DENVER, Jan 29, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A U.S. Army sergeant was deployed to
Iraq last year in spite of osteoporosis so painful that he was heavily drugged,
The Denver Post reported.
Staff Sgt. Jack Auble's medical status was changed from permanent to temporary
disability, the report said. This month, he was assigned to an operations center
in Baghdad.
"I took Percocet, and I also took Vicodin," Auble told the newspaper. "The guy
who worked next to me ... he noticed consistent grogginess, dozing off. I
wouldn't catch something that he would say and lose track of the battle and all
of that stuff."
Auble was one of a number of soldiers allegedly sent to Iraq from several U.S.
posts, including Fort Drum, N.Y., medical profiles that were changed to allow
the deployment. In other cases, soldiers say they were unable to wear body armor
or to lift objects when they were deployed.
The Government Accountability Office is expected to release a report in February
on claims that medical records have been changed to allow deployment. The Army
has been struggling to find the soldiers it needs for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Auble has since been returned to the United States and has received a medical
discharge, the Post said.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International