Staff Sgt. Fears Recommendation Will Increase
Conscientious Objectors
by Winsip Custer CPW News Service
For years man's best friend, the dog, was shot by US Army medics in training after the dog's vocal cords were cuts to reduce wimpering, begging and yelping. Medics were required to treat the dogs' wounds and to nurse them back to health before disposing of the healthy, but mute, animals.
"In recent years, dogs were substituted with goats which had a weaker labor union," said Staff Sgt. Michael G. Grossman who expressed concern that should a new proposed change to soldier and medic training be initiated there will be a sharp increase in consciencious objectors. We tried to contact Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick, in the "City of Brotherly Love" to get his take on this training practice, but were unable to do so. A source close to Mr. Vick reported that "Mike's dogs had a better chance of survival."
Proponents of a change to the Geneva Convention want to see soldiers and their medics' training written into a "Universal Soldier's Code" required for all battlefield combatants. "We believe that medic training will be enhanced and hence more battlefield wounds will receive a positive outcome if soldiers and medics are required to survive a gunshot wound before going into battle," said Dr. Arnold P. Livermore of the Center for Cognitive Military Preparedness in Arlington, Virginia. Doctors at Walter Reed Army Hospital said that they support the implementation of this idea on a limited basis if a case study of two hundred soldiers and fifty medic volunteers who would sign an iron-clad "hold-harmless" agreement and be given the option to inflict their own wound and select the caliber of the weapon used, agreed. So far there have been no volunteers according to Lt. Col. Betsy Nightingale at the Pentagon's Center for Medic Training . The animal rights group, PETA, said that they fully support the changes.
Maj. Gen. Dwight D. Lee reported that the new measure would save the Army $4.2 Billion over three years. When asked how he arrived at that number when 20,000 medics would cost only about $1 million if each goat used for training, as is currently the case, costs about $50 per goat at auction. Maj. Gen. Lee said "these are special goats descended from the herds of sheep and goats owned by the General George S. Patton family who supplied the Army's need for wool uniforms during World War I and II."
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