thedrifter
05-16-09, 07:40 AM
USMC retires Sgt. Eddie Ryan because of his disabilities
By Alexa James
Times Herald-Record
May 16, 2009 6:00 AM
ELLENVILLE — Sgt. Eddie Ryan still wants to be a Marine, but the U.S. Marine Corps doesn't want him anymore.
Ryan received a retirement certificate in the mail last week and paperwork saying he's been let go because of his disabilities.
According to the official findings of the Department of the Navy's Physical Evaluation Board — officers whom Ryan has never met — his injuries received in Iraq rendered him 100 percent disabled.
"The member has been found incompetent and unemployable," the board said.
Ryan, 25, disagrees. "Quitting isn't in my dictionary," he said Friday from his home in Ellenville.
Since being hit by "friendly" fire — machine-gun rounds from American forces to his head in April 2005 — Ryan has learned how to shave, eat and play video games with his left arm, the one with the American flag tattoo.
He's also regained his speech, and with it, the ability to stand up for himself.
"I'm working hard every day," he said. "I'm working on my legs."
Ryan can stand, with the help of a metal frame. In time, he believes he'll walk again, well enough to perform some military duties.
"My Marines need me," he said. "I want to serve."
Ryan's case raises tough questions for a nation at war.
How best can the military care for its wounded, and when is it time for the service to move on?
According to the Department of Defense, more than 34,000 U.S. service members have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan; 54 percent have returned to duty.
The rest work their way through a disability evaluation system designed to transition troops into retirement. That process dictates pay, benefits and care and attempts to resolve cases as quickly as possible.
"We don't want to keep a Marine in limbo," said Lt. Joshua Diddams, spokesman for the Marine Corps.
Service members can appeal their evaluations. Diddams said it's not unusual for wounded Marines to rail against retirement. "It's not in their nature to give up."
Ryan's parents want to meet the board members diagnosing their son. They'd introduce them to the man labeled "incompetent."
Ryan could tell them there's a mistake on his fancy new retirement certificate. It calls him a corporal.
Ryan's rank is sergeant.
ajames@th-record.com
Ellie
By Alexa James
Times Herald-Record
May 16, 2009 6:00 AM
ELLENVILLE — Sgt. Eddie Ryan still wants to be a Marine, but the U.S. Marine Corps doesn't want him anymore.
Ryan received a retirement certificate in the mail last week and paperwork saying he's been let go because of his disabilities.
According to the official findings of the Department of the Navy's Physical Evaluation Board — officers whom Ryan has never met — his injuries received in Iraq rendered him 100 percent disabled.
"The member has been found incompetent and unemployable," the board said.
Ryan, 25, disagrees. "Quitting isn't in my dictionary," he said Friday from his home in Ellenville.
Since being hit by "friendly" fire — machine-gun rounds from American forces to his head in April 2005 — Ryan has learned how to shave, eat and play video games with his left arm, the one with the American flag tattoo.
He's also regained his speech, and with it, the ability to stand up for himself.
"I'm working hard every day," he said. "I'm working on my legs."
Ryan can stand, with the help of a metal frame. In time, he believes he'll walk again, well enough to perform some military duties.
"My Marines need me," he said. "I want to serve."
Ryan's case raises tough questions for a nation at war.
How best can the military care for its wounded, and when is it time for the service to move on?
According to the Department of Defense, more than 34,000 U.S. service members have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan; 54 percent have returned to duty.
The rest work their way through a disability evaluation system designed to transition troops into retirement. That process dictates pay, benefits and care and attempts to resolve cases as quickly as possible.
"We don't want to keep a Marine in limbo," said Lt. Joshua Diddams, spokesman for the Marine Corps.
Service members can appeal their evaluations. Diddams said it's not unusual for wounded Marines to rail against retirement. "It's not in their nature to give up."
Ryan's parents want to meet the board members diagnosing their son. They'd introduce them to the man labeled "incompetent."
Ryan could tell them there's a mistake on his fancy new retirement certificate. It calls him a corporal.
Ryan's rank is sergeant.
ajames@th-record.com
Ellie