The Broken Soldier

On Friday COL Soldano’s helpful, polite, sincere, fair-minded, understanding, concerned, almost avuncular facade cracked. Through the cracks I caught of glimpse of the real person behind it. A person not investigating a serious matter unbiased, but a gambler eager for the Great Magnet to deal him a hand he could use (to lay blame at the feet of the victim). On Friday he thought he got it. For a few minutes he had me convinced too.

Then today my wife, though extremely busy with work - work for a company that will rise or fall based on the results of what she does - took time to leaf through the stacks of forms and documents and medical records strewn around our home. Sarah and I believed the truth was in them stacks of paper. Now we know. And now the COL, Ms. Sheila Marolla, and the rest of the world will know too.

Anytime the light of truth rushes in to replace the darkness of lies and intentional confusion there are consequences. Consequences for those keeping the lights off to obscure and conceal the monstrous truth - the Army’s best kept secret. Dragons of negligence and incompetence, calloused and cloy, bellies bursting with the pain of broken patriots, move furtive and safe in the shadows of unknowing to wounded cries of their victims. But who kept the lights off? The COL? Did he know the truth but deny it to protect his organization? Or did subordinates lie to him to protect themselves? What will the consequences be in either case? What does this do to the COL’s claims that I am to blame for the suffering my wife, family, friends and I have endured for the past year? I’d say it destroys it. But I’m sure the Army and the Guard will draw a different conclusion. This difference is a matter of method really. My concern is the truth and to remedy problems with accessing medical care for a line of duty injury, and the Army and the Guard’s is to convince everyone outside looking in that everything is okay.