By law, the Air Force can't allow Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana to adopt Rex, her combat dog. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
Posted on 11/20/2005 8:46:31 AM PST by Valin
Washington -- They had trained together for three years in the military and were deployed overseas side by side. In June, they arrived in Iraq, where they worked as a team scouring houses and villages for hidden explosives. Then, one afternoon, riding back from a mission, a roadside bomb went off under their humvee.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana was critically injured -- bleeding internally, her lungs collapsed, her spine fractured, her pelvis broken. In her last moment of consciousness, she asked in desperation about her comrade. "Where's Rex?" she pleaded. When no one answered, she grabbed a medic's arm. "Where's my dog?! Is he dead?"
The medic told her that he was. "I felt like my heart broke," she recalled in an interview. "It's the last thing I remember."
Weeks passed before Dana absorbed the news that the medic was mistaken and that Rex was alive. The German shepherd was burned slightly on his nose but was not seriously injured. Dana teetered at life's edge, with doctors unable to assure her husband and parents that she would survive.
Not long after she started to rally from her injuries, Dana asked Air Force leaders if she could adopt Rex. The answer was no; it was against the rules, and Rex was still valuable to the military.
Now, the Air Force has changed its view -- but federal law stands in the way.
Under Title 10 U.S. Code 2583, the Air Force says, it cannot allow the wounded airman to take her combat dog home until the animal is too old to be useful. Rex, 80 pounds and brown and black with gold markings, is just 5 years old, not nearly the retirement age of 10 to 14.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Somebody buy this woman a puppy.
By law, the Air Force can't allow Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana to adopt Rex, her combat dog. (By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
Almost anything is waiverable in the Air Force. Let her have her dog.
They should just reclassify the Dog - they ought to be able to find SOMETHING wrong with it if they "look" hard enough...
She doesn't need to adopt the dog. The Air Force can "lend" her the dog for a few years. Zoos do it all the time. A large number of animals in the city zoos do not belong to that particular zoo. The are "on loan" from other zoos.
There was a similar story about a Special Forces soldier who wanted his dog "Fluffy" brought back from Iraq, and somehow he ended up getting it done. Not sure how he managed it, but anyone interested in helping this soldier get her dog should check into that story. I know there was an outcry from the public on the behalf of "Fluffy" so the military found an answer to the problems there in getting that dog to the handler. I do remember the handler ended up with his dog, because I saw a follow-up story about how good of a family pet he was making.
Damn rules. And then where is the wise man who knows when to break them?
The Air Force waives a lot of regulations for far less important things. This dog is a "piece of equipment" that has served its purpose. Im sure she would be glad to reimburse the military for Rex's final 2-3 years of possible service. I doubt if many military working dogs of the large Shepherd breed make it much to 10 years old or beyond.
Lets all of us write to Secretary Rumsfield and ask his understanding and help. She has given all for Our Country and Deserves Our Gratitude and most specially REX!
Thanks for the photo.
Find a flight surgeon to write up a treatment stating that letting her adopt the dog would be good for therapeutic reasons.
"The German shepherd was burned slightly on his nose but was not seriously injured."
I would be willing to bet that the poor dog's nerves are shot too (no pun intended). What good will a dog on Prozac do the military.
Let her have her dog.
Maybe the dog is gay? Or has combat fatigue, or has lost some of its scent cones? Or maybe it could fake a heart attack and coma? Maybe it could be reassigned to Homeland Security or DEA or AFT task forces. There has got to be someway to get the woman and her puppy together.
"Now, the Air Force has changed its view -- but federal law stands in the way.
Under Title 10 U.S. Code 2583, the Air Force says, it cannot allow the wounded airman to take her combat dog home until the animal is too old to be useful. Rex, 80 pounds and brown and black with gold markings, is just 5 years old, not nearly the retirement age of 10 to 14."
===
Well, Congress would do better to change THIS law, then holding hearings on whether football players use steroids and try to monkey with the capitalist system by holding hearings on oil company profits.
How about the dog has "combat fatigue" and is no longer useful. That should do it.
Dog Story.....
She should have her dog. Why the hell not???
Simmer down -- that's the photo caption, not my position.
After all this woman has been through fighting for our country, one would think that Rex could be easily replaced and be used to comfort a wounded soldier.
Let her have the dog, I say. It's our tax dollars, so it's our call. tell the Pentagon to buy one less $25,000 toilet.
A Satellite outhouse outside of the Pentagon would be much less expensive....
Thanks for the ping; I hope and pray she can adopt this dog. They can reclassify him as a therapy dog (since his nose is burned) and he can perform his military service in helping her recover.
Be sure to tell Hitlery and Schumer that Rex is a Democrat....)
There is an old adage that goes Rules and regulations exist at the discretion of the commander.
Or more basically a commander can waive any rule or regualtion when nessessary to complete a mission.
Get the Secretary of the Air Force to declare the Dog to be excess material and allow this young woman to purchase it outright.
" There was a similar story about a Special Forces soldier who wanted his dog "Fluffy" brought back from Iraq, and somehow he ended up getting it done. "
Fluffy's website- www.k9fluffy.com. He was given a waiver by the military.
www.uswardogs.org is another good site.
Many of our scout dogs were euthanized rather than returned
home...(I was told by a vet tech that more than a few were shot rather than given a hot shot)
Heartbreaking and sickening considering what they went through
for us and considering the lives they saved...and the billions
government wastes on pukes...
Give the WIA combat vet her dog for crying out loud...maybe a pampered perfumed general could forgo a crap on a gold toilet and find a way.
This little guy is just a few miles from me and the last of his litter ..great working parents..and a good personality
If she needs a good pup...I think Steve Miller could work out a good deal
I certainly hope that the military will not euthanize this dog!
Rex dodged the bullet (IED) and used up all his luck. Retirement is in order!
And who would of thought it? He already has someplace to retire to, with his very own human! Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jamie Dana.
Given that Muslims are FORBIDDEN to have dogs as pets, I think that the military is missing out on some possible "psy-ops" benefits here. Let her have the dog, and make some noise about it.
Probably not. If the woman had been a man, I would suggest that he buy a puppy. [smirk]
"The German shepherd was burned slightly on his nose but was not seriously injured."
I bet he's no longer as as good at sniffing out hidden explosives as he once was.
Better send him home. :)
I bet you never worked for the government, you see the answers too clearly....
I have sent a request for assistance to my Senators, hope everyone else will.
Let her please have Rex. It would make both of them so happy.
They're just going about it wrong. They need to throw a materials handling tag on the dog, mark it as "Fails to Function, Reason Unknown," and be done with it. Used to do it all the time to hand stuff over to DRMO.
Give this NCO the damn dog. Just do it, it's not a big deal. Who do I have to irritate about this?
AR
(USAF-Former)
HA. Good luck - Connecticut here. Dodd would want to try to buy the dog a drink (or call EMK to make a 'sandwich'), and LIEberman...well, is 'canine' kosher?
Please let her have her dog. For the Air Force, there will be other dog/soldiers, but the relationship she has with her dog is one of a kind. She and her dog almost made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Please let her keep her friend.
bump
good luck.
I know that. didn't mean for you to take it as meant for you.
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