Veteran's Administration Dis's Wounded Warriors

[Principessa]

Wounded warriors face
home-front battle with VA​

This is one of the things that pissed me off during the first Gulf War. The fact that care for our wounded Vets has declined exponentially since then is a national disgrace and must not be tolerated.

These fine men and women volunteered! They were not drafted; and we basically spit on their commitment, tenacity; and honor.

IMHO, at least 20% of every amount congress passes to spend on this disgusting war should come off the top and go to update and improve the VA Hospitals and the way in which they care for wounded and maimed soldiers. They shouldn't have to fight another war when they come home just to get decent medical and behavioral health care. Nor should they be expected to wait for monetary benefits.

"The VA system is not ready, and they simply don't have time to catch up," Tammy Duckworth -- herself a wounded veteran who heads up the Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs -- told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in March. ​

VA Acting Secretary Gordon Mansfield said cases like Ziegel's are rare -- that the majority of veterans are moving through the process and "being taken care of." He also said most veterans are fairly compensated.​

"Any veteran with the same issue, if it's a medical disability, ... it is going to get the same exact result anywhere in our system," he said.​

More than 28,500 troops have been wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom, including about 8,500 that have needed air transport, according to the U.S. military. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/tabs/photos.gif See photos of these Iraq war heroes »​

A recent Harvard study found that the cost of caring for those wounded over the course of their lifetime could ultimately cost more than $660 billion.​

 

[Elmer Gantry]

And this surprises you?!?

Wounded veterans have never been looked after with anything more than lip service.

They conveniently leave that off the recritment posters and flash TV ads, don't they?

 

[Principessa]

And this surprises you?!? No, it angers me!

Wounded veterans have never been looked after with anything more than lip service. Unfortunately you are correct. :frown1: They conveniently leave that off the recritment posters and flash TV ads, don't they?

Well how would it look to show a soldier who had been burned over 60% of his body and missing an arm and a leg from a roadside bomb standing on line with a backpack full of paperwork waiting online with 350 other soldiers in the same or worse condition to see one of the doctors available in that VA Hospital.

 

[Osiris]

I have to agree with Chuck here. It's been in freefall since the late 80's

This pisses me off even more than you know. My mother gave over 30 years of her life to the Veteran's Administration starting as a nurse in the early 60s, leaving in the early 70's only to return as Assistant Chief of Nursing in the mid 70's, Chief of Nursing in the early 80's and finally ending up as Assistant Director of a hospital.

My mother was a tireless champion for fighting for the rights of the vets and demanding more money and better qualoty of care for them. My mother fell ill with cancer and still worked tirelessly to champion their cause. The powers that be flushed her out of the VA on a medical retirement. The people she hired wh shared her view were soon dismissed or terminated and my mother died seeing her dream in free fall.

Shortly after my mother's death, the VA Medical Center she fought to keep open and up to current tech standards closed it's doors only to open the former ER wing as a day clinic. To this day if I drive by that building, I want to cry and all I can think is...

This is how we thank and care for those who have given so much for so many?

 

[DC_DEEP]

njqt and Osiris, yeah, that's the way it goes. A couple of times, the current administration has tried to quietly cut VA funding.

It's also one of those hidden costs that the White House and the Congress don't seem to figure in when totalling the cost of this war (or any other.)

It should be criminal for our government to require our young men to register for selective service, entice them to enlist, only to say "tough shit" if they are damaged in service to our country.

Osiris, as a veteran who does use the VA health care system: most of my VA care has been exemplary, if difficult to obtain. Your mother (GRHS) and those like her have my undying gratitude.

 

[Osiris]

Osiris, as a veteran who does use the VA health care system: most of my VA care has been exemplary, if difficulty to obtain. Your mother (GRHS) and those like her have my undying gratitude.

She did it for the care of the men and women who have given so much for the way of life we enjoy. I have a special devotion to causes behind our Vietnam vets as some of those guys were my first babysitter when I would be on the wards with mom. They were mom's favorite vets too.

So again, thank YOU for all you have given us.

 

[Principessa]

I first became aware of the problem in May of 1996. I was in grad school at GWU and was working at The National Museum of Health and Medicine. It was located on the Walter Reed Army Medical Center property.

Back then it was sparsely staffed and many wings and floors were closed. :frown1: Patient floors were at least cleaner than the VA Hospital where my uncle Thadeus lived out the last years of his life outside Philadelphia. That one always reeked of urine and disinfectant from the time you got on the elevators.

I'm sure you are wondering how a young grad student was allowed access to anything but the PX when the museum is housed in a whole separate building. As I said earlier there was barely a skeleton crew.

 

[Equus14]

As a Veteran myself I can say this.

To the government, and this applies ESPECIALLY the current administration, the only good veteran is a dead one. Why? They're cheaper. The instant you're no longer of use to them you're a drain on resources, not that the government really gave their full resources to the active military as it is, what with soldiers still scavenging for armor to protect themselves rather than having it issued due to shortages. The fact is that as long as THIS president is in charge our people will die for no reason and I have no doubt that THIS president would rather see you come back feet first than to have to shake the hand of another veteran with only one limb left, or has been burned beyond recognition in a convenient photo-op for public relations where he actually has to appear as if he really cared for anyone but himself and his corporate buddies.

 

[Elmer Gantry]

Well how would it look to show a soldier who had been burned over 60% of his body and missing an arm and a leg from a roadside bomb standing on line with a backpack full of paperwork waiting online with 350 other soldiers in the same or worse condition to see one of the doctors available in that VA Hospital.

How would it look?

It would look truthful.

 

[Principessa]

As a Veteran myself I can say this.

To the government, and this applies ESPECIALLY to the current administration, the only good veteran is a dead one. Why? They're cheaper. The instant you're no longer of use to them you're a drain on resources, not that the government really gave their full resources to the active military as it is, what with soldiers still scavenging for armor to protect themselves rather than having it issued due to shortages.

The fact is that as long as THIS president is in charge our people will die for no reason and I have no doubt that THIS president would rather see you come back feet first than to have to shake the hand of another veteran with only one limb left, or has been burned beyond recognition in a convenient photo-op for public relations where he actually has to appear as if he really cared for anyone but himself and his corporate buddies.

:frown1: I know you are 110% correct, I just don't like it.


Thank you Equus, for your service to our country. I appreciate your efforts. I'm just angry and disgusted that our government doesn't.

 

[Equus14]

:frown1: I know you are 110% correct, I just don't like it.


Thank you Equus, for your service to our country. I appreciate your efforts. I'm just angry and disgusted that our government doesn't.

You're very welcome, and I was just doing my job. It wasn't easy being a fireman in the military, but I enjoyed it. I helped people rather than harm them. That's the kind of person I am. It really pains me that our newer Vets are coming back from Iraq and not being taken care of the way they should be. I was in during the First Gulf War. That war had purpose. We were asked to help by Kuwait but this one...it's senseless.

 

[whatireallywant]

As a Veteran myself I can say this.

To the government, and this applies ESPECIALLY the current administration, the only good veteran is a dead one. Why? They're cheaper. The instant you're no longer of use to them you're a drain on resources, not that the government really gave their full resources to the active military as it is, what with soldiers still scavenging for armor to protect themselves rather than having it issued due to shortages. The fact is that as long as THIS president is in charge our people will die for no reason and I have no doubt that THIS president would rather see you come back feet first than to have to shake the hand of another veteran with only one limb left, or has been burned beyond recognition in a convenient photo-op for public relations where he actually has to appear as if he really cared for anyone but himself and his corporate buddies.

That is very true, and shameful! While creating more and more disabled veterans over in Iraq, Bush has decided to CUT funding for veterans' health services. My LTR guy has seen this first hand, since he's a veteran and goes to the VA for his medical care.

 

[PussyWellington]

...imagine 'they' had a war, and no-one turned up...