FIGHT FOR COMMUNISM!
	International Communist Workers Party
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Every sailor has a story of his or her experience with Navy Medical. Red Flag has heard one frightening story after another about the medical treatment sailors and their families receive in the Navy.

One of the popular plugs for the Navy is full health coverage for enlistee and family. After being in the Navy we learn that there is a big difference between being fully insured and actually receiving quality care.

The healthcare we receive tends to focus on shortsighted problems and neglects long-term problems like chronic illnesses and cancer, which become noticeable only after our enlistments are complete.

Here are a few stories that describe a range of problems that sailors face when dealing with Navy Medical.

The common theme throughout all these stories is that the military reduces sailors to the status of high-end machinery essential for U.S. capitalism to dominate its competitors. They show the Navy’s disregard for sailors and their families. Healthcare for sailors ensures the bosses that their machines run properly and are ready to be used or sacrificed when needed.

Russian sailors played a leading role in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917.  Many were communists who mobilized shipmates in these struggles for workers’ power.  Also during World War I, the Wilhelmshaven mutiny (a communist-led sailors’ revolt) sparked rebellions across Germany and led to the abdication of the Emperor – but not to revolution.  As we are inspired by these heroic sailors, we must learn from their mistakes and mobilize the masses directly for communism.

Capitalist healthcare in the Navy is based on spending as little money as possible on sailors and their families while they fight to defend the interests of the bosses. Sailors need to mobilize for a communist system, where masses of sailors, soldiers and workers will organize healthcare, production and our Red Army to meet our needs, instead of being sacrificed in wars for the bosses’ profits. These angry sailors and their families can be a vital force to mobilize for the interests of the working class with communist revolution.

Colombian doctor: Not a reliable source?

A sailor’s wife had a rash on her face. After being evaluated and tested by a doctor in Colombia, she knew the rash was related to an internal health issue. She received medication for the problem, and the rash went away as a side effect. The rash returned and she went to see a doctor on base.

She told the doctor about the problem, but he did not take the diagnosis seriously because it was given by a Colombian doctor. This was evident when she was explaining to the doctor and mentioned her doctor in Colombia. The Navy doctor looked at her with a face that implied, “We don’t take foreign doctors seriously.” The doctor insisted that the rash was simply acne and let her go. From now on, the sailor’s wife will get all her medical treatment when she goes back to visit Colombia.

A pinched nerve ends your active days

A friend pinched the sciatic nerve in his back and suffered severe pain for about three months. He couldn’t exercise, which led to his general health worsening. When the doctor diagnosed his problem, he said that this problem was in line with how long he has been in the Navy, but he had only been in for two and a half years. The doctor then told him that he was through with physical training and that he would never come back to the health he used to have.

My friend thought these were overly dramatic claims since he was only talking about a pinched nerve. He did not take the doctor’s advice and began exercising within his capability. Over a couple of months he recovered, and the injury was just a slowdown. But had he taken the doctor’s medical advice, he could have been duped into giving up an active life. To be continued…

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