By Patricia L Johnson

MSNBC ran a story from washingtonpost.com about James Michael Helms, a civilian employee of the U.S. Army as follows:   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19946071/

Helms, a civilian counterintelligence expert, went to Iraq where he lived and worked with the U.S. Military.  On June 16, 2004 Helms suffered shrapnel wounds to his left arm and traumatic brain injury when a bomb hit his Humvee.

Upon his return to the states he was denied care at Walter Reed and other military hospitals due to his civilian status.

However, as a civilian, Helms has workers’ compensation insurance through his employer, the U.S. Government, and did receive medical treatment through civilian providers.

Due to his civilian status, he was also paid differently than members of the U.S. Military, receiving a 70 percent increase over his regular pay, plus overtime while in the war zone.   Unlike members of the U.S. Military, civilian employees can refuse to deploy to a war zone.

The article makes it appear as if this gentlemen is somehow getting the shaft, because he’s not eligible for medical care at facilities set aside for our military and former military.

Maybe I’m missing something, but it seems pretty clear to me – if you want to a member of the military and receive free medical care, quit your job and enlist in a branch of the service. 

If you want to play war games and receive big bucks for doing so, then work as a civilian employee; but don’t whine when it’s over and done with and you have to shell out some bucks for medical treatment for your wounds.

You weren’t forced to go, you volunteered.