Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Preston
Subject: Re-enlistment denied Dustin ****
March 22, 2005
Dear Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Preston
I write in reference to my son Dustin . In order to outline all I need to discuss with you, I must go back in time to Sept. 11, 2001. As you know, on this day our country suffered a tragedy beyond comprehension. On Sept. 13, 2001, eager to serve his country, my son Dustin enlisted in the United States Army, specifying Special Forces. Because he had prior surgeries on both knees he had to get a waiver in order to enlist in the Army. Waiver in hand, he was accepted for enlistment in the United States Army and entered Basic training at Ft Benning, GA Nov.1, 2001.
Dustin completed Basic training and went on to Branch training. In week 12 of his training, Dustin misstepped into a rut during a road march and was sent to the infirmary with a swollen knee. It is to be noted the infirmary did not perform any X-rays or diagnostic tests, they merely looked at his medical records and sent him home without examination of any kind, advising him to take an EPTS (Existed Prior To Service) Discharge.
Dustin was told if he took an EPTS Discharge it would be better for him if he ever wanted to re-enlist. If he took an ELS Discharge (An Entry Level Separation (ELS) with an uncharacterized discharge may be granted to a service member who has less than 180 days of active service and whose record warrants an Honorable or General discharge) he was told it would be looked on as unfavorable for re-enlisting. He took the advice given by the Medical Officer and accepted the EPTS Discharge.
Trusting the word of a Medical Officer at Fort Benning was his first mistake: After accepting an EPTS Discharge, Dustin attempted to get his discharge changed to Honorable (in the hopes it would also change his re-entry code.) His goal through the entire process was to get back in the Army. This appeal was denied.
His re-entry code stayed the same - R-3. With this code he can, theoretically,. get back into the Armed Forces; We have been told it takes some hard work but it can be done. In fact, the Army Review Board stated Dustin can get back into the service with an R-3 Code. They also stated he did nothing wrong and they admired him for his determination to serve his country. They encouraged him to wait a period of time and try again. The Review Board encouraged him to get his knees healthy and get proper documentation that his knees would hold up to the rigors of training.
Dustin did just that, obtaining a statement from his orthopedic physician to the effect both knees are healthy, solid, and up to the rigors of Army training.
In April, 2004 we started the process of working with a recruiter to accomplish Dustin’s re-enlisting. This was his second mistake: unfortunately, Dustin had the misfortune of having to work through a recruiter who sat on his paperwork for 10 months and neither reported nor accomplished anything.
Dustin acquired and submitted all the requested and necessary documentation from his civilian Orthopedic Surgeon, stating his knees were sound, then went through the process at MEPS of being examined by an Army Orthopedic Surgeon. Both the Army and the civilian physicians are in agreement.
Dustin acquired letters of reference from The Fox Lake Police Dept, the Fox Lake Fire Chief, The Former Mayor of Fox Lake, a Village trustee, and the Assistant Chief of the Fire Dept. These were all very positive references. He was also required to get references from his current employer and a teacher from the high school he attended. These were again very positive references.
Through the entire process we were told by the Army Recruiter “He is good to go†and other remarks of encouragement. “He will get another waiver and he is golden, no problem,†etc.
However, the recruiter working with Dustin had run into problems with the Army and Dustin was given a different recruiter with whom to work. This new Recruiter worked much faster and to my knowledge did his job, as far as getting the paper work in order and off to Regimental Headquarters. He was much more honest, and stated that in his opinion it looked very good for Dustin’s chances to re-enlist.
Dustin was even advised not to renew his Serviceman Life Insurance Policy because he would be getting back in. He didn’t renew and now he has lost the chance to renew his life insurance. This was on the advice of the first recruiter.
We were talking with the new Recruiter on a Monday and he was still very positive, and by Tuesday evening the new recruiter called to tell Dustin his re-enlistment has been denied.
This came as a complete shock to Dustin and to me. His recruiter stated that the paperwork went through fine until it got to the top, where it was turned down by The Surgeon General. It had gone through the Army Orthopedic physician who gave his approval, but when the files and documentation got to someone in the Surgeon General’s office handling re-enlistments, they said the injury would more than likely re-occur. I wasn’t aware the Surgeon General would make these decisions without completing a thorough physical examination to refute the statements of a U.S. Army Orthopedic Surgeon, my son’s own Orthopedic Surgeon, and the Army Review Board..
When I asked if there was any other avenue we could pursue I was told :â€Not really, unless you want to go to the Army Review Board again and try to get his discharge changed to non-medical.†I know that is not going to happen. Dustin was also told if he could prove that he was in sports for the past year it would have been favorable. I don’t understand what sports have to do with his situation. I would think a qualified surgeon’s word and that of an Army Physician would hold more water than someone saying they had played football with my son.
This young man has put his life on hold with the belief he would be able to serve his country. Only to be dashed by the Surgeon General? I would challenge you to find another who is more patriotic and loves this country more than my son. My father served in WWII and the Korean War, and his uncles served in Vietnam. It is family tradition to serve and protect our country.
My youngest son just graduated college in May 2004 with a teaching degree in History. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in June, 2005, is currently stationed at Ft. Campbell and will be deploying to Iraq in May. He enlisted for the same reasons my son Dustin enlisted … to serve and protect. He is as disappointed, perhaps more so than I, in the decision of the U.S. Army Surgeon General not to let his brother re-enlist. It has been their dream to serve together as brothers in the name of Freedom.
A fact that bothers me is that U.S. Army troops are currently being “stop-lossed†and are doing second and third deployments to the Middle East. In light of the Surgeon General’s refusal to permit Dustin to re-enlist, this makes no sense to us.. Our country is seeking 30,000 new troops, yet young men are being turned away. I do not understand this. I do not understand why and how this happened, and seek your help in arriving at a suitable answer. I will gladly provide documentation from Dustin’s surgeon that says he is fit to serve; I will even get additional medical opinions documented, if necessary.
All my son wants is the chance to serve and protect our freedom and our country, and as his mother I have no choice but to support him in his noble effort. I cannot accept this as a final decision. Not without an explanation of why this decision was made.
To quote from a recent Associated Press release:
WASHINGTON - The Army expects to miss its recruiting goals this month and next and is working on a revised sales pitch appealing to the patriotism of parents, Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey said Wednesday. "I'm clearly not going to give up," Harvey said. "At this stage we still have six months to go" before the recruiting year ends Sept. 30. "I've challenged our human resource people to get as innovative as they can. And even as we speak we've got a number of new ideas."
One of those new approaches is designed to persuade more parents to steer their children to the Army.
"We're going to appeal to patriotism," he said.
That might be done through a new advertising campaign, he said. He also is encouraging more members of Congress as well as senior Army leaders and Army boosters to spend time in local communities touting the benefits of military service.â€
I have taught my children to live and to believe their highest purpose is to serve and protect their country. There is no need to make further appeal to our patriotism.
I appeal to you for a second chance for my son
Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you. I enclose a letter I wrote to The Army Review Board, along with the letter from his physician. I will also at any time acquire and forward whatever documentation you may need to follow up with this matter.
Most sincerely and most hopefully,
CC President George W. Bush
CC Vice President Richard Cheney
CC Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
CC Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey
CC Congresswoman Melissa Bean