Fit for warfare but not mail duty

[baldguy]

Postal Service rejects Iraq veteran because he suffered an ankle sprain


Injured in Iraq, Army Sgt. Jason R. Lyon, a National Guardsman from Hamburg, has been declared eligible for return to combat but not qualified to deliver the mail stateside.


While Sgt. Jason R. Lyon was serving with the Army in Iraq, he suffered a sprained ankle when he jumped off a Humvee. He also nearly had his head blown off by a roadside bomb that killed three of his friends.
After extensive medical treatment and physical therapy, military doctors have certified the Hamburg serviceman physically fit to return to combat duty in Iraq.

But the U.S. Postal Service says he is physically unfit to deliver mail.

"To me, it really seems unfair," said the National Guardsman, who was recently turned down for a postal carrier job because of the ankle injury he suffered in Baghdad in July 2004.

more:
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060321/1071578.asp

Maybe because the US Army is a hell of a lot more desperate for warm bodies than the USPS.

[PVK]

1. Hey, Jason, are you starting to get it? n/t

[centristo]

8. yea

this is the first in a long series of things that you will find are "unfair". So it goes for our Iraqi and Afghanistan war vets. It's so sad.

[Trevelyan]

2. This is so sad. Post this story on "neutral" Message Boards like AOL

to show the prejudice against our returning veterans.

[maddezmom]

3. good idea

K&R :(

[wordpix2]

6. hell, post it in Freeperville so they know what fearless lethal is doing

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Catch22Dem]

9. Kind of a bullshit presumption, isn't it?

You assume he tortured people? I was in the Air Force for 8 years. Do you suppose I was a torturer as well?

[tabasco]

12. Thank you for responding to this poster.

I wouldn't have been so polite.

[AngryOldDem]

5. Wonder how long it will be before I see him at the shelter I work at

I work at a homeless shelter and lately we've been seeing a lot of men who ID themselves as being military veterans, most with either general or honorable discharges. Whenever I do an intake on one and they tell me "yes" when I ask if they are a vet, I feel such a deep sense of shame on behalf of this country that it goes beyond words.

[jbnow]

10. That must be hard

"Support our troops" must really just mean "support the war" to too many and to those in charge.

I appreciate your work. Anyone there, vet or not, deserves respect and I bet you offer that.

[AngryOldDem]

13. I think next to seeing kids there....

...it tears me up seeing veterans coming in. Some do a revolving-door routine between the local VA hospital and the hotel. I really don't know what to say to them, but I treat all guests with the dignity they deserve as human beings.

It makes me so angry because in a nation that prides itself on its "military prowess," we do one hell of a shitty job taking care of those who do answer the call.

[understandinglife]

7. I've emailed this to Keith Olbermann.

Be The Bu$h Opposition - 24/7

[melissinha]

11. You can carry over service from Army to USPS

My uncle is aplying his service to his USPS service for retirement reasons it sounds like a good deal for this guy if they'd let him....

It is a lot of walking that the postmen do.... but still, if he's fit, he's fit. Hope he can find another government job to keep him earning government pension and benefits..