Army Strong
Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid momentswhen he was merely stupid
--Heinrich Heine
___________
This recruiting poster tugs at the patriotic heartstrings, especially as it emphasizes, ''You'll get $2,000 when you refer enlistees'' (VFW Magazine June/July 2007.) Come 2008, that should be able to buy you a 13'' t.v. at Costco.
We've come a long way, baby, from the ''Uncle Sam Wants You'' posters of yore. Those were the days before shameless profiteering became married to patriotic duties.
The Armed Forces have transitioned from appealing to recruits on the basis of duty, through the ''Be All That You Can Be'' dynamic of self-actualization, emphasizing independence, self-reliance and capability, onto the Army of One concept of the indestructible unit. The next logical step away from thought to action was ''Army Strong.'' It fits in with a national ethos of might makes right.
Also in this edition is an article on a former Army Strong Wounded Warrior, John E. Kirkendall, who has filed a discrimination suit against the Department of the Army after they tossed out his application for Supervisory Equipment Specialist (aircraft). Kirkendall is a 100% disabled veteran who was entitled to preferential consideration for this slot, for which he was qualified. His appeal is online here.
It appears Kirkendall was good enough to get his shit blown away serving in the Army, but as a wounded warrior his services were not deemed acceptable by the Ft. Bragg personnel office. Talk about hypocrisy that boggles the mind.
Ranger's beret is off to former trooper Kirkendall both for his service, and especially, his courage in fighting for his right to work as a civilian DoD employee. He has earned this right.
Salute.
Labels: john kirkendall, recruitment bonus
posted by rangeragainstwar at 3:03 PM
3 Comments:
All kinds of odd hypocrisy goes on regarding vets. The local post office for instance, where a veteran applying was told that veteran status would not be considered, because they only "considered them vets if it was in the last ten years." Wow, I didn't know veteran status EXPIRED!
Don't get me started.
labrys,
This case is interesting b/c the veteran is greater than 30% disabled and was wounded. He falls into a special category.
Management, when he's referred for a position, is not required to hire him, but they must justify in writing why they have turned him down, if he is in the top five candidates.
This federal law is often ignored. It appears that Ft. Bragg did an end run on this, also, by keeping him off the register. Like all the other the other cutesy government moves, this lawsuit could have been avoided by referring his name for selection.
According to our research, he was denied consideration for this position b/c he never even made the register. Although the job did go to another disabled veteran, there were some serious issues with the reasons for his not being considered for the position.
This candidate suffered brain trauma. If the Army or the government doesn't see fit to employ them, who will?
This federal law is often ignored. It appears that Ft. Bragg did an end run on this, also, by keeping him off the register.
Kirkendall did not get "his shit blown away"...
He was not wounded in active duty.
I can understand where the case can help other DAVs, but he was not active duty (or reserve) when his injury occured...he was a business owner in Florida.
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