12/05/2004
Major General J Mateparae
Chief of Army
HQ New Zealand Defence Force
Private Bag
Wellington
Re: Lawful discharge
Sgt R F Plumtree
Dear Sir,
Further to your correspondence dated 28th April 2004.
I was not lawfully processed for
discharge from the Regular Force and no formal discharge process has ever
occurred with respect to the Territorial Force. Had there been a discharge
process in relation to the TF, at the time that army allege one occurred, they
would have found I had been ordered into psychiatric care by a court. Subsequent
to that time, NZ government has accepted 100% chronic war caused emotional
instability.
No lawful discharge process has ever occurred at any time. To assist you to
understand why I am saying so. I enclose two exhibits and an affidavit setting
out what I believe occurred.
During my service in South Vietnam,
and while serving in Saigon, I suffered a laceration to my scalp, a laceration
that required a number of stitches. American medics stitched up my head, since
that time I have two small bits of bone protruding from my skull. I suppose
it’s called a fractured skull, whatever, since my return from overseas
service, no NZ army medical doctor or medical board, has ever bothered to
physically examine my person.
If someone had done so, my fractured skull would surely have been x-rayed? To
this day its never been checked, the injury was stitched up by medics and has
never been examined by a qualified medical doctor.
Please find attached Ex O’seas document displaying the head injury was conveyed to army, and noted on the records.
An attendance for chest x-ray at Papakura camp is recorded on file and recorded unit is 1 Tpt Coy GT and dated April 1968. I state no Ex-overseas medical otherwise ever occurred. I was not in 161 Bty on 18th April 1968 as shown on Medical Review or Board document attached; at that time and effective from 27th February 1968 I was posted to A Platoon 1 Tpt Company, RNZASC. I found it interesting no one then checked my urine, as I never have had a medical that didn’t show high sugar level. I notice the displayed MO signing date of the supposed Ex O’seas medical, has been changed by someone.
I also note in the second attached
document, highlighted entry recording medicals, displays a medical occurred on
the 14th May 1968. Bit like my vaccination records, the records say
in the vaccination card I had three injections the year before I even signed up
for service.
Before the Human Rights Review Tribunal much debate occurred in relation to this
second document. Senior legal Officer for army testified words to the effect,
army only gives soldier’s medicals every three years, or he stated he has only
had one in three years.
I was a member of the combat brigade
group and we had medicals ever year without exception, every unit filed monthly
manning status and no soldier in the combat brigade could possibly go 18 months
between annual medicals, which is what the 22-11-66 entry on that file tries to
propose.
If army now no longer bothers with annual medical boarding, I can assure you Sir
the combat brigade group had more stringent readiness criteria than that.
The third document headed What Occurred. AFFIDAVIT tries to share with you what I perceive and say occurred.
Sincerely I hope this helps you to find in respect to this soldiers rights I have the right of proper treatment and procedures according to law, as set out and described in the attestation contractual obligations both parties entered into for my ongoing service in the New Zealand Defence Force.
Yours truly,
Robert Plumtree
Sgt 40792