Marine has life destroyed by clerical error

[Balog]

A man does his tour and is honorably discharged. 5 years later he's arrested on desertion charges, imprisoned and forced to work for the Corps for just over a month. When it's discovered it was just an administrative screwup they give him an apology and a plane ticket home. No pay for the month of forced labor (which he would have received if he was an actual deserter), no compensation for the job that fired him when he was gone, nothing to help him when he couldn't get unemployment benefits because he was fired for cause, no help with the traffic ticket he was unable to appear in court for that was escalated because of that. Nothing. The bureaucracy screwed up, did massive harm to him and his family, then turned their backs on him.  This, to me, illustrates the lie that the Corps cares for it's Marines repeated by all the "ooh rah semper fi devil dog" Marine Corps cheerleaders. The .mil is a government bureaucracy like any other, and it'll f*** you just as hard and care just as little as any other. http://t.co/jkcKuCtz

[roo_ster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FnpaWQJO0

Also, bureaucracies exist for their own benefit and to further their own betterment.  Also, it helps explain their actions if you first consider them a criminal conspiracy.

[vaskidmark]

I got just about through the second cause of action before I stopped reading.  IMHO he has a few causes of action but the attorneys are screwing up his chances of a decent settlement by stretching for everything they can possibly think of.  All the stuff about his poor wife and the hardships she had to endure belong, IMHO, in a separate suit in her name against the gooberment.

It's a fiasco.  Some heads are eventually going to roll, but it will be pretty much meaningless and will do nothing to prevent some future repetition.  Depending on how much this gets picked up by MSM will determine how much more than $100K and costs (fine, reinstatement of registration/license, etc.).  And he will walk away with just about $30K after the attorneys get their cut and deduct for expenses.  Honor will be restored if he goes to trial - a settlement will more than likely be of the "We didn't do anything wrong and we promise never to do that again" nature.

Semper Fi!  Ooh-rah!  Once a Marine - but not no more!  Making room for the newest member of the club.

stay safe.

[Phantom Warrior]

He needs to call his Congressman, not a lawyer.

[RevDisk]

I always told my FNGs, keep all your paperwork. You will need it.

[Sergeant Bob]

He needs to call his Congressman, not a lawyer.

Indeed. Fighting the military/government bureaucracy in the courts is Quixotic at best.

[vaskidmark]

He needs to call his Congressman, not a lawyer.

Why?  What can they do at this point?

stay safe.

[dogmush]

Why?  What can they do at this point?

stay safe.

Make a phone call to a general.  When members of congress start calling officers, red tape disappears and what ever needs to happen to make those phone calls stop happens pretty damn quick.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Make a phone call to a general.  When members of congress start calling officers, red tape disappears and what ever needs to happen to make those phone calls stop happens pretty damn quick.

yup
they know where the money comes from.
wanna speed it up? email a thank you to the congressman that specifies what was discussed and cc that email to about 6 points in the chain of command. it motivates those lower to have resolved it before they get the call to explain


heck it works with irs too
statedept etc

[Hawkmoon]

Dunno what gets log jams cleared today but, when I was in Vietnam in 1968, there were exactly two words that stuck terror into the hearts of all commanding officers, at all levels:

"CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY"

[Tallpine]

Isn't there an old saying:

I love the F-ing Marine Corps
The Marine Corps loves F-ing me

 

[vaskidmark]

A Congressional inquiry might have helped spring him sooner but at this pont the only thing a Congresscritter might do is to introduce a Private Bill to give him money from a different pot of taxpayer dollars than lawsuit payouts come from.  So, again, what red tape presently needs to be cut?

stay safe.

[Gewehr98]

Sounds like you're still bitter about your own Corps experience. 

[MechAg94]

A Congressional inquiry might have helped spring him sooner but at this pont the only thing a Congresscritter might do is to introduce a Private Bill to give him money from a different pot of taxpayer dollars than lawsuit payouts come from.  So, again, what red tape presently needs to be cut?

stay safe.

It might be worth a try to at least attempt to get someone to actually regret doing it.

[vaskidmark]

And regretting whatever will do just what to either make him and his family whole or at least compensate him for the lost wages and expenses he, his wife, and kids incurred?

I know lots of folks say they would settle for an apology but I fail to see  how saying "I'm sorry I got caught and promise never to do it (getting caught is usually what they mean) again" doesanything meaningful.  Call me jaded if you wish.

stay safe.

[Strings]

Man, you're jaded

[vaskidmark]

Man, you're jaded

That, plus I spent the last 12 years of employment dealing with bureauracracy (mostly intentionally) violating established law, rule, regulation policy and/or procedure and saw first-hand just how much a "Sorry" did to fix either the immediate problem or prevent the same thing from happening over and over again.  On the other hand, having to pay out of your own pocket (because gross negligence cannot be "excused" by soverign immunity) seemed to have both an immediate and lasting effect on preventing repetitions.

Just in case the comment about being bitter about my experience in the Corps - after serving 5 years, three momths, 14 days and 10 hours of active duty on a 4-year enlistment (involuntary extension of enlistment, convenience of the government) they told me that even if I wanted to (which I did not, but not because I hated the Corps) I would not be allowed to reenlist.  Gee, keep me an extra 15 1/2 months after telling me I could get a 3-month "early out" just a month beforehand, and then tell me you will not let me play any longer?  I proudly wear the title "EX-Marine" that they gave me.  And yet when asked if I could go back to any time in my life to live over, my three highest picks are during the time I was in uniform.  I'm not bitter about my experience in the Corps, but I am just a smidgen bitter about my experience leaving the Corps.

Having completed my rant, I'd like to ask you, Strings, to answer the same question based on your BCCA experiences - would you ever accept "Sorry" as sufficient?

stay safe.

[MechAg94]

I was just thinking the only way to really call attention to the bureacritter is to either publicize it or find someone higher up in the buearacracy to send questions/inquiries downhill.  If they don't want to bother with that, fine. 

[Jamisjockey]

I love the corps.
The bureaucracy? Not so much. 
What's worse then career bureaucrats? Temp bureaucrats.

[Strings]

>Having completed my rant, I'd like to ask you, Strings, to answer the same question based on your BCCA experiences - would you ever accept "Sorry" as sufficient?<

No, I wouldn't. But you already knew that.

My calling you "jaded" was just me doing as you asked...

[Gewehr98]

Actually, I was referring to Balog.

[Balog]

Actually, I was referring to Balog.

I suppose I should respond since you bring it up again. Not bitter, just realistic in an area where many are inclined to not be.

[Jamisjockey]

Sometimes you come across as overly bitter.
The bureaucratic side of the corps can be a nightmare though.

[Balog]

Sometimes you come across as overly bitter.
The bureaucratic side of the corps can be a nightmare though.

Always hard to judge the impression one is making on the internet, isn't it?

Like I said, I'm not bitter but a lot of folks have turned their service in the Corps into a religious experience and it frustrates me. It's unfortunate that voicing the demonstrably true point that the Corps is imperfect, and that the bureaucracy IS the Corps gets perceived as hostile or resentful.

[vaskidmark]

My calling you "jaded" was just me doing as you asked...

Sorry, dude.  I do get a mite cranky about systems that show absolutely no inclination to self-correct at least the most egregious of F-ups.  Repeatedly.

stay safe.