Veteran Treatment

The Wall.  These folks are from my generation.  The names of two close friends which I served with have their names on this wall.  There are others who I knew or crossed paths with whose names are on the wall.

Many movies have been made on the treatment of our Veterans.  Born on the Fourth of July, Forrest Gump has V.A. Hospital segments.  The list goes on.

Since my era of military service and my time spent in a wheelchair for a number of years there have been additional places on the globe where our military have been deployed.  With each new conflict the technology advances and our troops are expected to know more and perform at a higher level of proficiency for longer periods of time.  When those who come home finally do come home their treatment has not advanced since the days I was in the military.  Not advanced?  Medically perhaps but treatment as a human being who has sacrificed so much for their country. 

I have a very good friend who wrote me today about his treatment by his local V.A. facility.  I will copy and paste his writing here and copy and paste my own response:

I just sent this to FOX 24 News

At the the V.A. Hospital in Dublin Georgia they treat you like you are bothering them ,they are very rude and disrespectful.

It took me 3 months to get an appointment,then 4 days before my appointment I started having chest pain and my blood pressure went up to 170/106...when I told them this they took me to the emergency room,I was there that day for 9 hours with Doctors and Nurses acting like a bunch of juveniles, laughing and saying stuff like William is on drugs ,then that guy would say no she's on drugs, one of the Nurses got in an electric wheelchair and was going around in circles and laughing....it was a circus...then after 9 hours they said I needed to make an appointment with my Doctor, when I tried they said I would have to wait a month, when I threatened to go to the News Paper they gave me a "Fake" appointment, gave me some BP meds ,Pain meds and said they would check my heart in 4 months !

There are a lot of other things going on at that Hospital that I could tell you about but this will probably get passed over like most other complaints. The big thing is I am a disabled American Veteran with a disabled wife that had a severe stroke 3 years ago and I will probably die before anyone takes time to do anything about this, and I worry about what will happen to my wife.

My response:  

My ex wife worked for GAO and was doing a report for Congress on the VA. She looked up my military record one day and asked me why I did not go to the VA myself. I had private insurance through my job at the time.

I told her the VA treats people like crap and I always found it amazing that there were not more problems in VA facilities than in post offices when folks were driven over the edge.

I told my wife of the time that I will NEVER go to any VA facility. 

I felt that on the day I received my discharge and walked out the front gate at Memphis Naval Air Station on August 8, 1969 at 0845 local time, I was all done with the military. If I ever needed medical attention and had no options I would go to the L.A. County Emergency Room or any county facility.  All you need to do there is say you have pain in your left arm and you are on the way to the exam room and the first thing they do is check blood pressure.

Don't even get me started on the recent threat of Congress to shut down the government when folks were arguing about the budget.  Congress would have continued to be paid but government employees would not get paid.  This would have included our military.  Folks in harm's way not being paid?  Perhaps even worse is the point that many military personnel on active duty have their paycheck sent to their family.  You know, those families whose father, mother, brother, sister etc., are now deployed elsewhere.  Our government was going to stop the pay to these families?  Thankfully our government came to its senses before something this stupid was put into motion.

It is beyond a shame how veterans are treated in this country. Some day it may all come back on our government. Look at what is happening in the mid-east and Africa, where folks are fed up with their government and are taking matters into their own hands.

If things do not change it is just a matter of time until those our country taught to fight will fight on our own soil.

4/25/11 - The latest update from my friend:

Called the V. A. and told them I could not wait 4 months to have my heart checked and they said we don't have a cardiologist here you will have to go all the way to Atlanta!

I said I don't care where I have to go,then they call back and say I have an appointment for an EKG in the morning and I said I had an EKG Thursday and that will not show blockage in my heart, and I tell them I have turned in my story to FOX 24 News and they said well don't you want to wait to do something like that and I said no I want my heart checked.

Then they call back and say I have an appointment in Dublin tomorrow with their cardiologist, and I say you said you didn't have a cardiologist there!

Then they said, well he is a heart doctor and he will determine if you need your heart checked.

Then they call back and say all the appointments have been canceled and I need to wait until my doctor calls me back, so lie after lie and I am still waiting to see what is going to happen now!

Below are a few photos that might show folks that all branches of military can end up in harm's way.  Air Force troops are on the ground as well as in the air.  The Army and Marines are in force in many theaters of operation.  The Navy supplies the corpsmen for the Marines (as the Marines are a branch / department of the Navy) as well as the SEALs.  All branches of the military are pressed into service which has been the case for decades.  

To all of our troops out there - stay safe.

Keeping proficient while at sea

U.S. Airforce Officer on the ground

Air Force on the ground

Stage 1 radiation washdown in the Sea of Japan

Stage 2 radiation washdown

Libya support

Marines and Navy train prior to debarkation

Things may look easy ... until things go very wrong very quickly which is common

This ISAF soldier is a member of the U.S. Air Force

In my own case it was a lifetime ago.  Heck, the magazine does not exist anymore.  Back in those days the ignition key to start a car went in the dashboard rather than the steering column.  Guitar players played the same guitar for an entire show.  You could get "frisky" with a total stranger and not end up with a disease that would kill you. 

Some of you have seen the photos I took when I was in the military that came back to the USA by somewhat unconventional means.  I think these shots are better than my 4,000+ shots and the technology has changed dramatically.  Thankfully for me, much of the basics of training and marksmanship remain the same, the ballistics have not changed and this allows me to be involved in helping train others today.

Try to remember that no matter what the job or branch of the military, all active duty personnel generally have somebody at home who miss them and worry about them.  Our troops deserve respect and the highest level of support when they come home that this country has to offer regardless of cost.  God knows this country spends enough money on things that mean so much less. 

5/31/11 - Joblessness among post-Sept. 11 vets remains high - Forbes.com: http://onforb.es/mSCj1t

6/8/11 - The Associated Press: Suit: VA misusing LA land meant for homeless vets: http://bit.ly/lMuWWe

6/8/11 - Homeless vets sue VA, claim housing and treatment inadequate at West L.A. campus http://lat.ms/kZwjzm

To the men and women holding positions at the highest levels in our government:

Stop bickering and fix your priorities at least in this one area -

Support our troops whether on their way to serve, are in service or are back at home.