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Subscribe to RSSThe parents of a U.S. soldier who died from rabies after being bitten by a dog in Afghanistan are accusing the Army of “criminal negligence” in his death, the Army Times reported Wednesday.
A military investigation concluded that even though Spc. Kevin Shumaker had reported the dog bite to a veterinarian and on a post-deployment health form, he was ultimately responsible for not telling his superiors.
Shumaker’s death is the first fatal case of rabies in the U.S. military since the Vietnam War, officials have said.
Marine makes last stand in foreclosed home
Shumaker, of Livermore, Calif., was 24 when he died on Aug. 21, 2011, in a New York hospital of the preventable and treatable disease. His death occurred eight months after the dog bite in Afghanistan, according to a military investigation. The results of the investigation have been reported in both the Army Times and Stars & Stripes.
Although Shumaker told them of the bite, military health officials did not make sure he was treated properly for the virus, according to the report. He told his parents that he was treated for rabies at the base but said the series of injections he needed was not completed because some of the medication had expired.
The military probe placed most of the blame on Shumaker and his command for ignoring general military orders, called General Order-1B, which forbids pets or mascots.
“The principal contributing factors to SPC Shumaker contracting rabies are the Command’s lack of enforcement of GO-1B, SPC Shumaker’s non-adherence to GO-1B and Shumaker’s failure to seek prompt medical treatment, and no treatment was given,” the report, a copy of which was obtained by Stars & Stripes, said. The report was dated October 2011 but was not given to the Taylors until mid-January.
Now, Shumaker’s mother and stepfather, Elaine and David Taylor, say Army officials should be held accountable for the death.
“If you ask me as a mom what I would like to see, it’s accountability for the people who were neglectful, who caused Kevin’s death,” Elaine Taylor told the Army Times. “You can’t take Kev away from me and allow the chain of command, who was responsible for Kevin, to go on and live happily; nothing happens to them.”
It was unclear if the Taylors were pursuing legal action or another form accountability from the military. The Taylors could not be immediately reached by msnbc.com for comment.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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It seems from this story that the dog was the soldiers own pet, which is against regulations. His death is certainly tragic, but if this is true, then he is responsible for this in the first place.
He did ignore regulations. But it shouldn't have been a death sentence.
No...this is a rather typical example of Dept. of the Army "trying" to cover their collective a$$es. As I read the story, he reported it to a veterinary officer; that should have been enough to trigger the proper command response. The article also stated the treatment had been initiated, then discontinued due to expired meds...really? So, in your mind because the soldier disregarded a regulation that has historically been disregarded throughout history, he is to blame and the Army command should be held harmless. Then I suggest you vote for Santorum...no wait, he wants to take birth control responsibility away from American Women and have his theocracy decide their fate.
No, the military is responsible. They are responsible for the health of our boys, and if they can't do that they failed in their responsibility. We can't keep excusing irresponsible ignorance and then claim to be so much better than it as a society, now can we? A little blood in the water will make them wake up and start taking care of our soldiers more, here's rooting for the parents :) because I refuse to be a brown nose sycophant because the word military shows up and you all should strive to do the same.
Keep in mind this was a grown adult. If you were bit by a dog that could have rabies would you not take the time to make sure you got rabies shots? I'm sorry but the responsibly lies with the soldier.
I think there's proportionate blame. The majority of blame lies with the army medical branch. The soldier brought the matter to their attention and they reacted by initiating a series of injections. Then if the medication was "out of date", they should have requisitioned fresh supplies and continued the injections. If the medication was out of date and no longer effective then they are solely to blame. As the story reads the soldier was guilty of keeping a pet. I can see logic in this but expect it is a rule frequently broken. I'm sure some keep all sorts of living creatures as pets....monkeys, insects, reptiles. There are probably cats around to fend off rodents and maybe dogs for the same purpose. It seems when you sign up with the military, you forfeit many civil liberties which ordinary citizens enjoy. This case will eventually be settled monetarily but only after prolonged and protracted litigation. I think Pat Tillman's mom is still pursuing the powers that be about her son's friendly fire matter.
Using your logic it is not necessary to check a grown adults feet and make sure that they change their socks on regular basis, but we still do it.
So, Skup using that analogy if the soldier was wounded by a bullet he should make sure that the antibiotics that are used in follow-up treatment are up to date and not expired. Sorry Charlie, this incident was reported and he was being treated. Turns out the drugs were beyond their effectiveness date and that info and the follow-up got lost in the shuffle. This soldier deserved better than that...
The veterinarian whom he reported the bite to had an obligation to follow up aggressively on the bite, report it and all that stuff. You can't expect a 24-year-old soldier untrained in animal science to understand fully the implications of a dog bite necessarily. He was most likely worried about a surface infection in a place where the feces actually dry up and turn into dust in the air, not about a rabies infection. If the vet didn't express urgency, he probably assumed everything was fine, especially given that he probably had greater concerns about stuff like, I dunno, getting shot and blown up.
As someone who has researched rabies extensively as a lay person due to my lifelong involvement with dogs, I have ceased to be shocked by the ignorance of the average person about the disease. It's so rare in the U.S. among domestic animals, that most people don't realize exactly how serious it is or how it's even transmitted (saliva, not necessarily just bites).
Homesick, you're wrong, he didn't own the dog. Read the article the story links to and you would find that, "Shumaker was bitten when he broke up a fight between a dog that soldiers kept on the outpost and a feral dog, he told his parents."
This kid did no wrong, and he died a horrible death. My heart goes out to his family.
The first thing that happens in most unprovoked dog bite case's is that after the bite is reported they impound the dog and test it right off the rip to determine whether it is rabid or not while at the same time administering the rabies vaccination. So let me get this straighht. He reports the bite they treat him with inadequate medication and where is the dog all this time? Did they not go find the dog to insure that it didn't have rabies and wasn't going around biting other soldiers? Yet they want to blame the soldier? What a croc! Who ever this supposed doctor was ought to be drummed right out of the military along with any body else on that staff who let a nearly century old protocal for dealing with potential rabid animals go without a second thought to the consequences of other soldiers and base personel.
Skup: How exactly would you propose that someone in a warzone "make sure" to get the proper treatment when the only source of that treatment had expired medicine?
It stinks he died, but really, if he was bitten he should have sought medical attention. If the medicine was expired, then he has the responsibility of saying something. I don't know what his mother thinks people are to do, run behind this kid and ask him every minute of the day if he is taking care of himself? Someone said about the negligence in the US for this disease, I believe that. We are very nonchalant about allot of things here because we are vaccinated and we make sure that animals are vaccinated as well. As a retired Army veteran, I know the leadership feels like crap about this, but what else can you do to them. If the kid didn't think much of the situation and didn't follow up, it could have been anything that would have taken him.
I think that Blackbird hit the salient point exactly: This kid would be alive had they used the proper medication, and that is the primary cause of death.
it the same in the military or in the states if you mess with a dog and get bit its your fault you got bit but if you go to the doctor and he does not do what he's supposed to then its his fault if you die of the rabies
@Mike S.-2262427
Had the Army injected him with rabies as punishment for violating regulations, your statement would have merit, as would the parents blaming the Army.
As it is, he should have raised Cain about the bite and demanded to see a Dr. Every time I was injured while I was in the USAF, I immediately went and got myself checked out and had the injury documented.
Everyone in the military knows that injuries often return later in life and having that documentation is not only helpful for your Dr. it also helps when dealing with the VA.
It is a tragedy that he died from a totally preventable disease, but he allowed that disease to get close enough to him to get to him.
"... would you not take the time to make sure you got rabies shots?"
He did, but received inappropriate care and had no course of appeal.
Irrespective of the cause, and we have yet to hear Army define 'keeping' a pet, proper medical procedure wasn't followed, (thus unavailable to any random bite victim) and as the last controllable link in the chain, and was the cause of death.
Where in this article does it say the dog was his "pet". Do we assume that all dogs are military pets and not wild or belong to the people of the region? The veterinarian should be held responsible for not having a current medical stock, and sounds like the vet didn't follow the chain of command either. And yes, I must agree this is the way the military covers their a$$es, to make sure it's the recruits' fault for his illness and death. His parents should be alarmed....this type of thing happens more often than not.
It's not only in the Army, but the Navy and Air Force and Marines. It happens and not all incidents have parents who will go public about the treatment of their children while in the military.
My nephew was in the Navy, had worked his way up to being looked at by Spec Ops. and Seals. His command him and several others out on an undercover operation from ship into N. Korea. Upon his return to the ship, they insisted then that he needed a "yellow fever" injection. When he told them he'd had all his innoculations, they insisted that he had to have this one. After a week in a coma, they life-flighted him to Hawaii and the hospital there. Sent for his parents as they didn't feel he was going to make it. After 3+ weeks in a coma, he woke up. With all the reports done and what he has learned is that he and his fellow ops were injected with "bird flu". Two, and maybe 3 died, and my nephew is still recovering, after 3 years. He's spent so much time in rehab, they wouldn't call him a sailor anymore. The Navy "lost" all his medical records from the ship, including his clothing, personal items he had at his locker and bunk. They felt when he left the ship on that life-flight, he wouldn't survive anyway, so they apparently burned or chucked overboard all his property. After returning to the States, they wouldn't let him back on a ship until the last 6 months he was in. He resigned last July after almost 15 yrs and he's still not able to get his military disability, etc. So, there are some things the military should be held responsible for!
Skup
IS AN A$$$$$$$$$$
BULL@!$%#.
There's your problem. You were in the Air Force.
There is a world of difference between how the Air Force handles things and how the Army does it.
The Air Force takes great care of their Airmen. The Army doesn't give a crap; aside from that, there are major differences in how the chain of command communicates in the Army from how the USAF does.
He did get the injury documented.
He did inform Army medical when the bite happened.
After that, everybody from the chain of command who he reported the injury to is responsible.
All Post medical staff have jurisdiction over every soldier's health. If you cut yourself on a piece of rusty metal, you don't go whining to your C.O. You tell somebody in medical.
They dropped the ball.
Every soldier's medical history is reviewed before they go anywhere. He told them before he left, he told them when the bite happened.
Having served in the Army, I can tell you from experience that this is just another case of the Army brass weaseling out of accountability for their treatment of an enlisted soldier.
Classic Army B.S.
All these arm-chair warriors who never served a day, saying crap about this being the fault of this young soldier, have no idea what they are talking about.
The words: Half-assed, off-the-books, and "Regulations? What Regulations?" come to mind.
Man, if I had a dime for every breech of trust and good faith from Army leadership I witnessed while I was in, I'd have been able to put a down-payment on a private island before I got out of Basic Training.
It is the medical community's job to thoroughly test, treat, and educate this young man. They did a terrible job on educating him on the dangers of rabies. They are supposed to be the "medical experts" not this young soldier. They are just trying to "weasel" out of their responsibilities.
I had a cousin who died from strep throat at the age of 40 because his "brilliant doctor" told him he just had the flu. He left behind a wife and two little girls.
If these strutting peacocks "doctors" want their status, then let them earn it. Doctors are the third leading cause of death in America. People should work hard to educate themselves and be very proactive when it comes to their health. Who else will really care more about your health than you?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/07/30/doctors-death-part-one.aspx
One dime is not enough for a downpayment. Lately everybody is a veteran. And that's not all. suddenly all those Vietnam veterans are "Rambos" as if they did NOT lose the war. Get real in no other war have GI's killed so many of their own officers, called it "frag 'em baby". Best hide under a rock and keep unnoticed.
Another article leaving a lot to be desired in the form of complete information. The medical community has a responsibility to ensure anyone bitten by a mammal is aware of the possibility of rabies. Ultimately though, it is the young man's responsibility to make sure he receives treatment. Had this been an immediate life threatening injury, he would not have been able to leave the hospital/clinic until he had received appropriate treatment. A basic dog bite is not normally considered life threatening. The soldier needs to get himself in for treatment and if said treatment is not available locally, he needs to make his command aware of the situation and that he need to get to a facility with the proper meds and equipment. Unless his life is in immediate danger, it is not the doctor's responsibility to make the necessary arrangements to get this soldier to the required treatment, it is the soldier's command that must do that. As for the meds being expired, field medical facilities are not required, nor do they have the times and space, to keep every possible medication.
I spent 35 years in the Navy. I learned, early on, that much of maintaining my health depended on me.
Uh, no. It's the responsibility of the medical staff to check expiration dates on medications. This soldier wasn't taking pills. He was being given injections. He would not have known the medication had expired.
Like a chain reaction wreck, first one rule was broken, then another, and another; another Darwin award.
He had until symptoms showed to possibly get cured from the rabies bite. He came back to the states and months later showed symptoms. Too late at that point. Records show he didn't seek treatment at his post or when he got back till he had symptoms. He ignored the regulations and is now a poster boy for why we get our animals vaccinated against rabies. His parents are the new generation of Americans that can't accept any blame and must at all cost find some one else responsible for their sons death. I can understand their pain but he ultimately chose not to seek out rabies treatment. Where I live we have always taken it seriously and keep vaccines on hand.
I remember all through school since Kinder-garden of being taught about rabies so again was their son asleep at school? did they not teach him about rabies? or maybe he was taught about needles longer then the family car being inserted into your stomach should you get bit by an animal that scared him into not saying anything about it into adulthood? but hey its the chain of commands and governments fault right? lol sure it is.
Sorry, he reported a bite from a feral dog. Now, the military should have done a complete follow-up with rabies treatment, regardless of anything else. ESPECIALLY in a foreign country where rabies vaccination is unknown. As a soldier he was in the care of the Army, they fed him, housed him, clothed him and they damn well should have treated him! This is unconscionable. Note as well how they are attempting to pass the buck, why have a veterinarian in Afghanistan in the first place????
Just another example of the stellar medical care our military receives from sub-standard medical personnel. He reported it, saw a doctor, who DID NOT folloe up on the required treatment. It's negligence, very simply. The army, navy, marines, and air force just don't give a $h1t when it comes to following up on medical care. Thank the Lord I didn't stay in for 20.
There are a lot of Veteran's in this country especially from the Vietnam War and the remainder of the Cold War! A lot of those Vietnam vets were drafted into a thankless war! Thanks to the Democrats and LBJ!
I dare you to repeat your statement face to face to a Vietnam Combat Veteran! You should know about being under a rock because you are a snake! The US military actually never lost a battle but LBJ worrying about Walter Cronkite and other leftist media types caved into so called public opinion and started the negotiation process with North Vietnam! Nixon inherited that DEMOCRATIC DEBACLE and eventually withdrew the troops! How could you win a war when you based your progress on body counts! I never met any 'Nam vets who considered themselves to be Rambos! Most of them were glad they survived a politically made debacle and being thrown to the wolves by the US especially the citizens! Did you or have you served in the US military? If you have not served in the military go hide under your covers! Vietnam was started by a false flag operation in the Gulf of Tonkin by LBJ and the Democrats! It was a DEMOCRAT's fiasco! You should be glad you weren't in the Nam it wasn't a joy ride! A lot of the NCO's and Officers were fragged by disciplinary "problem children" who were being busted for drug offenses and other criminal activity! They were too busy getting high to fight the war!
Now I was an Air Force "Brat" and I am an Army veteran. I received good medical care from the Air Force and the US Army. Rabies is the last disease I would think of in a combat zone! Who is to blame?
SPC Shumaker and the Chain of Command are both responsible for his death!
“The principal contributing factors to SPC Shumaker contracting rabies are the Command’s lack of enforcement of GO-1B, SPC Shumaker’s non-adherence to GO-1B and Shumaker’s failure to seek prompt medical treatment, and no treatment was given,” the report, a copy of which was obtained by Stars & Stripes, said. The report was dated October 2011 but was not given to the Taylors until mid-January.
Surely they could have sent him to Germany for treatment or had the proper drugs shipped to the post. It's a tragic chain of events!
From the Internet US Army Medical Department 2011:
The US Army Veterinary Corps' mission is to protect the Warfighter and support the National Military Strategy. We accomplish this by providing veterinary public health capabilities through veterinary medical and surgical care, food safety and defense, and biomedical research and development. In addition, Veterinary Corps Officers provide military veterinary expertise in response to natural disasters and other emergencies.
We are an integral part of an Army Medical Department at war, supporting a Nation at war. Everything we do ultimately focuses on the Warfighter- the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. The US Army Veterinary Corps provides food safety and security inspections for all of the Armed Services. We also are responsible for providing care to Military Working Dogs, ceremonial horses, working animals of many Department of Homeland Security organizations, and pets owned by service members. We are an essential component of the military medical research team, contributing our skills in the development of life saving medical products that protect all service members.
An approximate total of 700 Army veterinarians are serving on Active duty and in the Reserve Components.
Thanks for an informative post! I had no idea the responsibilities of a military veterinarian. It's really impressive. It must be very interesting work.
I agree with your assessment of the VietNam War. And your views on how the returning soldiers were treated. That was shameful. I wonder if the United States will ever live that down. I'm glad to see the support soldiers of more recent wars have received.
I'll have to side with the parents after what happened to my husband; he suffered a potentially fatal attack of pancreatitis in Iraq and was left lying on the floor screaming in pain for about 9 hours before being told he was "dehydrated" and sent back to work.
Robert left out one important fact. Those 700 Army veterinarians not only provide their services to the Army, they provide the same services for the Navy, Marines and Air Force. None of the other services have veterinarians.
How can this happen?
The army started treatment but didn't finish it due to the drugs expiring?
How is this the soldiers fault?
I can understand if he didn't report it, but if treatment was started it must have been reported, why was it not completed?
I find plenty of fault here and not with the soldier.
This is 2012. Any death in our army from rabies in 2012, should never ever ever ever be something that anyone can defend. This is a large group of people. We have policies and protocols that ensure that this type of thing won't happen. This is absolutely indefensible.
What we also have to realize is that they are in the middle of a foreign country. They had limited doses of the vaccine. The reason that is, is because we are at war in a foreign country And they have rules against keeping dogs. They are not expecting to have to treat a lot of dog bites. They are more worried about treating bullet wounds. So that is why they only had a limited amount of the vaccine and was expired.
I am also curious as to why when he got back to the states he did not go to a private Dr to have this taken care of? There are a lot of unanswered questions here. I hate that MSN does not report the whole story. It is sad that this happened in this day and age. We have to remember though as children we are taught that rules are there for a reason. Yes, maybe this rule (Not keeping Dogs) was over looked by many, but it was there to protect our men and women who serve. In foreign countries, they do not have the same laws about get animals vaccinated. And that is why that rule is in place. We can not pick and choose what rules we follow, as we see with what happened here.
Oh, and remember that the politicians have cut & continue to cut the funding for the Military!! So you really want to blame someone how about the people that send our Men & Woman to WAR and then cut their funding from out from under neath them.
US NAVY WIFE
That's bunk. Rules against keeping dogs or not, there is an expectation that you can get bitten by animals anywhere. You don't have to be keeping a dog to be bitten by one. Keep in mind that he died 8 months after the bite. With rabies, it is common for the disease to take months to show ANY symptoms and initial symptoms are somewhat like the flu so it is not surprising that he did not immediately associate the symptoms with the bite. By the time more severe symptoms show up, it is usually too late to do anything. While they may have had limited or expired vaccine on hand, even units in isolated outposts receive regular supply runs.
He reported this dog bite to medical personnel and they obviously did not express sufficient concern or take appropriate action. Unless he had medical training, why should he have been more concerned than they???
I have a strong feeling there is much more to this story, as with any news report.
Any young person knows about rabies, and if he knew the treatments had not been completed, I'm at a loss as to why he didn't continue or seek treatment after he was back here in the States. There's something missing here, for sure.
After 8 months i doubt anyone would have been overly concerned about contracting rabies unless they were trained or versed in medicine and were aware of the differening gestation periods of that particular disease. Besides that, its not as if he didn't go for treatment after the bite and was eventually dismissed with apparently no clear and concerned instructions from the medical staff to follow up imediately on their own inadequate treatments. Plus he was a young soldier stationed in a war torn region and likely had daily worries and fears far more imposing to his mind than a dog bite that no one else (and most importantly the medical staff) seemed particularly concerned about . Its easy to say that it was ultimately his responsibility to care for himself and thus his fault for not following up on treatment...but if he could not trust the medical staff on that base who surely had succesfully treated far more grievous wounds than a nip on the hand from a dog, then who should he have trusted? His own medical inexperience?
And to say that ultimately his death was his own fault for not following regulations in having an unauthorized pet despite the fact that he went for treatment...is tatamount to saying it was the childs fault for petting a dog on the side walk after they died from rabies despite the fact they went for and were inadequately treated at the county hospital. It is a completely baseless argument! The fact of the matter is there are protocols for treating dog bites in areas were rabies is present and these protocols have saved tens of thousands of lives over the decades and these protocols were not followed! Had they been, regardless of whether the dog was an authorized pet or not the kid would still be alive!
How asinine. I have a friend who was in the Peace Corps, and she was automatically vaccinated against rabies when they sent her to the Philippines. Rabies is a threat in pretty much any Third-World country. I don't understand why soldiers going to Afghanistan wouldn't be vaccinated against it as part of standard procedure.
rabies is a threat anywhere...
doyourhomework
It is a threat everywhere. But the meds needed to treat it aren't exactly abundant in 3rd world countries.
Simple, the rabies shot series costs $3200 per soldier. It would cost billions to vaccinate every soldier, and the threat is very small. Cheaper to treat the soldier after an exposure, since so few are exposed. In this case, they failed to do that.
@OldSarge, still, I find it ridiculous that the Peace Corps vaccinates EVERY person who goes to certain (if not all) spots, while the US military can't find it in their budget to do so. Billions isn't really that much in the context of the total US government's budget when we're talking about the safety of US soldiers. The reason the Peace Corps vaccinates everyone is the same reason this guy died - if they do get bitten, there's no guarantee that the appropriate antidote will be on hand.
And the risk of infection wouldn't be that small, would it? From what I've read, Afghanistan is chock-full of stray and often hostile dogs. A guy I knew stationed there said they were everywhere and even claims one ate a pair of his boots.
And I also find it ridiculous that the medical crew didn't do aggressive follow up. When my father was bitten by a dog (certainly less of a threat here than in Afghanistan), the follow-up was pretty intensive.
What Old Sarge is referring to is a series of shots administered after being bitten. A vaccination against rabies prior to being bit is more on the same level as vaccinations for dogs, which is $16.00 per vaccination at most low cost clinics, I don't expect it would cost much more to vaccinate a human as a precaution prior to being bit, as most vaccines and human medicines and vaccines are tested on animals such as dogs before going into human clinical testing and approval. $3,200.00, would more likely be the cost of treating a rabies victim after the bite.
It is due that the politicians have been cutting the military funding. So the Military has to put the money were it is of most use. I am sorry he died, but I don't think we have the whole story. We don't have a lot of service men getting rabies. So I understand this vaccine is not a priority. It is sad, but true.
Put the blame where blame is due...The Politicians!!
That's a good point.
Considering the rarity of deaths caused by rabies, there might be a greater chance of death from a reaction the the vaccine than getting bitten by a rabid animal then going untreated. All medical proceedures have risks.
While I was in the Air Force back in 72, I was bitten by a snake, while on manuvers in the desert. Well, after three days of excruciating pain that snake died.
I was bit by a spider while stationed in Greece, I killed the spider, sorry PETA!
Tragedy, everyone shares some of the blame. I told my parents before I was married and my wife if I died to just take the insurance money, forget about me and go on with your life.
Such ridiculous comments as these defame the memory and suffering of a serviceman.
Army trying to SAVE MONEY
Typical Army cover-it's-ass mentality. Returning service members don't get treated like we did back in Viet Nam, but the Army hasn't changed one bit.
Anyone remember the Walter Reed debacle? Guess it was the patient's fault that they got wounded in Iraq/Afghanistan and the good-ole Army was forced to put them up somewhere.
I was wounded in Iraq. I got excellent treatment all the way up the line from the field to the theatre hospital in Balad, to Landstuhl, Germany. It wasn't until I arrived at Walter Reed that I started to be treated like crap. The personnel there acted like I was a bother to them, and that they wished that I would go away.
Old Sarge,
I am terribly sorry that you were treated badly back here in the states. As a veteran myself, it rankles me that there is so much complacency with the staff at most stateside military hospitals. They would be better served to remember that "all gave some, some gave all."
Back when the fan got broken, the condition of Walter Reed was nothing more than a political and public relations football the media and politicians could kick around. Seen it lately folks? Would you be suprised now to learn that nothing has changed there?
This unfortunate, horrible death rest clearly with the US Army's CYA mantality, administrative boondoggle, lack of follow up and not putting the proper priority on this young man's health.
Read the other articles. An officer whose main job is public health within the Army "suggested" he report it. That was her job and you don't "suggest." Soldiers often do dumb things, it is up to the leaders to make them do what they are supposed to do.
Guess that veterinarian never saw the brochure before she signed up.
In addition to the above it was not his dog it was a "base dog," he broke up a dog fight.
Isn't it obvious that he reported it? If the treatments were started and never finished? Expired medicine? we have become Third World.
This does stink of complete foolishness. As a Senior NCO, if I'm made aware of say a suicidal individual, I'm conditioned to immediately ensure that the individual gets care. I do not leave him/her until the individual is in the care of trained mental health professionals or in the charge of capable leadership that will affect the same end. Everything else on my agenda becomes secondary.
A potentially life threatening illness should be treated the same. I would argue medical personnel dropped the ball here somewhere. Fly the meds in or fly the patient to the meds! I bet it would have been different had it been Anthrax instead of rabies...
Old Sarge - glad you had pleasant experience in Balad considering the circumstances...I worked at Balad receiving patients from throughout Iraq and loading them on transports to Germany. It was an impressive and rewarding experience for me to witness/participate in the theatre medical evacuation process.
While I deeply sympathize with this soldier's family, they can't really blame the Army for something that was 100% preventable. I know many soldiers "adopt" dogs while in country in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but those dogs are probably not vaccinated and pose a health hazard that most soldiers chose to ignore. It looks like there was a failure to follow through not only on his part, but on the part of his command, but they are right that it's ultimately his responsibility to follow up on treatment(s) by requesting through the command that the necessary follow up be done. I don't know what all the soldiers are vaccinated against, when my son deployed to Iraq he got a boatload of shots, mostly boosters for what he'd received before his previous deployment, including some I'd never heard of for diseases that are common to that region - I doubt that rabies prevention was one of them though.
I had no idea rabies took so long to cause death. They didn't get proper medication in eight month? I don't understand why fresh medication wasn't obtained as soon as they knew the other was expired. I worked for the Army at Walter Reed and someone's head would have rolled if the drugs were out of date. Having the dog may have been against regulations, but he didn't have to pay the ultimate price for it. Make sure he gets proper treatment, THEN give him the reprimand for owning the dog.
Rabies treatments need to occur shortly after the actual bite, but it can take months to manifest. I believe in one case, the virus actually gestated for nearly 20 years before it manifested. That's basically unheard of though - a strictly one-time occurrence.
Since he reported it, it was the duty of the military to treat him for rabies. No "ooops, the medication is out of date" doesn't fly, it's their job to get him the correct medication and finalize the treatment.
The army and the vet are the ones who let this young man down, and instead of owning up to the problem, they as usual are blaming the soldier. I hope that this young man's family makes a bundle from the army for their incorrect actions!
I can't say it any better than what you just did. BTW thank you for your service.
Our good ole government is just passing the buck back and forth on this one, The man served his country and when it counted most (needing good medical care) they go and drop the ball and it caused this man to lose his life. Now they blame him! whats wrong with that picture?
Even if he broke the rules in some way that's still no excuse for him to lose his life over something that was treatable. Thy should have treated him properly and then if it was such a big deal about having a pet, deal with that issue. But then again that's just me using "Common Sense".
GET REAL, this is so wrong... I hope the parents can find someone responsible for this but dough it with how its been handled so far.
...meanwhile Chris Christie's flags fly at half mast in NJ for Whitney Houston after her apparent drug induced death in Beverly Hills and Bloomburg in NY throws a ticker tape parade for the Giants after their recent unexpected success running and throwing an oblong leather ball.
At least we learned something from Vietnam.
Oh yes, and to all of you currently calling for military action in Syria and Iran...kudos to you good sirs for mastering the time honored practice of "Zen in the Art of Warmongering".
Bush's legacy....rabies.
lets see if kristieeeee (fat a$$$$$) lowers the flag
The Army had a responsiblity to save this man's life. Utter disregard and negligence seem to be the SOP.
Feeding a stray certainly shouldn't have cost him his life.
The military gave this poor soldier expired vaccinations!!! They didn't bother to properly treat him. This is an outrage.
In the eight months he never sought follow up treatment? This is very messed up case of reporting. Incomplete and inadequate. How about all the details and a decent time line. When did he return to the US might help.
The Commanding Officer is ultimately responsible for every man and woman under his/her command. The DOD is responsible and should be held accountable for such a preventable death. At the most the soldier would have received Article 15 punishment for violating the UCMJ and disobeying his GO, but his blood and ultimate death should be the direct responsibility of the Commanding Officer, period. There is no hindsight is 20/20 or Lessons Learned package to be created, we're talking about a human life that was destroyed by an incompetent chain of command.
I was treated for rabies due to a monkey bite in 1966,then we got a bunch of shots in the tummy.I guess the army has changed some I went to the doctor to get my thumb bandaged,he asked how I got the injury,and the next thing I knew for sure was I was in the hospital getting needles in my tummy.BTW they told us after the shots that the shots were only about 70% effective.That was reassuring after all those shots. Once the treatment was started I think the doctors should make sure that it was completed
sad, sometimes young people do not understand the gravity of
being bitten by a warm blooded animal. Usually if its a pet it will be
checked and maybe isolated. If it was a wild animal and not caught we would probably use the proper vaccine. This incident should have had followup by him and med staff. really sad.
If the Soldier hadn't been over seas perhaps he wouldn't have been bitten.
Everyone of you can 'what if' this situation till your blue in the face with frustration. If the Soldier had this... If the Soldier's command had done that... If the Vet this... and on and on.
Everyone one of you are all hacks sitting behind the safe cover of a keyboard and the comfortable glow of a flat screen monitor. This Soldier volunteered for hazardous duty and accepted the consequences of his decisions like so many others before him.
You should honor this Soldier's sacrifice instead of bickering and finger pointing as if this loss was pointless.
As if this was the only tragedy of war.
You make perfect sense......
So was this dog a stray that just wandered in, bit someone, and then ran off? If not, how could anyone else who saw that dog not realize there was something wrong with it. Having been bit by a rabid stray puppy years ago, I can tell you that a rabid animal doesn't act "normal". They are insanely vicious, biting even inanimate objects, and look and act like a creature in a horror movie. And if the dog was around other soldiers, did they get rabies shots, too? A person doesn't have to be bit to get rabies, they can contract it from the saliva alone. And the soldier that died was being given expired rabies shots? What kind of craziness is that? It's unbelievable. Sure, you can eat a bag of potato chips that's expired, but someone being given shots that can make the difference between life and death? Unbelievable, it looks like our honored military personnel get to have the expired crap that somebody else would toss out into the trash. How horrifying. This is a death that could have been prevented.
Not animals even dogs manifest rabies as "insanely vicous" varies alot. Seen some dogs and other animals appear fairly normal and still be infective with rabies......
Dr. T
I think I read some years ago that one of the forms of rabies is called "dumb rabies". I think these animals appear very dull. It's probably difficult to see if you don't know the animal and his normal behavior.
At any rate, what happened to this soldier is really tragic. I sympathize with his family for their loss. I imagine they knew something might happen to him in such a dangerous place, but the last thing they probably expected was a death from rabies. So, so sad.
I served in Iraq, and this is why we shot dogs on sight at first. Dogs run wild in that part of the world, and don't get pampered like here. The concept of pet there is much different to them...they would eat a dog in a pinch. So, to hear the Army blames a poor departed service man, who put his life on the line, draws terrible resentment from within. Shame on the US Army. I see complete blame on his chain of command. His Platoon Leader, Platoon SGT, Squad Leader, and Team leader, including his entire squad knowing about the dog bite. I was a Medic, and would have made sure this soldier was taken care of. If he had started shots, then the whole Medical core is to blame for not finishing the series. AND NO WAY, IS THIS SOLDIER TO BLAME FOR HIS OWN DEATH. WTF, ARMY ASSES!!!
Thanks for your service, Doc. Your first sentence says it all. If someone had shot the feral dog on sight it would have been a totally different story. Had it been my squad, there would have been one more dead dog and one less dead soldier.
It doesn't make any difference if it was the soldier's fault. Dying from Rabies is a horrible way to die. The Army is going to cover their butts no matter what. I mean we just can't have a high ranking officer responsible for something like this now can we? Now a poor ole enlisted man, they're collateral damage anyway. They can and will be replaced. Some officer's butt needs to be kicked for this and they should receive a General Court Martial for negligence in letting this soldier die needlessly. The Army way is to sweep everything under the rug and make sure you sweep it far enough under that nobody will find it and if they do find it, ruin them, ruin their career and if you can't do that kill them.
sorry impala. early in the infection the animal may not have had the symptoms you described.
Maybe Karma played a role in this.
maybe not
I believe after he told the veterinarian that he had been bitten by a dog he was ordered to go on sick call and report the dog bite. I had supervised a police call on a range at Fort Sill being the senior NCO I specifically gave orders not to pick up unexploded ordinance or snakes and any other wild life, and yet had a troop try and capture a snake and got bit and it wasn't him that told me it was another troop who happen to see it, and quickly got him to the hospital and it was determined not to be poisonous but he still recieved a field grade Article 15 for disobeying a lawful order. If it wasn't for that E-4 telling me I would have never known because that troop had no intentions of telling me. So before you go and blame the Army or his chain of command make sure you have the full story concerning this incident. I'm quite sure there is an SOP in his unit concerning the handling of animals in the area and what steps you must do if bitten by an animal. I don't believe a veterinarian doctor would blow off a dog bite by a local animal and not order that troop to go to the medical aid station.
from one SRNCO to another, you're right, the facts aren't that clear. However, I think it can be determined by the way they claim he broke this general order that this dog was a pet. I'm confident, this pet served to help some of the soldiers cope. Dogs are pets most times and if the dog seemed friendly enough, an unsupervised soldier might adopt such a pet to help deal with the stress around them--as will his peers.
Take that a step further, I suspect some other leaders knew about this dog and they too understood the value of letting the soldier keep the dog to outweigh the risks of some general order. Their has to be some sort of reasoning when dealing with general orders, not all are so cut and dry.
At the end of the day however, when you look to blame anyone, partial blame absolutely goes to the soldier but culpability goes to the leaders, the vet included.
Completely concur........