The California Nurses Association reported that in the first quarter of 2006, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs "treated 20,638 Iraq veterans for post-traumatic stress disorder, and they have a backlog of 400,000 cases." A returning soldier has to wait an average of 165 days for a VA decision on initial disability benefits, and an appeal can take up to three years.
This is unacceptable and reprehensible.
Veterans coming home stated that their superiors have harassed and punished them for seeking help for psychological problems triggered by their service in Iraq. Several of the soldiers' supervisors acknowledged the callous treatment.
A recent national study by the Government Accountability Office found that most of the troops who show signs of PTSD were not referred to mental health professionals, despite Pentagon claims, in NPR's report, "that providing support to soldiers with emotional problems is a top priority" and "that resources are being made available to returning veterans."
If the same disastrous pattern unfolds that affected Vietnam-era veterans, and these PTSD sufferers do not obtain appropriate and timely assistance, tens of thousands will become unnecessarily and tragically addicted to drugs or alcohol, and many may commit suicide. Besides the 58,000 lost in combat, we lost tens of thousands of Vietnam-era military personnel to suicide and drugs.
The American people must actively advocate and demand appropriate treatment for veterans who have been psychologically wounded by war.
Maybe the military needs a new slogan: "Join the __________! Go fight Bush's War. If you make it back, you'll get kicked to the curb by the very people who profited by your sacrifice, sucker!"
This treatment of Veterans is not only unacceptable and reprehensible, it's also unconscionable, appalling and immoral. It's positively Republican.
No comments:
Post a Comment