Remove the Red Crosses and Arm the MEDEVACs

Simple enough. Straightforward enough. But the military leaders have refused to honestly address the underlying issue, so we are turning to President Obama and Secretary of Defense Panetta:

Do the right thing

Remove the Red Crosses and Arm the MEDEVACs.

We are the Red Air Citizens Advisory Committee presenting the collective voice of citizens – civilians, veterans and active duty military here and deployed abroad – asking our senior government officials to act now to save the lives of wounded American troops in Afghanistan.

The death of SPC Chazray Clark in Afghanistan in September, 2011 brought to the surface facts about a MEDEVAC system that is broken. The brave soldiers performing the MEDEVAC missions receive our highest admiration and thanks for a job well done. The same appreciation is extended to the committed doctors and nurses, orderlies and staff of the medical treatment facilities who prove the best in care to the wounded.

We do not appreciate the failed military leadership that defends policies and practices that clearly fail some of our wounded troops in their moments of greatest need. Official responses to this situation delivered to the Congress and to the public have been less than entirely honest and represent a dogged determination to hinder or stop any investigation of the policies and practices so in need of reform.

So, after months of working to get military leaders to work with Congress and concerned citizens to improve the MEDEVAC services and months of obstinate refusals by them to join forces with us we appeal to President Obama and Secretary of Defense Panetta to intervene and order the cooperation of the military.

This web site provides the proof that all the arguments against making changes put forth by the military leadership fall apart under severe scrutiny. They are all diversions and red herrings. At the end of the day men are dying unnecessarily because of internal political wrangling within the U.S. Army. It is intolerable that this state of affairs should last another day.

Our commitment is to those brave men and women who volunteered to serve our nation in a time of war. Our commitment is to do everything in our power to see that policies and practices that impede or weaken the Army’s ability to provide them with the fastest possible life saving rescue are changed.

As a nation, it is our duty to do this for our warriors.