Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Bush's Veteran's Day Challenge with veto pen in hand

Bush's Veteran's Day challenge
Tuesday, October 23, 2007



Nearly three months ago, a bipartisan commission issued six practical recommendations to correct appalling flaws in the medical care our nation provides for its wounded and injured military personnel. Congress should respond with a bill to implement those reforms. And as President Bush urged last week, that legislation should be passed by Veterans Day.

That gives Congress nearly three more weeks to complete this task. Surely that should be enough time for lawmakers to make adjustments that they deem appropriate to the military health-care proposal sent to them last week by the White House. After all, revelations early this year about substandard care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington prompted widespread demands across party lines for a comprehensive transformation of the military health-care system — and prompted the president to appoint that commission.

During a news conference last week, Mr. Bush hailed that panel, led by former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who suffered devastating wounds of his own in World War II, and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala. Citing the need for major reductions in "bureaucratic delay" and a new focus on Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), President Bush said he's distressed when he sees wives sitting beside their husband's beds at Walter Reed not being supported by the government. "I'm concerned about PTSD, and I want people to focus on PTSD. And so we sent up a bill and I hope they move on it quickly. There's a place where we can find common ground."
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Did Bush just take office or something?

House democrats were taking out their calculators at a budget hearing last month to figure out what they called the "real increase" in VA's health care budget after subtracting the funds from collections, retiree benefits and the proposed deductible. With those dollars subtracted from the request, democrats said there would barely be an increase at all over this year's funding, instead of the $2.7 billion being touted by the administration.

The veterans service organizations that make up the Independent Budget-AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)-last month told Congress that for FY 2003 it recommends a medical care appropriation of $24.4 billion, an increase of $3.1 billion over this year's level.
go here for the rest of this
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=360&issueID=36



Summary of Budget

The President’s 2005 budget includes $67 billion for veterans’ benefits and services, $35 billion for entitlements, and $32 billion for discretionary programs under VA-HUD jurisdiction. This is $1.2 billion above 2004.

For veterans’ medical care, the budget proposes a total of $29 billion. This is just $700 million above 2004. The budget includes $2.4 billion in co-payments from veterans and collections from insurance, $700 million more than VA will collect in 2004.

So looking at the VA’s budget for medical care, most of the increase above last year is to be paid by veterans.
http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=220152


As you know, VA provides a uniform set of medical benefits to eligible
veterans. If sufficient resources are not available to provide care
that is timely and acceptable in quality, VA is required to restrict
medical benefits based on veterans' eligibility priorities.[Footnote 1]
VA also provides other services, such as nursing home care, to certain
veterans. VA's provision of medical care is dependent upon the
availability of appropriations. For fiscal year 2005, Congress
appropriated $31.5 billion for all of VA's medical programs, and VA
provided medical care to about 5 million veterans. During fiscal year
2005, the President requested a $975 million supplemental request for
that fiscal year and a $1.977 billion amendment to the President's
budget request for fiscal year 2006. In congressional testimonies in
the summer of 2005, VA stated that its actuarial model understated
growth in patient workload and services and the resources required to
provide these services.[Footnote 2]
go here for the rest of this
http://www.gao.gov/htext/d06430r.html



American Legion Commander: ‘I Blame Bush And Congress’ For Veterans Cuts
President Bush spoke to the American Legion today, claiming that “support of our veterans has been a high priority in my administration,” and that one of his priorities is “making sure that our veterans have got good, decent, quality healthcare.”


President Bush should save his rhetoric. In an interview with National Public Radio, even American Legion National Commander Paul Morin, a regular political ally of the White House, pointed out that Bush has consistently skimped on veterans funding. “We are not pleased with the budget for the military and for the VA hospitals for our veterans,” Morin said. “I blame the President and Congress for insufficient funding of the VA health care system.”


CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
A look at the facts back up Morin’s claims about Bush’s short-changing of veterans:
Bush plans to cut veterans health care after 2008. “The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans’ health care two years from now — even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system. … Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly — by more than 10 percent in many years — White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.”


Bush raises health care costs for veterans. For the fifth year in a row, Bush’s budget has attempted to raise health care costs on 1.3 million veterans, calling for “new enrollment fees and higher drug co-payments for some veterans.”


Bush administration has claimed veterans benefits are “hurtful” to national security. In 2005, the Wall Street Journal noted the growing cost of veterans benefits due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon’s response was to complain that it would “rather use [the funds] to help troops fighting today.” “The amounts have gotten to the point where they are hurtful. They are taking away from the nation’s ability to defend itself,” says David Chu, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for personnel and readiness.
go here for the rest
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/06/morin-bush-va/



The truth is, Bush didn't want an increase enough to matter to the wounded. He warned congress about a veto if they increased funding enough to cover the wounded veterans.

White House warns Congress against hiking VA budget figure
01:00 AM EDT on Monday, July 2, 2007
Moves in Congress to give the Department of Veterans Affairs as much as $3.8 billion more than the Bush administration proposed has drawn an indirect veto threat from the White House.


“If Congress increases VA funding above the president’s request and does not offset this increase with spending reductions in other bills, the president will veto any of the other bills that exceed his request until Congress demonstrates a path to reach the president’s top line of $933 billion,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.


The Veterans Affairs budget currently stands at $36.5 billion, and the administration has proposed raising it to $40.1 billion. In Congress, a conference committee is attempting to reconcile a House bill providing $3.8-billion beyond that with a Senate measure that would increase the administration’s proposal by $3.6 billion.


Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, chairman of the House veterans affairs appropriations subcommittee, said, “This bill is about respect, and honors the promises made to our veterans with historic increases in funding to provide them the health care and benefits they earned when they put on our nation’s uniform.”
go here for the rest of this

http://www.projo.com/news/veteransjournal/
Veterans_column_02_07-02-07_F467EI0.2709637.html



And the problem kept getting worse

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Kaine will not unveil specific plans until next month, but administration officials said the governor is eyeing the elimination of "several hundred" positions out of a workforce of 100,000 people. Kaine hopes many of the reductions can be achieved through attrition, but some layoffs are likely, Wagner said.

"It is really going to be very selective layoffs of selective people," she said.

Wagner said the administration might also have to reduce staff training, establish or increase some fees and reduce the frequency of regulatory agency inspections. Kaine is also considering paying for some construction projects with borrowed funds rather than cash.
go here for the rest
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/17/AR2007091701807.html


I would really like to know who he thinks he is fooling when all of this was reported, recorded and heard by the wounded veterans and their families. Is it because he thinks the rest of the country is not paying attention?

Castle Point VA is a decision, not a plan

Local officials, vets disappointed with VA plan to move services from Montrose to Castle Point

By SUSAN ELAN AND BRIAN HOWARD
THE JOURNAL NEWS


(Original publication: October 23, 2007)
MONTROSE - Local veterans and government officials are expressing disappointment over a federal decision to transfer some medical services from the Montrose Veterans Affairs hospital to Castle Point in Fishkill.


At the same time, they are expressing cautious optimism that a local plan backed by Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano for a veterans village with housing, shopping, medical care and training may win approval from VA officials in Washington, D.C.


Gordon H. Mansfield, acting secretary of Veterans Affairs, announced late last week that he would support an advisory panel's recommendation to transfer 105 nursing home beds and 70 psychiatric beds from Montrose to Castle Point.


Remaining at Montrose are 21 beds for treating veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, 42 beds for substance-abuse treatment and 53 for homeless veterans struggling with psychological and social disorders, said Nancy Winter, a regional VA spokeswoman. The plan also calls for construction of a multi-specialty outpatient center at Montrose and the modernization of the Castle Point campus.


Dan Griffin, executive director of Vietnam Veterans of America for Westchester County, said yesterday that he feared the Montrose outpatient center might never get built because the VA lacks money.


"Veterans will lay down in front of the bulldozers if the VA starts bulldozing existing buildings before the new buildings are up and running," Griffin said.
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We've all witnessed the devastating consequences of making decisions without having plans in place. Six years of combat operations in two nations without making good plans to care for the wounded are proof of this kind of action. Making a move like this is like deciding to be rich, moving your family out of an apartment, into a mansion without having a clue how to pay for it. You end up losing the mansion and the apartment.

Think about why these veterans are in Montrose, then think about what this is doing to them. None of this is good for them.

Monday, October 22, 2007

War can be hard on relationships of military couples

Her findings about deployment run counter to a 2003 military study taken to assess the mental health of soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. “That study found soldiers were reporting very low stress related to their deployment,” she said.

War can be hard on relationships of military couples
Posted by admin as Psychology / Psychiatry
October 22, 2007

Serving in combat can affect the relationship satisfaction of military couples, according to preliminary results of a study by a Kansas State University professor.

Briana Nelson Goff, associate professor of marriage and family therapy in K-State’s School of Family Studies and Human Services, has conducted surveys and interviews during the last year with 47 military couples from Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth. The majority of the participating couples are married, while the others have been dating for at least a year. In each case, the male member of the couple has served in the war in Iraq or in Afghanistan.

Nelson Goff said her research is the first comprehensive study to compare the similarities between couples who are dealing with the aftereffects of war and those who deal with other similar types of traumatic experiences. Her survey was designed to find and gauge the level of individual trauma symptoms related to the war experience and if they are affecting the couples’ relationship.

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More proof early treatment of PTSD is vital

Predictors of posttraumatic distress 1 year after exposure to ...
In this longitudinal study of 333 primarily male, Hispanic survivors of community violence, the authors investigated the effects of 4 categories of risk factors on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity:

PTSD becomes a For Dummies book

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder For Dummies
By Mark Goulston
ISBN: 978-0-470-04922-8
Format: PaperPages: 384 PagesPub. Date: October 22, 2007
A plain-English resource for people suffering from the aftereffects of a traumatic experienceAn estimated five percent of Americans-over 13 million people-suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at any given time, and approximately eight percent will develop it at some time in their lives. Written for PTSD sufferers and their loved ones, this practical guide gives people the lowdown on symptoms, details today's various treatment options, offers practical coping strategies for day-to-day life, and even shows how to help children with PTSD. For the 12 to 20 percent of returning combat veterans who suffer from PTSD, the book offers real-world strategies for dealing with flashbacks, nightmares, and disruptive thoughts.
click post title for link

Dealing with this for over half my life, it does not surprise me one bit this became a FOR DUMMIES book. I think it's great that a book has come out in plain, simple terms because this wound is very complicated. It's been very hard for the general public to understand.

I think back to when I was trying to explain this to my family and friends. Most of the time their eyes would glaze over and the subject was changed. Just when I thought they understood it, they would say something totally off the mark. These are smart people we're talking about and not "dummies" unable to understand the science of it.

While veterans are a reflection of the general population, having all sorts of characters among them, they are far from the general population. Combat is not part of normal daily life. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religious beliefs and yes, even attitudes. There are some alcoholics serving today, just as there are some alcoholic veterans. There are some drug addicts. There are some criminals, abusers and rapists among them. There should be no doubt that they are just as human as the rest of us. What sets them apart is their service to this country and the fact they are expected to be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation.

When we read news reports about a combat veteran on trail, some point to that as evidence only criminals use PTSD as an excuse for what they did. When we read reports about homeless veterans, we tend to think they want to be that way. As if being homeless is a choice.

Although I do know of one case of a veteran with PTSD who decided to live in his car, even that was not really a choice when you look deeper into what was behind his choice. He felt as if he didn't deserve to live in a home with his family. PTSD made that choice for him. Imagine feeling unworthy of living with your family, unworthy of having a roof over your head, and then maybe you can understand how even this was not really a choice.

The vast majority of combat veterans are not criminals, not drug addicts, not alcoholics, abusers, or even violent. The vast majority of veterans with PTSD are drained emotionally along with the host of other issues they have to deal with. They just want to be what they were before they went into combat. The earlier the wound is treated, the better the chances are of restoring them to the lives they had before the trauma hit them, just as surely as a bullet hits others. It can be done with early intervention. Why wouldn't this be a top priority for all nations involved in combat?

Think of the aftermath of this. Taking care of them now will save money in the long run, which realistically has to be a motivation for the governments. It will save their own financial futures as they are restored to being capable of working or returning to their duty in the military. It saves marriages and it saves the relationships with children. It can, will and already does save them from turning to self-medications like alcohol and drugs, which usually adds in drunk driving and illegal drug activity. This will also reduce the veterans being incarcerated for related crimes which include domestic abuse. All this can be accomplished with a war attitude of defeating PTSD before it claims more of their lives.

As for the older generations of PTSD combat veterans, they need to seek treatment even after all these years of suffering in silence. My husband came home from Vietnam in 1971, was not diagnosed until 1990, not treated by the VA until 1993 and his claim was not approved until 1999. Even after all those years lost, when treatment began he stopped getting worse. It was too late to restore his life to where he was before and he is chronic, but he is living a life again and we have adapted to what is "normal" for us in this marriage that has lasted 23 years. It is never too late to seek treatment but the sooner the better the recovery.

For this new generation there is a great deal of hope because of the attention paid to this finally. There will be a refocus on treatments and studies. There is also greater understanding toward PTSD that never happened before. Sadly there is still a lot of bad attitudes directed toward those who have PTSD even though we already know PTSD strikes humans of all walks of life.

There are many web sites still dismissing PTSD as if there is something to be ashamed of. They deny the release of data and figures of those coming back with PTSD and even go so far as to suggest that it is not as bad as reported. The problem is, it is in fact a lot worse than is reported. We need only to look back at the Vietnam veterans to see this is only the beginning of their wounded minds. 148,000 Vietnam veterans recently sought treatment for PTSD from the VA. The biggest barrier preventing them from seeking treatment before was the lack of knowledge, not the lack of suffering. Many of the new wounded will not acknowledge their wounds are getting worse until much later on in life. The lack of knowledge also allows the stigma to prevent them from seeking treatment. It allows the stigma to live in the minds of society. There is a saying that knowledge is power. In this case, knowledge is healing a life.

For some, PTSD effects will be mild. For others it will be sent into overdrive when a "secondary" stressor strikes. For others they show signs early enough that the changes are obvious and cannot be overlooked. It cannot be stressed enough that the re-deployments of the men and women in the military increases the risk of developing PTSD by 50% and this is based on an Army study that vanished from the media's reporting on PTSD.

PTSD can be defeated but only after the dummies get out of the way.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

UK veterans waited 18 months or longer for help

Fast-track NHS treatment for injured armed forces veterans
Published Date: 22 October 2007
Location: Yorkshire
By Mike Waites Health Correspondent
SICK and injured military veterans are being fast-tracked to the front of NHS waiting lists in an initiative by health chiefs in Yorkshire recognising the service they have given their country.


NHS bosses in Hull have ordered the move which will mean doctors in the city who suspect patients are suffering from illness or injury linked to their military service can help them to beat NHS queues.

Veterans' groups today welcomed the decision and are calling on health secretary Alan Johnson, who is an MP in Hull, to approve it nationwide amid complaints ex-service personnel are not being offered the standards of care they deserve, with waits of 18 months or longer.

Only war pensioners are currently eligible for fast-track care.

It is expected younger veterans who have served since the first Gulf conflict are most likely to benefit – particularly those suffering from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder which can appear sometimes years after they have left the services. Hull is a nationally-recognised centre for treatment of the condition.

Shaun Rusling, of the Hull-based National Gulf War Veterans and Families' Association, which had lobbied for the move, said he hoped ex-service personnel would get quicker diagnoses and speedier access to specialist treatment.

Former service people often had complex problems but the Government did little to help, he said.

"We hope this can be accepted nationally. If it can be done in Hull, then why can't it happen in Leeds or Manchester or London and everywhere where veterans are ill?" he said.
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Saturday, October 20, 2007

Wounded vets getting run a round and it isn't rosy


Editorial in the Washington Post
'Frustratingly Slow'
Wounded veterans still are getting the runaround from their government.
Sunday, October 21, 2007; Page B06
ALL IT took was an article on The Post's front page for the family of a damaged veteran of the Iraqi war to get some desperately needed help. Federal officials, embarrassed by yet another story detailing the nation's callous treatment of its wounded, cut through the red tape. Troy and Michelle Turner of West Virginia are glad for the help, but we join them in wondering, "What about the others?" Thousands of men and women are losing out on needed care and benefits; that cries out for urgent action in overhauling the military's outdated system of treating its injured.
Days after The Post's Anne Hull and Dana Priest detailed the struggles of the former Army scout disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder, there were calls and visits from Washington, D.C. Mr. Turner's disability rating is being upped to 100 percent, care closer to home will be found and help is available to guide them through the labyrinth of regulations. Sadly, the Turners are not unique in the shabby way the country treats its military casualties. It's been eight months since The Post's investigation of Walter Reed Army Medical Center focused attention on the crisis in care facing those returning with physical and mental wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/20/AR2007102000981.html

It is really worse than this. There are now less service reps in the VA than there were in 2003.


Veterans groups maintain that the backlog amounts to official negligence. Since the launch of the Iraq war more than four years ago, the number of people charged with reviewing and approving veterans' disability claims has actually dropped. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39731

They also didn't plan on these veterans understanding what has been wrong with them for 30 years is because of PTSD and the fact they were wounded in service to this country.
148,000 Vietnam Vets sought help in last 18 months
In the past 18 months, 148,000 Vietnam veterans have gone to VA centers reporting symptoms of PTSD "30 years after the war," said Brig. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He recently visited El Paso.


I always hear a lot about how outreach work is so imporatant to our veterans. I always hear about how much the veterans of this country are supposed to mean to the people of this country. What I don't hear any of the elected ever say is that it's time for an emergency supplemental spending bill that will actually take care of all our wounded veterans. I never hear Bush say that all the mistakes he made in the past have been like an additional wound to our men and women serving this nation. I never heard any of the GOP who claim to be so much superior morally ask for forgiveness for the deplorable treatment our veterans received when they were in charge. I never once heard Larry Craig apologize for the way he acted toward them or how embarrassed he was over what he tried to do to them and almost got away with. I never once hear the Democrats apologize for not getting up in front of a microphone, starting an email chain about how the GOP betrayed the trust of our veterans when the GOP were in charge.

We heard a lot of talk from all of them over the words they used but we never hear them talk about what they have failed to do. You would think the wounded coming back and feeling as if they were not lucky to come back alive would matter more than words they are upset over.

Kathie Costos

Namguardianangel@aol.com

www.Namguardianangel.org

www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com

www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Friday, October 19, 2007

Donald Schmidt Combat Wounded by PTSD, Discharged and Denied

Veterans are denied mental health help
By Philip Dine
POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU
10/21/2007

WASHINGTON — After two combat tours in Iraq on a "quick reaction team" that picked up body parts after suicide bombings, Donald Schmidt began suffering from nightmares and paranoia. Then he had a nervous breakdown.

The military discharged Schmidt last Oct. 31 for problems they said resulted not from post-traumatic stress disorder but rather from a personality disorder that pre-dated his military service.

Schmidt's mother, Patrice Semtner-Myers, says her son was told that if he agreed to leave the Army he'd get full benefits. Earlier this month, however, they got a bill in the mail from a collection agency working for the government, demanding that he repay his re-enlistment bonus, plus interest — $14,597.72.

Schmidt, 23, who lives near Peoria, Ill., is one of more than 22,000 service members the military has discharged in recent years for "pre-existing personality disorders" it says were missed when they signed up.

"They used these guys up, and now they're done with them and they're throwing them away," Semtner-Myers said.

Her frustration extends to Capitol Hill, where the stage is being set for a confrontation between Congress and the Pentagon.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, calls the treatment of these troops "disgraceful."

"If they have personality disorders, how did they get in the military in the first place?" Filner asks. "You either have taken a kid below the standards, in which case you've got obligations after you send him to war, or you're putting these kids' futures in danger with false diagnoses. Either way it's criminal."
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This is not supporting the troops and is not taking care of the wounded. It is treating them as if they would have been better off not joining at all. If they get hurt on the job with private companies, they get workman's comp. If they get hurt in service to this country, they get treated like this! It is disgraceful and should be criminal considering private companies cannot get away with this.

Army Spec. Troy Turner wins with VA after Washington Post Report

VA Doubles Disability Aid for Iraq War Veteran
Department Responds to Appeals of PTSD Patient
By Anne Hull and Dana PriestWashington Post Staff Writers Saturday, October 20, 2007; Page A03
The Department of Veterans Affairs this week doubled the disability benefits of a West Virginia soldier who has been fighting for more compensation since he returned from Iraq in 2004, and assured him that he will receive immediate access to more mental health services to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.

VA's swift action to help Army Spec. Troy Turner followed an article in The Washington Post on Sunday that detailed the financial hardship faced by Turner after his PTSD worsened and he was unable to hold a job. Reliant upon a monthly disability check from VA, the Turner family slid into poverty, a grim reality for many returning veterans with invisible injuries such as PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

In addition to granting Turner a coveted spot in a residential treatment program at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center, the department is increasing his disability rating from 70 percent to 100 percent, according to a VA spokeswoman, raising his monthly check from $1,352 to $2,781. The new rating also means that Turner's wife, Michelle, and his two children are eligible for medical insurance and educational benefits.
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VA Service Reps less now than in 2003?

Between 600,000 and 800,000 claims (depending on who you believe) are trapped in a huge backlog of cases and there are less Service Reps now than before the invasion of Iraq?
Four years after the invasion of Iraq and they have less to deal with the wounded they claim are so important to them?
Six years after the invasion of Afghanistan and that occupation now producing more wounded along with more dead, and they didn't increase service reps?
Suicide rates on the rise every year and they have less service reps?
Families falling apart and they have less service reps?
Veterans come back from combat wounded, unable to work, ending up homeless and they have less service reps?
WTF are they out of their minds?

Veterans groups maintain that the backlog amounts to official negligence. Since the launch of the Iraq war more than four years ago, the number of people charged with reviewing and approving veterans' disability claims has actually dropped. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA employed 1,392 Veterans Service Representatives in June 2007 compared to 1,516 in January 2003.

Read this story and then remind yourself of what is really going on. Why are they being allowed to torture our wounded veterans?

POLITICS-US: Homeless Vets Play the Waiting Game
By Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 (IPS) - U.S. Army Specialist James Eggemeyer injured himself before he even set foot in Iraq, jumping out of a C-130 gunship during training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

"I jumped out and the jumpmaster who was holding that line that was wrapped around my arm had to cut the line because I was pretty much being dragged behind the airplane," the 25-year-old Florida native told IPS as he drove a donated truck through the streets of his hometown of Port Saint Lucie, a two-hour drive north of Miami, Florida.

"I hit the side of the plane with my Kevlar," he added. "My parachute was twisted up like a cigarette roll and I hit real hard and my ankle and my knee and my back and my shoulder (got hurt). I tore my rotator cuff. I feel like a 50-year-old man."

After the incident, military doctors prescribed Eggemeyer painkillers: the opiate Vocodin, the anti-depressant Percoset, and the steroid hydrocortisone.

Then, in April 2003, they sent him to Iraq. For the next year, he drove a Humvee, running supply convoys to U.S. soldiers stationed all around the country.

His experience in Iraq was rough. His convoys were attacked twice. His worst day occurred early on, when the military truck in front of his Humvee hit a civilian vehicle. Eggemeyer says he slammed on the brakes to avoid adding his vehicle to the pile-up. Then he got out and loaded an entire family of dead Iraqis onto a U.S. helicopter, including a little girl.

After that, Eggemeyer says his condition worsened. The longer he stayed in Iraq, the worse his body felt. He also started to take more of the opiates and the steroids the military had given him. The more he took them, the more he needed to dull the pain.

But violence wasn't the only thing Eggemeyer had to deal with while deployed overseas. While Eggemeyer was in Iraq, he filed for divorce. His mother had called to tell him his wife was cheating on him with a man in a local hotel. Then Eggemeyer checked his bank account and found 7,000 dollars was missing.

So for the duration of Eggemeyer's time in Iraq, James's parents took custody of his son, Justin, who had been born just two months before his deployment.

Returning to Fort Bragg in April 2004, James was quickly discharged from the military. His experience in Iraq had changed his disposition. He started fighting with his captain, and was given "dishonourable discharge under honourable conditions", which allowed him to use services from Veterans Administration but denied him access to college tuition assistance or vocational training.
go here for the rest
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39731