Army Apologizes For "John Doe" Letters

Thousands Of Letters Sent To Families Of Fallen Soldiers Addressing Them By Generic Moniker

(AP)  The U.S. Army said Wednesday that 7,000 family members of soldiers killed in the Iraq or Afghan wars mistakenly were sent letters addressing them as "John Doe."

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., was sending a personal letter to all the families who received the improperly addressed letters as the result of a printing error, the Army said.

The 7,000 original letters were sent late last month to inform survivors about private organizations that offer gifts, programs and other assistance to families that have lost soldiers in Iraq or other countries where they are deployed for the war on terrorism.

It was sent from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command's Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Center, which issued a formal apology Wednesday.

The letters, which were printed by a contractor, were to have been automatically addressed with the specific names and addresses of survivors, said Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman. Instead, they contained the placeholder greeting - "Dear John Doe."

"It's our fault for not catching it," he said. "We are certainly sorry."

Casey's personal note to the families alluded to the fact that he lost his own father in Vietnam and it said the Army is extremely sensitive to family grief.

An apology also was being posted on the human resources Web site, Boyce said.

"There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused," Brig. Gen. Reuben D. Jones, the Army adjutant general, said in the statement to be posted.

Boyce said all the other information in the letter regarding the assistance organizations was correct.

"It is important the original intent of the letter is not lost," Jones' statement said. "The organizations mentioned are dedicated to honoring loved ones and recognizing their sacrifice and commitment."

[iphyt4u]

unacceptable, turn in your resignation now.

[barbaraf4]

This shows you the value placed on the lives of American soldiers. This is the worse thing I have ever heard.

[hermitdave]

GOSH I thought George the brave crusader personally hand wrote all those letters saying how much he and the western big oil companies thanked them for giving their sons and daughters for such a just cause.

[ms1-1-1]

This shows you the value placed on the lives of American soldiers. This is the worse thing I have ever heard.

Posted by barbaraf4

- - - -

THANK YOU !

AMEN !

This is like leaving our Vietnam POW behind... and giving notice to wifes your husbands dead , only to discover quite the opposite morons.

[mandalay-bay]

The U.S. Army said Wednesday that 7,000 family members of soldiers killed in the Iraq or Afghan wars mistakenly were sent letters addressing them as "John Doe."


Did I miss something? Did more troops and soldiers die.. Where did they comeup with 7,000?





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ewe_fools at 05:49 PM : Jan 07, 2009

I was thinking the same thing.....I thought it was somewhere slightly over 4,100?

[jizzumjim]

they''ll get it right on the next 7,000.

[ms1-1-1]

TO ALL RECIPIENTS OF SAID LETTER FILE CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT

THE CAPTAIN BUST TO PRIVATE

THE STAFF MEMBERS RESPONSIBLE BUST TO PRIVATE AND PUT ON KP DUTY FOR LIFE

PROBLEM SOLVED

[ofbyfor3]

Try those and then tell me that a John Doe letter is so fricken bad.. I know many that would trade in a heart beat.. So stop making this out like a BIG FRicken DEAL.. because it is just a little be sting compared to life as a door knocker..

Posted by ewe_fools at 05:53 PM : Jan 07, 2009

So the fact that there ARE worse things makes this OK? It IS a big deal to the families of those who DIED!

[ms1-1-1]

ewe_fools

YOU ARE AN IDIOT... MUST BE A PRIVATE AT BEST ....

[ms1-1-1]

jbrown88881


THANK YOU !

AMEN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[lemonskink]

A few weeks ago, there was some *** and bull story about GWB writing and visiting every family who lost a service member. I knew it was another BIG LIE concocted by the Rovians. Bush could care less no matter how many crocodile tears he lets loose on, but this guy does care:

http://www.ronnierayjenkins.com/topics/deathinappalachia/Empty_Chairs/

[babooph]

A very clear example of how important they are to the big shots in charge-they died for Bush Cheney ,Rumsfeld & Rice.

[lemonskink]

The sooner you realize that the war machine considers all bodies John Does, the better off you are. You are nothing but meat, a body, nothing more, nothing less.

Dear John Meat:

http://www.ronnierayjenkins.com/topics/deathinappalachia/Empty_Chairs/

[redtrash]

Dear John Doe:

We regret top inform you that your son died in the needless War in Iraq for nothing.

Regrets,
US Military Welfare Complex

[ms1-1-1]

- NO THIS IS NOT A JOKE POST

ANY ONE WHO RECEIVED SUCH LETTER PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING CONTACT AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

THEY WILL FILE A CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT

EVERY STATE HAS A DIFFERENT LOCATION HERE IS THE ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OF NEVADA EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT RESIDE THERE YOU MAY CONTACT THEM AND THEY WILL PROCEED YOU MAY CALL OR EMAIL: THEY WILL HELP

AND NO I AM NOT JOKING:



Southern Nevada
ACLU of Nevada, Las Vegas Office
732 South Sixth Street, Suite 200A
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101


Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

[armydog2]

this is really sad, such disregard for the sacrifice these men and women have made for their Country.

[ms1-1-1]

Our sons, daughters, fathers, uncles et al., served United States of America, so some W.H.I.T.E boy in Congress and Senate can sip champagne and scarf down a load of caviar......when they die serving United States of America and in Uniform, it should be handled with dignity the matter deserves, not like a cattle call of w.h.o.r.e.s.

[mpatl22]

Good Lord. Talk about adding insult to the worst event any family has to live through. My God. Bad enough our Government treats them like step children when they return in terms of heathcare of any kind...now this. John Doe-ing the families of the men and women who have given the last full measure in service to their country. Nice. Real nice. Class act all the way General AND President Bush.

[powmadeak47]

what do you expect when dubya has his head up Israel''s bach side 90% of the time?

[ms1-1-1]

Dear John Doe:

We regret top inform you that your son died in the needless War in Iraq for nothing.

Regrets,
US Military Welfare Complex
-----------------------------
Posted by RedTrash at 07:04 PM : Jan 07, 2009



Ooops, so BUSH / CHENEY CAN PROFIT DID PROFIT

1. Haliburton
2, KBR
3. Blackwater
4. Vanguard

Grand Jury Indicts Cheney, Gonzales for Organized Criminal Activity; U.S. Politics Today Provides Extended News Coverage

WASHINGTON, November 19 /EIN News/ -- Citing a ''money trail'' of U.S. Vice President *** Cheney''s ownership in enterprises including the Vanguard Group

[powmadeak47]

Too bad Joe the Plummer can''t report on it. He is too busy preparing to go to Israel to report on the "Average Joes" who are using our tax $$$ to kill Palestinians.

[tripkit]

It was the contractor who sent the letters not the government. You wanted cheap government you got it.

[fabrat1]

ms1-1-1.... you are really pathetic!! It was a mistake. You act as if they told you that a loved one was dead when in fact they weren''t. It was a MISTAKE so get over it! There is NO reason to sue anyone have you lost your mind??

[abrame]

Posted by ms1-1-1

liar

[drblizzard]

yea think the IRS could make the same mistake?

[mainedoggie]

"ms1-1-1.... you are really pathetic!! It was a mistake. You act as if they told you that a loved one was dead when in fact they weren''''t. It was a MISTAKE so get over it! There is NO reason to sue anyone have you lost your mind??

Posted by fabrat1 "
=============

A Mistake? This is a blatant disregard for human life and complete disrespect for those serving our country.

This is hardly a mistake. This is the result of good old 100% pure, lazy, carelessness on the part of the overpaid contractor hired by your dear Bush/Cheney thug ridden, no-bid contract creating administration.

There is NO excuse for this.

[nobdysfool]

The US Government had no regard for these soldiers when they sent them off to fight a war we should''ve never been in to begin with, so why would they have any regard for them after they returned or didn''t return? This letter is very befitting.

[fabrat1]

mainedoggie Calm down and take your blood pressure meds. Yeah this wasn''t a good thing but why over react like this. I''m not saying what they did was ok but it''s not the end of the world either. And by the way I didn''t vote for Bush I have more brains than that. I''m just saying we have bigger things to worry about you know.

[jsd330]

Typical U.S. government contractor. They can make mistakes and waste millions of $, and nothing happens to them. Some poor low level clerk who had nothing to do with it will get fired over it.

[sandy19731]

Still better than the first draft:

Dear __________,
Words cannot express my profound sadness to learn that your [son/daughter] was [killed/wounded/missing in action]
Thanks,
George and Laura

[brundage3]

AMEN! To the poster who said the army "can''t even get
a programmed letter to the families of deceased correct."

Fir generation after generation the Army has proven it is in the end a non careing bureacracy. Period. As such it proves again it is INCOMPETENT. INCOMPETENT. The U S Army is an evil in our world because no one has the guts to stand up to it. OR they want to use it for evil.

This is only one more element of proof of that. Now and then, a President comes along who wishes to use our armed forces for truly needed purposes only. (As the Army claims it is doing EVERY time it is employed.) Let us hope that the new President does effect change within the armed forces "thinkology."

President Kennedy told a few aids and a Senator or two that he found out in the Bay of Pigs he was right in thinking he could not trust the intelligence/military/industrial complex thinking. When he died he had decided to get out of Vietnam and begin a process of major change in the military
corporate think" functions.

Unfortunately President Johnson was not in the loop on that decision. It was truly top secret because the word could not get out to the intelligence/Army structure.

[allzwell]

Who was the sub-contractor who printed these? Halliburton?

[caliengineer]

I deployed with an outstanding man and sergeant. His wife was epileptic and began to have serious problems. The army refused to allow him. Yet, we all believed he should have gone.

Later, two men in our unit refused to return from leave. Nothing happened to those men.

Scarier still is the way corporate global machines are moving the world to corporate armies, and nobody seems to be noticing.

[mainedoggie]

=========
mainedoggie Calm down and take your blood pressure meds. Yeah this wasn''''t a good thing but why over react like this. I''''m not saying what they did was ok but it''''s not the end of the world either. And by the way I didn''''t vote for Bush I have more brains than that. I''''m just saying we have bigger things to worry about you know.

Posted by fabrat1
==================

Yea, you''re right. Let''s not worry about petty stuff like this. After all, who cares, wasn''t my family who got the letter.

Let''s just sweep it under the carpet and forget any of this ever happened.

Now... where did I put my meds...

[annd2302]

Posted by, " brundage3 " and in part only, "Fir generation after generation the Army has proven it is in the end a non careing bureacracy. Period. As such it proves again it is INCOMPETENT. INCOMPETENT. The U S Army is an evil in our world because no one has the guts to stand up to it. OR they want to use it for evil."

You stupid little person, what gives you the right to be so critical of the United States Army? Answer these:
Have you ever been in the military?
Have you ever been refused a promotion while in the military?
Were you an officer or enlisted?
Were you demoted, (busted) while militarily serving?
What rank did you hold?
I spent 43 years and that alone gives me more rights than stupid little people like you.
I will not waste any more time or thought toward little people like you. Go to bed if you can find it....................................

[rusure5]

It''s probably difficult for anyone who has never served in the US military to comprehend just how incompetent this group really is, on the whole.

[whatawebb]

Well there goes a billion dollars on a faulty computer system.

[alphaa10000]

Bush has outsourced federal functions to a legion of subcontractors, who end up costing the taxpayer more than it would cost to keep the operation in-house.

The Bush cover story is this is a leaner, meaner, more efficient government.

It may be meaner, but it is not leaner. In addition to the false claim that outsourcing is-- generally speaking-- the most efficient operation, outsourcing is also a rich patronage system to pay off Bush political contributors.

But the Army''s awful, insensitive error-- done by a subcontractor-- is a poster child for the kind of greedy incompetence which has marked the Bush years.

The Bush spoils system and his partisan indifference to real efficiency has depressed morale everywhere in the federal government.

Bush policies have shorn the federal system of talented, dedicated staff professionals, and it will take years to recover their experience.

Heckuva job!

[rixmix98]

Bush has outsourced federal functions to a legion of subcontractors, who end up costing the taxpayer more than it would cost to keep the operation in-house.

Posted by alphaa10000 at 06:37 AM : Jan 08, 2009




There is so much truth in this statement it hurts.

[rixmix98]

It was the contractor who sent the letters not the government. You wanted cheap government you got it.

Posted by tripkit at 07:30 PM : Jan 07, 2009



Another profound statement of truth!

[misha128-2009]

A truly deserving part of the Bush Legacy -- the true compassionate conservative that does not believe or seemingly care about the families of fallen soldiers being addressed by their own name. What are the chances we could contribute for a monument to be placed the space in front on the New Bush library to have this form letter permanently remembered in Bronze? This subject will certainly not be covered inside the library. The monument to gross negligence and incompetence should also LIST the real names of the fallen for their families including an expression of the thanks of the entire nation for their service. It''s by far the least that can be done to recognize those this administration is willing to consider nameless.

[Krazcarl]

This is SO SAD. Asa child I was raised the USA always took the high ground and was just more civilized than the rest of the world and we treated folks with respect this made me happy and proud the bush legacy I''m no longer happy or proud....

[arnoldbowers]

I think the majority of you seem to forget bush/cheney had to scab out the jobs (blackwater and the other soldiers of fortune) to get the kick backs (from that idiot in NC who runs black water who really need to be in cuba doing his time) for their future they do not have enough billions of american dollars in the bank as of yet.
The other thing is bush cheney dwanted those men who work for black wsater out of the country you see they did not trust them and the secret service guards knew they could no tprotect them from those who know the truth and had been on the ground over there.
the last fact is they had to employee them or the depression would have been realized sooner.
The best o good byes to all from Austin, TX and
Frank Bowers

[antoniof123]

So this is how the Republicans support the troops.

They used the war for their own policital agenda and divided a nation now.

The conservatives should be ashamed this is how they suppor the troops.

[observer2020]

This is what happens when you have to contract out duties that have normally been done by active duty and DoD civilians. Contractors do not have the same sense of urgency and commitment to excellence that the military and their civilian counterparts do. Do away with the contractors and hire more DoD civilians. We do a much better job!