska's Fallen Soldiers

Running list of profiles of Alaskan, or Alaska-based, soldiers who have died since 2003.

Soldiers allege the medically unfit sent to Afghanistan, Iraq

Daily News staff and wire reports

Published: March 27th, 2009 12:12 AM
Last Modified: March 27th, 2009 12:12 AM

FAIRBANKS -- A group of active-duty soldiers at Fort Richardson in Anchorage and Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks is accusing commanders of forcing medically unfit soldiers to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Story tools

Comments (0)

Font size : A | A | A

The soldiers are gathering signatures to send a petition to Congress calling for a full investigation.

Sgt. Jesse Raymo -- among those spearheading the effort -- says he sustained a sports-related shoulder injury in January 2005 just before deploying to Iraq with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Wainwright. Raymo says he was denied access to an MRI because his supervisors thought it was too close to deployment.

He was later injured again in a roadside bomb, then he was part of a convoy that was shot at by insurgents.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Allen says soldiers are thoroughly reviewed by a medical board and deployed only after doctors say they're ready.