Repeating History Equals Predictable Outcome for Veterans

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Albert Einstein

Repeating history equals predictable outcome and that is what veterans have been dealing with for decades.

If you think any of the reports you read in newspapers today are new issues, then consider the source. The reporters, most of them anyway, were not even born when veterans came home from Vietnam. They have absolutely no idea what happened or when, but the worst thing about them is they don't even want to learn.

There is nothing coming out of Washington that is new. All the bills they write have been done over and over and over again and everyone of them has failed.

Consider the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act that floods your email box about being a good thing. It all sounds good but for those paying attention it is all too familiar.

Somehow, somewhere, someone decided to pull a fast one of the American public all so ready to do whatever it takes to take care of veterans without ever once considering the "doers" are doing it to the veterans instead of for the veterans.

Vietnam Veterans came home and pushed for the research and funding. This shows how long it has been going on. Notice 1980? That came after years of research before they adopted what many psychiatrists were already calling it,

VA PTSD Research

PTSD: National Center for PTSD

Congressional Mandate
The National Center for PTSD was created in 1989 within the Department of Veterans Affairs in response to a Congressional mandate (PL 98-528) to address the needs of Veterans and other trauma survivors with PTSD. The Center was developed with the ultimate purpose to improve the well-being, status, and understanding of Veterans in American society.

The mandate called for a center of excellence that would set the agenda for research and education on PTSD without direct responsibility for patient care. Convinced that no single VA site could adequately serve this unique mission, VA established the Center as a consortium of five division s.

We've been doing so much on PTSD for so long now that there should be no questions, no veterans still trying to figure stuff out on their own, no stigma, no lack of care but it is worse for them now than before when less was being done.

Everytime they pass a bill, it comes with a pricetag on it. Someone is making money. No matter what the outcome is, they still get paid and keep the money. Congress turns around and cuts them another check when things get worse.

Here's some reminders of what your tax dollars paid for.
The Epic of Gilgamesh Cartoon for PTSD by the VA

THIS HAPPENED IN 2007

DoD/VA Post-Deployment Health Clinical Practice Guideline (PDH-CPG) TrainingTable of Contents
PDH-CPG Training Briefs are seven condensed (7-12 minute) training modules produced by the DoD Deployment Health Clinical Center. These modules were designed to provide clinicians with guidance on implementation of the DoD/VA Post-Deployment Health Clinical Practice Guideline (PDH-CPG).(Produced by DoD Deployment Health Clinical Center)
Introduction
Primary Care Screening
Primary Care Evaluation
Clinical Management and Follow-up
Clinical Health Risk Communication
Coding and Documentation
Post-Deployment Health Assessment (PDHA)
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a 15 minute video produced by the Veterans Administration illustrating the implementation of the PDH-CPG through the use of animated characters. It is suitable for all audiences - providers, support staff, service members and their families.(Produced by VA Employee Education System)

President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 today, handing over an extra $3.7 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

THIS HAPPENED IN JANUARY OF 2008

Bush had to sign the act by Jan. 18, or VA would have lost the promised extra funding, which will be used to hire and train people to process the backlog of more than 600,000 benefits claims, said Dave Autry, spokesman for Disabled American Veterans. Some of the money also will go toward medical research for conditions such as traumatic brain injuries.

Rural Veterans The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)has provided $21.7 million to its regional health care systems to improve services specifically designed for veterans in rural areas.

THIS HAPPENED IN 2009

"This special allocation is the latest down payment on VA's commitment to meet the needs of veterans living in rural areas," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. "VA will take to our rural veterans the health care services they have earned." Within the last year, VA has launched a major rural health initiative.

Last year, 2014, they tried this one, Oscar the Grouch to train VA employees

The beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs depicted dissatisfied veterans as Oscar the Grouch in a recent internal training guide, and some vets and VA staffers said Tuesday that they feel trashed.

The cranky Sesame Street character who lives in a garbage can was used in reference to veterans who will attend town-hall events Wednesday in Philadelphia.

"There is no time or place to make light of the current crisis that the VA is in," said Joe Davis, a national spokesman for the VFW. "And especially to insult the VA's primary customer."

The 18-page slide show on how to help veterans with their claims, presented to VA employees Friday and obtained by The Inquirer, also says veterans might be demanding and unrealistic and tells VA staffers to apologize for the "perception" of the agency.

The spokeswoman from the Philadelphia VA benefits office - which will host the town halls Wednesday at noon and 6:30 p.m. - said in a statement that the agency regretted any misunderstanding caused by the slide show.

Within some of the funds they spent on suicide prevention aside from the obvious failures of Battlemind and Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, we have these.

"The $677,000 study, which began a few months ago, will last two years. They hope to interview 100 participants."

That was for the University of Kentucky to find out how 100 families felt after a veteran committed suicide in 2012.

So let the press make fun of this one but yet again, they are not even close to what they should have been paying attention to all along. OBTW, this "effort" from the VA isn't new either.

VA Core Values and Characteristics