Unfit for combat?

Monday, May 12, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

Pentagon records show that more than 43,000 of the troops sent to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 have been listed as medically “non-deployable” for combat.

Bobby Muller, president of the advocacy group Veterans For America, told USA Today that sending medically unfit troops overseas is a consequence of “the consistent churning of our troops” and that these soldiers repeatedly are being exposed to combat situations “with insufficient time at home to rest and heal.”

Pentagon documents don’t reveal the nature or significance of the medical problems these troops face, USA Today reports. But medical reasons can include a need for dental work, eyeglasses or allergy medication in addition to more serious health issues.

Still, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, of Fort Carson in Colorado, told USA Today that he ordered an investigation into the deployment of 36 soldiers from Fort Carson who were deployed last year even though they had been deemed medically unfit. Seven of them were sent home after it was determined that field treatment was inadequate, Graham said, adding that two of those never should have been sent overseas in the first place.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said in February that such soldiers are being deployed because “we have been having issues reaching deployable strength.” Army Secretary Pete Geren told the panel that such deployments “should not be happening,” but he could not guarantee that they were not occurring.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is examining the issue, and its report is due in June.

Deploying soldiers whom medical professionals have deemed unfit for combat service entails unnecessary risks — not only for them but also for their fellow soldiers who must depend on them to successfully carry out their missions. This entire situation illustrates just how depleted our armed forces have become while fighting Bush’s misguided wars.