The Feres Doctrine Horror Show

Vietnam Army veteran John McCarthy writes about the restrictions imposed on those injured on active duty by the Supreme Court's Feres Doctrine.

The "Feres" Doctrine, adopted in 1950 prevents service members or their families from taking civil action against any government official for any crime "incident to service". Alexis Witt at husband's coffin. (photo by Liz O. Baylen, The Los Angeles Times) Learn more about her story at: VAWatchdog.org

(LOS ANGELES) - The Feres Doctrine prevents military personnel and veterans from filing a tort claim for any injuries on active duty, even when the government is grossly negligent. It was adopted by Congress in 1950 and, with the approval of the Supreme Court, The Feres Doctrine became Law Of The Land the same year.

Lieutenant Feres was killed in a barracks fire on a military installation in New York State in 1946. His wife filed suit under the Federal Tort Claim Act of 1946.

She lost in 1950 when the "Feres" Doctrine was adopted.

In 1946, President Truman appointed Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson to become the lead prosecutor at the Nuremberg International War Crimes Tribunal.

After witnessing the presentation of the crimes against humanity of the defendants in the docket which resulted in the death penalty for most of the Nazi leadership found guilty of said crimes, Judge Jackson became the author of the Feres Doctrine.

The first five words of the Bill of Rights are: "Congress shall make no law..."
and the end of the sentence reads "...and to seek redress for grievances".

Our forefathers placed this information in the First Amendment, ahead of the Right To Bear Arms, because of the brutal treatment of English citizens by King George. So Congress "adopted" the Feres Doctrine and then the Supreme Court made it the "law of the land".

Feres states that no service member or their families may take civil action against any government official for any crime "incident to service". Crimes of murder, rape, torture, assault, perjury, negligence, experimentation, etc., can be prosecuted criminally, but not civilly.

The Right to petition the courts of this land to seek redress against the government, as guaranteed by the Constitution of The United States DOES NOT APPLY to those who have sworn to protect and defend the very same Constitution!

Is there not something very wrong with this picture?

Current members of the Supreme Court have opined that Feres is "bad law" and that Congress has the power to change it.

A current example of Feres:

In 1999 a civil suit was brought against the CIA, DIA, FBI, DOD, DOA, State Department and DOJ for Conspiracy To Obstruct Justice In A Capital Murder Case, which has no statute of limitations.

The Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. ruled in January, 2003 that the case would be dismissed with prejudice and without comment.

The judge had forbidden information to be presented re the Feres Doctrine as "incident to service".

The umbrella of Feres has shielded government officials for over 54 years.

Here is how it works.

When an inductee takes the oath of enlistment/commission, he or she swears to protect the Constitution of The United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic...... At that very instant, the Feres Doctrine becomes effective WITHOUT the knowledge of those just sworn into the Armed Forces.

The fact of Feres' existence becomes knowledgeable to an individual service member AFTER any crime is committed upon that individual.

• Surgery to remove the wrong leg leaves the soldier without the ability to seek redress for negligence.
• Leaving surgical tools inside a patient after surgery leaves the patient helpless to react.
• Prescribing the wrong medication has no recourse.
• All medical mishaps/negligence are covered by Feres.
• Perjury, secreting exculpatory evidence, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, false imprisonment, and all court actions are covered by Feres.
• Nuclear Experimentation is covered by Feres.
• Wrongful Execution is covered by Feres.
• Medical experimentation in the form of mind control through the use of LSD, electro-shock mind regression treatment (as in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) and other drugs leaves a service member helpless and without recourse.

The real fact that doctors who fail to pass their medical boards in civilian life are commissioned as officers in the Armed Forces and allowed to "practice" on military personnel and their families without fear of civil suit is rampant and repugnant. No recourse allowed for gross or criminal negligence on the part of an incompetent physician who would not be authorized to "practice" on any civilian in our country is a result of Feres.

Treason in wartime is covered by Feres. Those who conspire to take this country to war with fabricated "intelligence" resulting in wounds and death for those in uniform are immune because of Feres.

Ironically, members of the government who commit wrongful acts and crimes against members of the Armed Forces are not even subject to the same Uniform Code Of Military Justice as those victimized by the above crimes.

In summary, after seeing all the inhumane acts committed by the Nazis before and during WWII, Justice Jackson placed our American Youth in the same no win position as the victims of the Third Reich; without recourse for grievances.

So, how should a combat veteran feel about the wounds suffered as a result of being put in harm's way by those politicians who would send him off to war for what turns out to be fabricated evidence for the justification for the war in the first place?

Should the courage and pain suffered in combat, physically and mentally, be swept under the rug of the Constitution because some misguided law was adopted in violation of the Constitution itself?

The First Amendment to the Constitution is still intact. Immediately after the Right to Free Speech is the sentence that says all citizens have the Right to seek redress for grievances against the government.

That has not changed.

Except in the case of members of the Armed Forces of The United States.

Congress has no power to amend the Constitution. Neither does the President. That’s why Feres was adopted. But why then?

WWII had just ended. CIA was established with the National Security Act of 1947. Korea was looming. Experimentation on POW's was a reality, for both sides as the war unfolded. These instruments of war did not just happen overnight. The records of the Nazi experiments were in the hands of the likes of Doctor Gottlieb of the CIA. Mind altering drugs were the quiet talk of the day; the same kinds of drugs used on the victims of the Holocaust. The same experimentation that Germans were hung for as crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.

Wait till those returning from Iraq with Depleted Uranium issues find that they have no recourse.

Wait till the Draft comes into reality again when all the boys and girls 18-34 are ordered to report for induction under penalty of incarceration for five years. That is when Feres will backfire upon the government.

The Selective Service System cannot force a proposed inductee to voluntarily forfeit their Rights under the First Amendment.

All that remains is to inform the draft age people of America of the existence of Feres. The Internet is the most valuable tool for this purpose. Student organizations will be notified across this country of the existence of the Feres Doctrine which would make them second class citizens should they take the oath of enlistment.

Hey Hey, Ho Ho, the Feres Doctrine has got to go!

Because if it stays, the effectiveness of the upcoming draft will fizzle.

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."

- George Washington, speech of January 7, 1790 in the Boston Independent Chronicle, January 14, 1790

Mike Ruppert, 7/14/98

For more insight into government from a Vietnam War veteran, see John McCarthy’s website: johnmccarthy90066.tripod.com/id70.html.