Brigadier Michael Arnold ignores critical state of ADF health support

Below is an edited letter I wrote to Brigadier Michael Arnold, the Commander of 4th Brigade (Victoria) in 2008. It was in response to his unprofessional and incompetent determination with regard to my Redress of Grievance. I have withheld the names of innocent parties.
The ADF continues to lie to the Australian Goverment about this matter also: On the 19th of January 2011, a spokesperson for the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and Veterans Affairs, The Hon. Warren Snowdon MP, said:

"Dr Fidge received a commitment from the Commander to continue to investigate the claims following the receipt of the additional information. Dr Fidge has not yet provided the additional information as requested."

Which is as good a way as any of avoiding the issue. I have, of course, provided all the necessary information and have done so since 2008. So I really don't have any options other than to publish the correspondence and let you judge for yourself if the ADF should be investigating.
__________________________________________________

Brigadier Michael Arnold
COMD 4 BDE

By facsimile

Thursday December 18th 2008

Dear Sir,

About a month ago you wrote to me with your decision about my grievances.

I am disappointed with your decision for several reasons, and do not accept it.

1. The ADF is unable to mount medical support for operations because of a lack of medical and nursing officers, even in such close proximity as the Solomon Islands and East Timor. The cost to the ADF of contracting medical support to ASPEN is at least ten times what it would cost to employ uniformed medical and nursing staff. Wounded soldiers have medics attending them instead of doctors, and the ADF is not able to satisfy the requirement of having wounded soldiers to doctors or vice versa within an hour of injury.
2. The ADF has a general problem with its behaviour towards medical officers. The unnecessary and preventable death of CAPT Paul Lawton is a demonstration of the attitude of GSOs towards MOs.
3. I have described a specific set of behaviours which comprise a subset of the general problems the ADF have with SSOs.
4. You chose to ignore my complaint, even though you have an obligation and the right to investigate my complaint. Your decision to not investigate all of my complaints was incorrect. Having been made aware of discrimination, harassment and bullying within your brigade by a Medical Officer, it was not and would never be open to you to ignore a serious complaint given to you in writing.
5. Not only did you fail to investigate, you actually failed to even acknowledge my written complaint of discrimination.
6. Of the two decisions you did make, one has not been implemented. I refer to your decision that I am entitled to a PAR for 2007. Your decision was ineffectual, and I have not received a PAR for 2007.
7. The other decision, that referring me for psychological assessment was appropriate, is incorrect. I have, some 4 months after the event, had some explanation for the referral. The referral was based, in part, on a WO2 Joanne Cripps (now a captain, I believe), complaining that I told her I was an MO and had made a decision about a patient of mine. The complaint, and the referral, are absurd. There was never any question that the CO has the power to do this. As a doctor, I also have this power. It was clearly an abuse of this power to refer me for psychological assessment without good reason. LTCOL Pollock's behaviour is not acceptable in Australia. I know this because I have been very well educated about this specific power, which I also have and am required to use reasonably and only as a last resort.
8. In addition to my previous expectations, I now expect CAPT Cripps to be charged with conduct to the prejudice of the ADF, as well as LTCOL Pollock and SGT Carmichael. Her complaint is obviously untrue and mischievous and has clearly caused me a great deal of trouble.
9. I insist on being treated in a similar manner to my peers. I also insist that my SSO colleagues are treated appropriately. Your decision reinforces the common bias against SSOs, that SSOs are not really officers, and that SSOs may be treated poorly. Your decision is unacceptable because it is discriminatory and undermines SSOs, specifically in this case CAPT Scalpel, CAPT Dentist and myself.

In summary, your decision was ineffectual, incorrect and not in the best interests of the ADF and Australia. It falls far below any acceptable standard of decision that could have been taken. Your opinion is not important to me personally, or professionally outside my service as a reserve officer, and I would not pursue this if there were not more important ramifications to your decision. But the ADF requires SSOs to conduct operations and I believe your decision adversely affects the capability of the ADF to mount operations.

I note during your investigation another SSO, CAPT Dentist, from 4 CSSB Wangaratta has gone inactive. As a dentist, CAPT Dentist was a critical individual asset to the ADF.

I trust you will forward this letter along with my original complaint as required.

If at any time you wish investigate further any of the matters I have raised I remain available to help you do this.

Yours truly,

 

Dr Julian Fidge

Captain

Medical Officer

4 CSSB

Beersheba Barracks

Wangaratta

___________________________________________________________

Brigadier Arnold continued to act appallingly, charging me with insubordination for not accepting his decision and setting up a kangaroo court in which he tried to have one of his infantry commanders hear his charges against me. More on Brigadier Arnold's kangaroo court later.

It may interest the reader that the next brigadier who reviewed my Redress of Grievance was able to organise my Performance Appraisal Review for 2007. I received it in November 2010, so it was, of course, completely useless. This next brigadier, in keeping with the attitudes, behaviour and general level of incompetence displayed by General Service Officers in the ADF didn't remedy this. It was more of a "Yes, we acknowledge we completely screwed you. But we don't give a toss about SSOs, so suck it up."

Actually, no, I don't think I will suck it up. Another young soldier died in Afghanistan today. My understanding is that a medic was sent in a helicopter to help.  That's not good enough for Australian soldiers.

The ADF's usual standard of care is a Medical Officer trained in the emergency management of severe trauma goes in the helicopter that attends. This is called Rotary Wing Areomedical Evactuation, and I am a trained RWAME Medical Officer with operational experience who has flown out to injured soldiers in East Timor.

At present, because of the incompetence of the senior leadership of the ADF, we don't have doctors, nurses and dentists where we need them. Parliamentry inquiries have continually criticised the conduct of ADF officers, who consistently fail to heed their political masters. The behaviour of the senior leadership of the ADF goes beyond mere incompetence and ignoring direction to active sedition at times.

It is past time the Australian Government stopped accepting such consistently poor performance from the ADF and started sacking the service chiefs and their incompetent colleagues.