VA

As we celebrate our Independence this week, please, don't forget Joseph Patrick Dwyer, Hometown Hero.

Veterans vs Veterans Administration Case UpDate 6-25-08

Yesterday, the 25th, a ruling came down from the judge hearing the case, in San Francisco, 82 pages long, and not a surprise to this Vet. In the ruling the judge sided with the Veterans but had to push it to where it belongs, In Congress. Only Congress and the Excutive Branch, of the Peoples Government, can bring about the way to long overhall of the Veterans Administration. Everything that is being reported about the care to the returning Veterans, of the Wars and Occupations of Choice, is actually Old News, just ask the thousands of my brother, and sister, Veterans of Korea and Vietnam, and it's happening once again while these conflicts rage as it did back than. We call the present Military the Professional Military yet we continue the foulups that take place within the Government Agencies, Veterans Administration and DoD Health, that are charged with it's care, especially the Mental Trauma War brings on in the Soldiers and the Civilians in these Theaters of Occupation.

Support the Troops/ Support the Suicide of the Troops

Around the United States, including here in North Carolina, we see that the military is overwhelmed as it tries to assist servicemembers.

Here at Veterans For America, where I am proud to be Director of Policy, we are determined to do something to help the men and women who have served us. Part of our efforts include our easy-to-use registry that will help us get you the help you need (or help for someone you know).

Our young men and women join the military to protect America. Almost to the person they say that anywhere they are stationed in either Iraq or Afghanistan is the battle front.

We hear it on the news, we read about it in our newspapers, our soldiers are being maimed and killed by the number one weapon of choice, the IED (Improvised explosive device). When they come home for treatment, whether it is for battle wounds or PTSD, they are not given the best care that money can buy. Instead, they are being treated as second class citizens and "thrown away".

From The Nation....Veterans' Health-Care System Does NOT "Support The Troops"

A House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday reviewed the 544-page commission report which details how unresponsive the executive branch and military are to veteran's medical needs. James Terry Scott, chairman of the independent commission, said at the hearing that there is a lack of expertise among clinicians in army hospitals and that veterans frequently receive inadequate medical advice, especially concerning posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A new tactic by the military is to claim that PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is a "pre-exisisting condition". From The Nation.... "How Specialist Town Lost His Benefits"

Eventually the rocket shrapnel was removed from Town's neck and his ears stopped leaking blood. But his hearing never really recovered, and in many ways, neither has his life. A soldier honored twelve times during his seven years in uniform, Town has spent the last three struggling with deafness, memory failure and depression. By September 2006 he and the Army agreed he was no longer combat-ready.

Seven Months Without Care After a
Heart Attack in Iraq
My name is Sean. I served in Iraq with the New Jersey National Guard. On August 16, 2006, I had a heart attack in Iraq. I was shipped to Germany for further care. In Germany they inserted a stent into my heart. I was in intensive care for 2 to 3 days. I really don't know the exact time. I was heavily drugged. I then spent a few days in the ward. On my last day the cardiologist told me that I had heart damage and it would never recover. He told me that when I got to the states I would be put on Community Based Outpatient Care (CBOC) and he wanted me to take 30 to 60 days of convalescent leave, then when that was over to have a cardiologist put me in Cardiac Rehab.

When I arrived at FT Knox I was sent to the care station there. I explained what the cardiologist had wanted and showed the doctor the paperwork I was given. I was told that the convalescent leave was not needed because they would have me home in a matter of a week or two. As I was rushed through the process, I started to wonder what was happening. I was told that I would get the care I needed when I got to my home state. At the end, I realized that I was getting the run around.

Disabled Service Members - The 30% Pea Shell Game
Or
How DOD is Short Changing Our Disabled Veterans

Congratulations, young man or woman! You were a patriotic member of the United States All Volunteer Military. You volunteered to serve with the full expectation that “Support the Troops” was not just empty rhetoric piously mouthed by politicians, generals, and the yellow-ribbon-displaying American public. You served honorably, sometimes with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Unfortunately, you returned damaged to the point that you can no longer serve because of wounds, injury, illness, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). You must be discharged from active service. You have just earned entry into the official 30% Shell Game.

There are two players in the 30% Shell Game: the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). You are the pea.

I just read this heartbreaking article in Newsweek about veteran care (or lack thereof) by the Veterans Administration. As the former wife of a Vietnam veteran, I know the difficulty he went through when trying to obtain benefits; he was told that he was classified as a "peacetime" veteran because he served in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer, even though he saw plenty of combat. I'm hoping that presidential candidates like mine will make this a topic at the forefront of their campaigns; in the meantime, I urge you to send this link with a note to your senator and representative demanding immediate action on this issue if they expect your vote the next time around. That's what "Support the Troops" REALLY means!

Click here for the article in Newsweek.