Soldier's complaint probed

FORT DRUM — A member of Congress is investigating the post's wounded warrior unit after a soldier alleged abuses by battalion officials.

The office of Rep. Daniel B. Maffei, D-Syracuse, has received a complaint from a constituent and is seeking information from the 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry, Warrior Transition Unit, spokeswoman Abigail Gardner said.

The battalion provides medical care and social casework to soldiers who cannot be part of their original unit because of medical conditions.

A copy of the letter to the congressman was posted on congress.org, which facilitates sending letters to public officials and also posts them, stripping any identifying information.

Soldiers have been made to complete tasks that further their injuries, are housed without heating and have had a "large portion" of their pay held by the battalion, asserts the author, claiming to be a senior noncommissioned officer with 18 years of service with an address in Williamson.

The letter only tells half a story, said Master Sgt. William J. McDonald, also a senior noncommissioned officer in the unit.

Injured soldiers carry documentation of their injuries that forbids commanders and supervisors from ordering the soldier to performing tasks that would make the injury worse, he said.

"The claim that soldiers are being required to perform duties that further their injuries is pure malarkey," Sgt. McDonald wrote in a release. "Each soldier is monitored by a nurse, case manager and closely watched by the assigned physician who attends to all medical needs."

Heat was an issue last weekend but soldiers had the option to stay in a heated room, he said.

Senior noncommissioned officers were issued keys to new barracks rooms that didn't have heat, but maintained their old rooms that were heated. He called maintenance on Monday morning and they fixed the problem.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if I notify the correct person they will address the heat issue," he said.

The same is true with pay issues, Sgt. McDonald said. The battalion maintains two finance specialists who deal with pay issues, which take time and initiative by the soldier to fix, he said.

"If you don't bring it to someone's attention, they don't know it's broken," he said. "If they don't know it's broken, they can't fix it."

Members of the unit suspect who the author of the letter was, he said.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "They're entitled to their opinion."

The letter also claims several congressional inquiries have looked into the matters with no resolution.

Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, who represents the 23rd Congressional District — which covers Fort Drum — has not received complaints about the unit, according to spokesman Sean R. Magers. Mr. Owens's staff is now working with Mr. Maffei's office. Aside from Monday's letter, Mr. Maffei's office has received complaints regarding the matter, according to spokeswoman, Ms. Gardner. She didn't release details on personnel, the unit or the situation, citing privacy concerns.

Monday's letter was also sent to President Barack Obama and U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand.

The letter's author did not respond Wednesday after the editor of congress.org forwarded an e-mail asking for comment.

ON THE NET

Congress.org: http://bit.ly/woundedwarriorletter