an NCO told another NCO to do something against his medical profile and said if he dies doing it, so be it..?

Question

My boyfriend is an NCO in 96th Trans Co. His next in COC, SSG Rimpsey, told him to do a task that should not be done under his PTSD/medical profile due to the strong meds he is currently taking. When my boyfriend told him that he could not do such a task because it violates his profile, SSG Rimpsey told him, well, just don't take your meds and you should be fine. When my boyfriend stated that he HAD to take those meds under orders, Rimpsey told him, "well, take them and do it anyway. if you die doing it, it's on you. not my problem"

WTF? This is insane. What can be done about this? Rimpsey told him that if he didn't do it, he would take his rank. This guy has a history of trying to get people to do dangerous things and for just being a regular jerk, to say the least, but so far, no one has done anything about it. Any ideas from military folks? I'm not a military wife, so anything I say is nonexistent to them.

Thanks for any input.

96th Trans. Co. as a whole is notorious for this sort of thing and worse, SSG Rimpsey isn't the only one, but he is the most current problem, IMO.

dms, he doesn't "whine" to me about anything, and i don't appreciate your non-informed judgement. I was actually on the phone with him when Rimpsey came up and told him all this. My boyfriend simply told him it was against his profile and told him after his BS comments that he wanted to see the 1SG.

Thank you all for your answers, advice, and input. As an update so far, my boyfriend did go to the 1SG who, as we suspected, took the SSG's side, as they are friends. He then talked to the CO who was slightly more understanding. He then went to IG where he learned that this company had 9 complaints against it, several of them including the SSG in question here. He was told by and IG officer that he had a more than valid complaint and that they are already looking into it.

Answer 1

I saw this sort of irresponsible behavior in my unit, too (hmm, wonder if maybe that contributed to them being deactivated shortly after I ETS'd out of the Army?) It always royally irritated me when I heard some snide NCO or officer rudely saying "that profiles were just a suggestion." Horse sh**. I've known people who have broken their profiles and caused themselves further injury, either because they were stupid or someone in charge of them was stupid. Profiles exist to keep you from causing further harm to yourself and to others, and to help keep the Army from being any more liable than it already is for that medical condition--particularly if that medical issue was brought on by some hair-brained thing the Army was having you do in the first place.

If he's got a permanent profile, the only one with the authority to reevaluate or revoke it is a doctor, NOT some schmuck in your boyfriend's unit, and certainly not some piss-ant staff sergeant. That line about him "pulling his rank" is all hot air, by the way--someone else pointed that out already. The lowest-ranking person with the authority to demote him would be battalion commander, typically a lieutenant-colonel (LTC). Even if the other company staff, or even battalion staff, are turds of equal caliber to your SSG friend, there's always the IG. We had IG complaints left and right for recurring problems in our battalion, and even our company, during the reign of one particularly awful company commander. Don't be afraid to talk to IG about it; that's what they're there for. EO's a good one too, but IG's a bit more serious and carries a bit more weight than a company-level or battalion-level EO representative.

Also--do try to refrain from using real names on forums like this. The Army is absolutely staunch about OPSEC, and posting the guy's real name--even if he's a sh1tbag--is a huge no-no. I realize you probably meant nothing by it, but I'd recommend against doing it in the future... I'd recommend not saying what unit it is, either.

Answer 2

If anyone in the chain of command tells a soldier to do something that is against his profile and the soldier gets hurt then that NCO is toast, he will be not only losing rank, but facing charges. My husband has had a permanent profile for several years and was pressured to get out by one NCO, not because he didn't do his job, but because the SFC had just come to the unit and didn't want any risk on his plate because his last unit an SFC and CO lost their careers because a soldier was on profile for something and they made him do something that was against his temporary profile because he hadn't recovered enough to certain strenuous activities and he collapsed and was in the hospital and ended up having to be medically discharged.
I'd go way over this NCO's head starting with doctors at the base. I think that it can fall under failure to obey orders because the doctors orders overrule NCO and CO orders, but I can be wrong. If nothing else, there is dereliction of duty if you put someone to a task that they are taking meds that could cause impairment of say operating heavy machinery. I know when my husband had to take codeine for chronic pain the first few years after a tumor surgery, if he had a day where he took the codiene, he couldn't go in to work until the number of hours it took to wear off.

Answer 3

Sorry to sound like an ******, but are you a retard? Your question is so arbitrary and open ended that it's impossible to answer. I'll tell you this I am an E-6 in the Navy, so I speak from experience. I would never ask a junior to lie to my superiors for me. Have i had to do it for my superiors through the ranks and years? Sure but I looked at all the angles first. Who gets in trouble you or the Superior? But the question is what would you do? If someone questions you out of the blue then they probably already have the answers. Unfortnatly I can't tell if you're Army or Marines since they both have the same ranks for E-5 and E-6, but if you're worried about doing the right thing then know this... not everyone who puts on a Uniform is espousing your service's core values. I personally follow my old Senior Chiefs advice, " You're never the most popular person for doing the right thing, but you'll never be wrong." Remember this, the service is not big enough to not run into the same people again.

Answer 4

He cannot be forced to do something under these conditions that is obviously hazardous, particularly when he was first ordered to DISobey orders and stop taking his meds.

Unfortunately this happens all the time, not just in his unit. If he's truly fearful that obeying the order exposes him to undue hazard he needs to go up the chain of command past the SSG.

That might help him with this one event but there will probably be even more trouble from the SSG for going over his head. It's a tough spot to be in.

Answer 5

Tell him to go to his 1st Sgt or CO. There's not really anything you can do. This kind of thing happens all the time in the military. It's half part of the job title as a soldier to put up with bullshit from little boys on a power trip. Hopefully his higher ups aren't as immature and dense as SSG Rimpsey sounds to be.
He really should just respectfully tell him no, he won't do it. They can't take away rank for respectfully declining to do something that someone higher told you not to do. SSG isn't the one who even makes the final decision...I really don't think your man has anything to worry about.

Answer 6

Well, then he needs to address this to his chain of command. They cannnot make him do something that violates his profile. I'm sure either the PLT SGT or 1SG will be able to take care of this issue.

Also, be careful about posting names here on yahoo answers.....this is a public forum and if the SSG sees this, then he may try to cause problems for your boyfriend.

Answer 7

Here is the best solution to this problem....and I've seen this happen before.
Tell hubby to go see the medical officer that gave him the profile, or any other medical officer if that one is available, tell them whats going on. I promise, it will come from very high up to this SSG to BACK OFF!

Answer 8

Since this is his first line leader getting out of line, he should go to the unit EO rep. If nothing happens from there, call the IG. They'll put the kaibosh on that right quick and in a hurry.

Answer 9

Your boyfriend should talk to his platoon leader, and relate to him that his platoon sergeant is giving him an order he has a profile for. The order does not need to be obeyed because he clearly has a valid medical profile excusing him from this activity. As an officer, the platoon leader is responsible for the well being of his troops and if the platoon sergeant is mistreating them he/she needs to be kept informed.

Answer 10

He needs to take this up his chain of command. And or go to the med station and report it there. If he has the paperwork stating his profile no one can make him violate that profile.
Because this can be considered harassment. If its bad then he needs to file a formal IG complaint.
suro