And as I'm checking out the paper I see another example of people saying they have a right to something...this time, I have a right to be in the Army. Even if I can't qualify.
Deaf man battling to join Army after auditing ROTC
By JULIE WATSON The Associated Press
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — Keith Nolan spent a decade applying repeatedly to the Army's Reserve Officers Training Corps' program before the deaf man's tenacity paid off and a commander finally let him audit the classes.
Nolan became a top performer in the ROTC program's Bravo Company at California State University at Northridge, and his instructors were so impressed they let him wear a uniform. He was distraught when he turned it back in and said goodbye to the other cadets in May. He could advance no further under the military's current policy that requires cadets pass a hearing test to be commissioned by the Army.
Ms Watson you may want to try and read a bit. Your dribble implies that the requirement to pass a hearing test is somewhat recent. No madam, it has been there since we have had an Army. You have to be able to hear to preform in the any of the services. Please get your facts straight.
It was a stinging moment that burned in the soul of the bespectacled 29-year-old teacher, who is determined to break that barrier and achieve his lifetime dream of working in military intelligence.
"All I really want to do is join the Army," said Nolan, a confident, clean-cut man with a boyish face who signed to an interpreter in an interview at the university's ROTC office. He was flanked by posters with inspirational messages urging people to join. "I want to do my duty, serve my country and experience that camaraderie, and I can't, owed to the fact that I'm deaf."
Soldiers with disabilities have been returning to active duty in increasing numbers due largely to the fact that medical advances today are ensuring more people survive serious war injuries. All branches of the U.S. armed forces over the past decade have started offering the opportunity for seriously wounded or disabled service members to remain on active duty by finding them jobs they can perform.
Today about 300 seriously wounded service members — some of whom have been blinded by blasts, lost their limbs or have severe head injuries — work in a variety of Army positions, and their work has been vital, especially in aiding other recovering troops, said Erich Langer, a spokesman with the Army's Warrior Transition Command in Alexandria, Va.
Some have even returned to war zones.
"These cases help folks with disabilities across the board by opening more doors," he said.
Nolan said their presence shows there is a place in the military for disabled people. He sees the military's changing attitude as a window of opportunity that he hopes to pry open further so any deaf person — not just wounded combat troops — could be eligible to serve...
Yes there are places for people with disabilities. I have seen them recovering at FT Sam Houston and with prosthetic legs they have been able to, to one degree or another, continue to serve. However if they are deaf they cannot function. Everything this man has done was done with an interpreter. Sorry but we cannot have an interpreter detailed to one officer like this.
But don't worry, here is a Congressperson to save the day.
The office of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., said the congressman plans to meet Nolan in the fall to continue to work on his behalf. Nolan wants Waxman to sponsor a bill allowing deaf people into the armed forces.
Nolan has sent an inquiry to the Army and is waiting for a reply explaining why he could not be commissioned. Waxman's office said their inquiry to the Army got an "unfavorable" response but the congressman is still interested in seeing what he can do.
"I am looking forward to meeting Keith Nolan during his upcoming visit to Washington," Waxman said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. "He is an exceptional young man, and he has raised a compelling issue that I believe is worth examining."
Mr Waxman...the moron who said "what's the point in reading the bill" when he was talking about Obamacare. Sorry Henry, you are screwing with something very serious. What next, people who cannot see? Born with no arms/legs.
I'm sorry for this man's predicament but the simple fact is he is not qualified to preform in the US Army. Also I have one minor question...he wants to be an interpreter in Military Intelligence. As a 23 year Army/Army Reserve officer and a Military Intelligence Officer, I was a platoon leader of electronic warfare specialists. The Army does not use offices as interpreters. Do we have offices who speak multiple languages, yes. But they are not trained at the Defense Language Institute to be interpreters.
Hopefully he goes onto a good career...he may have a career servicing the Army as a civilian. But I"m sorry you cannot wear the uniform.
No comments:
Post a Comment