I was a college kid during the time of Vietnam. My bad eyes kept me from going. I watched others my age come home, and some of them stumbled. I read about the psychological wounds of war. And later I learned that it was this war which finally forced us to formally recognize Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a formal diagnosis.Fast forward, past the Persian Gulf war (some war – we had bombers, they had trenches), to today. I’ve been aware for some time that we aren’t dealing adequately with the PTSD coming out of Iraq in the minds of our veterans. I don’t even want to think about what’s happening to the civilians left behind in Iraq.
The Washington Post has initiated a series of articles on the current situation with handling of the PTSD coming out of the Iraqi conflict, by the Veterans Administration. You should read it:
Monday, June 18: Little Relief on Ward 53: At Walter Reed, Care for Soldiers Struggling With War’s Mental Trauma Is Undermined by Doctor Shortages and Unfocused Methods
Have a look at these (there may be more coming in this series – I can’t really tell), then do something patriotic: call the office of your local Congressperson or Senator – or both. Or email them. Be polite, but clear. Tell them, in your own words that it’s time to cut the pseudo-patriotic crap and so something real: get emergency funding into V.A. system so that military PTSD can be dealt with. Let’s support our troops AFTER they come home as well.
I hope you never have to see PTSD, much less live with. I treat it, so I’ve seen a lot of it. I’m outraged by how badly we’re treating our veterans who have it. I hope you are too.
Make that call. Just do it.
I am glad to see that some of the PTSD-related problems are getting publicity, but how about doing something about it?
If you and other Americans do not call your congress-person to complain about budget and leadership priorities, nothing will be actually done.
For the amount of money the VA medical system gets, they do a terrific job. More money will be needed for the future onslaught of PTSD cases; money that will then not be as available for big-buck weapons systems, systems that also mean jobs for the taxpayers.
Who do you think wins now when the budget-cutters in Washington look at their e-mail; the voters who worry about losing their defense industry jobs or the poor slobs who get pushed out of the Army with lousy medical care and incorrect diagnoses of their psychiatric problems?