ADF injury, illness stats 'a disgrace'    

Date
    December 3, 2012


AT LEAST one in eight of the 18,206 diggers who have served in Afghanistan between 2005 and October 2012 fell victim to a non-combat-related injury, or physical or mental illness.    

The figure peaked at almost one in five in 2009 with 851 Australian Defence Force members reporting non-combat-related illnesses or injuries that year.

Defence blamed the 17-fold spike on ''confusion'' that it said led to ''significant under-reporting'' prior to 2009. The true figures for illness and injury over the past seven years are almost certainly higher.    

A senior soldier welfare advocate said the statistics were a disgrace. He said a 12.5 per cent casualty rate would not be tolerated in another workforce.


''The employer would be held to account,'' Defence Force Welfare Association national president David Jamison said. ''There would be a royal commission or a judicial inquiry.''

Mr Jamison, a former Australian Army colonel, wants a covenant to be developed to spell out what soldiers have given up in their commitment to Australia and what the country pledges to do in return. ''We are having difficulty getting the support we need for that,'' he said.

Defence told Fairfax Media that 2276 out of 3841 work health and safety incidents in Afghanistan, which included ''near misses, exposure, illness etc'' had resulted in injury or illness. This is in addition to the 39 soldiers killed and 242 wounded in action since the war began.

A Defence spokesman said in many cases injuries and illnesses were minor and included sprained ankles, minor cuts, abrasions and bruises sustained during physical fitness training, head colds and gastro-enteritis.

Mr Jamison said combat wounds could also be relatively minor but had to be reported as a matter of course. He said mental illness and psychological issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder fell into the ''non-combat-related category''.

Defence insiders have told Fairfax Media that diggers are often loath to report non-combat-related injuries as, once disclosed, they appeared on annual fitness reports and could affect career opportunities.    

While all soldiers injured in Afghanistan or the United Arab Emirates are compensated at the same rate as for combat wounds, those injured while training to go are not.    

Mr Jamison, who said a recent review of military compensation had fallen short of delivering a fair result for many diggers, wants abolished the distinction between whether an ADF member is hurt in a combat or non-combat zone.

''There is a higher degree of recognition [in compensation] for wounds received in combat [zones],'' he said. ''My personal view is the level of disability or impairment should dictate the level of compensation.''

Mr Jamison said a decade of conflict coupled with the relatively small size of the ADF had contributed to the problem of exposure to illness and injury.   

''We are seeing modern soldiers clock up significantly greater combat experience than their forefathers in World War II,'' he said. ''I have heard of one SAS member who has completed 16 service rotations in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have to look after these people.''


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/adf-injury-illness-stats-a-disgrace-20121202-2aoz8.html#ixzz2DvTLfqHG

http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1345408103

This story is not about Afghanistan, but I daresay Britain will have its fair share of compensation pay outs in the next few years. Look at this story and the pending court cases in the aftermath of Iraq. Costly business, this occupation of countries. The claims from Afghanistan are yet to be lodged.

Britain has paid 14 million pounds to settle 205 damages claims since 2008, including 162 this year. A further 196 claims are being negotiated.

UK doctor stripped of license over death of Iraqi

LONDON (AP) - A British doctor was stripped of his medical license Friday for misconduct and dishonesty over the death of an Iraqi man who was beaten and killed while in the custody of British troops.

The latest fallout from Britain's troubled occupation of Iraq came as defense officials confirmed they have paid 14 million pounds ($23 million) to settle claims of abuse from more than 200 Iraqis.


Dr. Derek Keilloh treated Baha Mousa, a hotel clerk who died at a British base after being detained in Basra in September 2003 during a sweep for insurgents. Keilloh, then a 28-year-old captain in the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, tried unsuccessfully to revive Mousa, but denied knowledge of the scale of the man's injuries.

A public inquiry found that Mousa had sustained 93 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose, in an "appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence" by British troops.

The death of Mousa and mistreatment of other detainees blighted Britain's six-year deployment in southern Iraq, which ended in 2009.

Britain's defense authorities eventually apologized for the mistreatment of Mousa and nine other Iraqis and paid a 3-million-pound ($4.9-million) settlement. Six soldiers were cleared of wrongdoing at a court martial, while another pleaded guilty and served a year in jail.

The defense ministry said Friday that Britain has paid 14 million pounds to settle 205 damages claims since 2008, including 162 this year. A further 196 claims are being negotiated.



http://www.live5news.com/story/20400661/uk-doctor-stripped-of-license-over-death...

Big Dave wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2012 at 6:50pm:



That's right, so what has been accomplished in the ten years of occupation, apart from bloodshed and misery. All that to go back to square one. Russia  told America that before they went in....tut tut tut, should have listened to Mr Putin.

Just like Vietnam, years of bloodshed and misery, all for zilch.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2012 at 6:04am:



Yeah like when the postie union refused to send personal mail to the diggers in Viet nam because they didn't agree with government policy. Or when the wharfy union refused to load much needed ammo for the middle east campaign during WWII until they got 'danger' money.

The last thing that service men and women needs is any input form scumbag unions. We look after our own, thanks for offering.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Jan 11^th, 2013 at 8:10am:



Never said the ADF specifically; but what the bugger would you know about what the ADF does or doesn't do for it's people. Everything you believe you based on your own hatred for the ADF and its members.

Your ignorance and hatred negates anything you have to say on this matter.

BigOl64 wrote on Jan 11^th, 2013 at 8:53am:

Lol, justifying the war machine by calling others ignorant haters is a really intelligent line of defence, yehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Man, I am so like a war monger now becaue some ol' loser reckons the haters are really in actual fact those who love peace!

Like, wow, .... you always learn when talking to war-mongers