Is Walter Reed the tip of an iceberg?
"While it's absolutely crucial that the problems at Walter Reed get fixed, they are unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems with veterans' care. Today the walls will be repainted at Walter Reed, but our troops will still be left with a Veterans Administration that is under-funded, understaffed, and ill-equipped to handle the coming wave of new veterans. The young men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan will show the scars of war for decades to come, and our country will be judged by how we treat these veterans and their families.
Join us in our efforts to ensure that the mistakes we have seen at Walter Reed will not be repeated. Sign the petition to Secretary Nicholson, head of the VA, calling for increased staffing at Vet Centers.
Established after the Vietnam War, Vet Centers are the primary source of readjustment services for troops returning to civilian life. According to a report prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives, 100% of surveyed vet centers had seen an increase in demand for outreach and services for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. One in five (VA Centers) will have to take actions soon to manage the flood, including 'limiting services and establishing wait lists.'
The same report concluded that 'the Administration's failure to adequately increase staffing and other resources for Vet Centers has put their capacity to meet the needs of veterans and their families at risk.'
As veterans, we're proud of our service. We're thankful to the staff at VA hospitals who work hard every day to do so much with so little. But it's disgraceful for any veteran to receive substandard care. We must act now to prevent that from happening to the other 1.6 million veterans of these wars.
Sign the petition, and pass it on to your friends. Stand with us today and make your voice heard. Together, we can ensure that the travesty at Walter Reed is remembered as the exception to the rule.
Thank you for your support."
Rob Timmins
Iraq Veteran
Field Director
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
QuestionItNow Blogs
posted by DTW 06 at 2/24/2007 12:44:00 AM
1 Comments:
For contrast, I would like to provide a description of something our government is doing right these days with regard to Vets.
I am currently a resident in a Veteran's Home after having undergone treatment through the VA for PTSD and Depression, long overdue some 40 years after the Tet Offensive that cap stoned my military 2nd tour in Vietnam with a lifetime of illness.
My blog has attracted the stories of many veterans such as myself and other sufferers from PTSD who were victimized by elements of society other than the VA system of medical and mental treatment. I, for one, became trapped in the Military Industrial Complex for 36 years working on weapons systems that are saving lives today but with such high security clearances that I dared not get treated for fear of losing my career:
http://rosecoveredglasses.blogspot.com/2006/11/odyssey-of-armaments.html
When my disorders became life threatening I was entered into the VA System for treatment in Minneapolis. It saved my life and I am now in complete recovery and functioning as a volunteer for SCORE, as well as authoring books and blogging the world.
When I was in the VA system I was amazed at how well it functioned and how state of the art it is for its massive mission. Below is a feature article from Time Magazine which does a good job of explaining why it is a class act:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376238,00.html
I had state of the art medical and mental care, met some of the most dedicated professionals I have ever seen and was cared for by a handful of very special nurses among the 60,000 + nursing population that make up that mammoth system. While I was resident at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis I observed many returnees from Iraq getting excellent care.
I do not say the VA system is perfect but it is certainly being run better on a $39B budget than the Pentagon is running on $494B.
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