Culpability in complacency
by
Chaplain Kathie
When dedicated people assume all is well, it adds to the reality that veterans live with on a daily basis as they seek help after combat. The VA will say they have added on psychologists, psychiatrists and even claims processors, but what they won't tell you is that there are still not enough to meet the need. The DOD will say they have instituted programs to address the anguish of PTSD but what they won't say is if these programs are working or not as we read the suicide figures rise every year even after millions of funds have gone into the programs they claim will work.
Take a look at your own life. When you go home at the end of the day, it's doubtful you spend any time researching what you do for a living. Unless you are in college to get a degree, what you do for a living is not part of your home life. That is the way it is for most people in the VA as well as the DOD. They see what they are shown, doing very little investigating on their own.
When they see new soldiers or veterans seeking help, they assume they are filling the need, however missing the long lines behind these new patients. They don't have to read about another suicide some place else across the country. They don't read the story of yet another homeless veteran's body being found in the woods. They don't read about the National Guards soldier being told they have to go to the back of the line for help, wait for their claim to be approved so their war wound is taken care of, as they try to find out how the hell they are supposed to pay their bills and take care of their families.
In the DOD, they have their own way of doing things. The chain of command feeds them the programs they are supposed to use and they are just supposed to use what they are given no matter if they believe in the program or not. Much like the attitude of "it's better than nothing" they dutifully use it and hope for the best.
The people in charge are supposed to be keeping up on facts and removing themselves from ego driven attachment to what they have been doing. If they spend no time investigating what is being done across the country to find the programs that have been proven successful, they will never know how much they are part of the problem.
When the DOD assumed a program called Battle Mind was working the VA adopted the program. We saw the suicides, attempted suicides, homelessness, divorce, incarcerations and crimes go up to the point where there are now special veterans' courts opening the doors to address the unique aspect of being a veteran of combat. Had there not been such enormous public pressure on the DOD and the VA do to more, they would still be relying on this program instead of finding something that would not do more harm than good.
The problem was so bad that when Spec. Chris Dana, of the Montana National Guard, committed suicide, his commanders were fed up with losing more after combat than they did during it. They came up with their own program to address the aftermath of combat. Had the DOD been doing due diligence, they would have figured out the failure of this program long ago. It's not that they didn't care. They suffered from complacency assuming it was working. Maybe they figured they just needed to give their efforts more time to work since the chain of command above them came up with the programs they were using.
At the VA there is a long line the mental health providers never see. While they see their cases rise and see more new faces joining as co-workers, they assume all that is needed to be done is being done. They don't read about the phone calls the suicide prevention hotline gets that are never followed up on, or the calls when the veteran is told to call back in the morning. They only know about the ones who are saved and the ones who are helped because of this effort. They know about approved claims but they don't know about the devastation veterans suffer when their claim is tied up or erroneously denied.
Members of congress will not know until either reporters break stories in their district or a constituent reaches their aid to tell of a heartbreaking story of a family member no longer here because they were not provided with the help they needed to heal after war. Congress will assume the DOD and the VA are taking care of all the issues because they have provided increased funding to address the problem. What they do not do is follow up to make sure there are no more veterans falling through the cracks.
All of this makes them culpable and us as well.
When the veterans are suffering, when the troops do not have what they need, we are all responsible for it. If we ignore what is happening, we are part of the problem. Even service organizations assume that the VA is taking care of all of the need or at least getting close to it. They simply do as they always did with small efforts on the local level, while in their local community there are hundreds of National Guards coming home to no jobs, no financial support, families unaware of what came home with them in the form of PTSD, leaving them feeling abandoned until it's time to deploy them again.
Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors desiring to dedicate their lives as career military, suddenly find themselves unable to return to duty after the wounds of war strike them down. This they wanted to spend the rest of their lives doing, yet because of a physical wound or invisible one they are discharged. Then they must try to find a job if they can work or compensation if they cannot. Then they wonder what they are supposed to do with the rest of their lives now that their life plans are no longer possible. They also have to deal with members of their units deploying again while they remain here.
The VA and the DOD have not taken notice of the fact that many groups have formed outside to address the needs. They have also not seemed to have noticed that it is not happening in every community just as there are not enough Vet Centers in every community. Veterans are unique because while they may leave small towns and rural areas, they serve in the same place, taking the same risks, suffering the same kinds of wounds, as others from larger cities with more resources to provide veterans with. These veterans deserved the same care other veterans receive but not much is being done for them.
Congress continues to look for ways to help. They keep finding funding to try to address the problems. They keep holding hearings to find out what is going on. The problem is, they are not holding hearings on what has already been done that has been proven to work. They are not talking to people that have been already having successful outcomes.
How did a lot of Vietnam veterans marriages survive when there was nothing for support back then but now there is support but shattered families go up as well as suicides and homelessness?
How did some veterans manage to heal so much so that they turned around and started organizations to help other veterans heal, yet some fall so far into the abyss they end up living in the woods or on the streets?
How did some members of the clergy take their ministries to a whole new level and begin to train on trauma while most members of the clergy avoid any knowledge of it?
There needs to be an attitude adjustment in this country and all of us need to stop assuming someone else will do what needs to be done because clearly the evidence is in and it is not happening. Congress needs to find out what really works and stop hearing the same things over and over again. The DOD and the VA need to take a fresh look at the results of what they've done so far and keep doing what has proven to be successful and ditching what doesn't work the same way they would ditch faulty weapons.
The numbers are not all in. Even the experts point out the reluctance of seeking help because of the stigma at the same time they are unaware of the fact mild PTSD can be healed pretty successfully and they can stay in the military. Just ask the four generals who had the courage to talk about their own wounds. This means for all the numbers we have now, we are not even close to what is to come. If we do not treat this as an emergency situation now, it will be catastrophic over the next few years.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Local veterans honored, forum tackles homefront issues
Dedication to America
Local veterans honored; forum tackles homefront issues
by Timothy J. Carroll
Hoboken hosted two events last week to honor local servicemen and servicewomen for Veterans Day, once known as Armistice Day to remember the end of World War I.
Dubbed by Woodrow Wilson the “War To End All Wars,” World War I ended in the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Unfortunately, WWI did not end all wars.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, local veterans and other city officials gathered at Pier A Park to remember fallen soldiers and pay tribute to others who served.
At 11 a.m., they observed a moment of silence and rang a bell 11 times in memory of Armistice Day.
On Wednesday night, the city and other sponsors conducted a public forum on veterans’ homefront issues. The forum featured a shortened version of a play dealing with suicide among veterans, a documentary film about soldiers’ homefront groups, and a discussion about post-war issues.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer attended the forum and asked all veterans in the audience to stand before the forum began so that everyone could show appreciation for their service.
read more here
Dedication to America
Local veterans honored; forum tackles homefront issues
by Timothy J. Carroll
Hoboken hosted two events last week to honor local servicemen and servicewomen for Veterans Day, once known as Armistice Day to remember the end of World War I.
Dubbed by Woodrow Wilson the “War To End All Wars,” World War I ended in the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Unfortunately, WWI did not end all wars.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, local veterans and other city officials gathered at Pier A Park to remember fallen soldiers and pay tribute to others who served.
At 11 a.m., they observed a moment of silence and rang a bell 11 times in memory of Armistice Day.
“When I came home, what I did, I cannot tell you those things, but God was with me.” – Orlando Addeo
On Wednesday night, the city and other sponsors conducted a public forum on veterans’ homefront issues. The forum featured a shortened version of a play dealing with suicide among veterans, a documentary film about soldiers’ homefront groups, and a discussion about post-war issues.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer attended the forum and asked all veterans in the audience to stand before the forum began so that everyone could show appreciation for their service.
read more here
Dedication to America
The Growing PTSD Plague
The Growing PTSD Plague
November 15, 2009: For the last six years, the U.S. Army has been conducting mental health surveys of troops in the combat zone. As expected, troops on their second or third trip to the combat zone, have more stress related mental problems. While 14 percent of troops on their first combat tour have stress problems, that goes to 18 percent for those on their second tour, and 31 percent for those on their third.
A growing proportion of NCOs and officers are doing their third or fourth combat tours (in Iraq or Afghanistan), and that means more and more of them are approaching the point where they will have to take a non-combat job. Otherwise, they risk severe mental problems from the accumulated stress. In effect, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) epidemic has been created by the unprecedented exposure of so many troops, to so much combat, in so short a time. Once a soldier has PTSD, they are no longer fit for combat, and many troops headed for Afghanistan are falling into this category. PTSD makes it difficult for people to function, or get along with others. With treatment (medication, and therapy), you can recover from PTSD. But this can take months or years. In extreme cases, there is no recovery.
read more here
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htatrit/articles/20091115.aspx
November 15, 2009: For the last six years, the U.S. Army has been conducting mental health surveys of troops in the combat zone. As expected, troops on their second or third trip to the combat zone, have more stress related mental problems. While 14 percent of troops on their first combat tour have stress problems, that goes to 18 percent for those on their second tour, and 31 percent for those on their third.
A growing proportion of NCOs and officers are doing their third or fourth combat tours (in Iraq or Afghanistan), and that means more and more of them are approaching the point where they will have to take a non-combat job. Otherwise, they risk severe mental problems from the accumulated stress. In effect, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) epidemic has been created by the unprecedented exposure of so many troops, to so much combat, in so short a time. Once a soldier has PTSD, they are no longer fit for combat, and many troops headed for Afghanistan are falling into this category. PTSD makes it difficult for people to function, or get along with others. With treatment (medication, and therapy), you can recover from PTSD. But this can take months or years. In extreme cases, there is no recovery.
read more here
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htatrit/articles/20091115.aspx
Legislation would help cut red tape for veterans
Legislation would help cut red tape for veterans
BY KRISTINA SMITH HORN • Watchdog/enterprise reporter • November 11, 2009
FREMONT -- A U.S. senator introduced legislation Tuesday that he said could help Ohio's disabled veterans receive medical and social security benefits faster with less bureaucracy.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced the Benefit Rating Acceleration for Veteran Entitlements Act to the Senate. The BRAVE Act, if approved, would allow disabled veterans to apply at the U.S. Veterans Administration for benefits and Social Security disability at the same time, Brown said.
Currently, they must apply separately to the VA and Social Security. "It's a cumbersome process," Brown said. "It takes weeks, sometimes months, for people to go through this. If you can meet VA criteria, you automatically should meet Social Security disability requirements."
read more here
http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20091111/NEWS01/911110304/-1/newsfront2
BY KRISTINA SMITH HORN • Watchdog/enterprise reporter • November 11, 2009
FREMONT -- A U.S. senator introduced legislation Tuesday that he said could help Ohio's disabled veterans receive medical and social security benefits faster with less bureaucracy.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced the Benefit Rating Acceleration for Veteran Entitlements Act to the Senate. The BRAVE Act, if approved, would allow disabled veterans to apply at the U.S. Veterans Administration for benefits and Social Security disability at the same time, Brown said.
Currently, they must apply separately to the VA and Social Security. "It's a cumbersome process," Brown said. "It takes weeks, sometimes months, for people to go through this. If you can meet VA criteria, you automatically should meet Social Security disability requirements."
read more here
http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20091111/NEWS01/911110304/-1/newsfront2
More than 1.5 million vets do not have health insurance
When veterans die -- from lack of health insurance
More than 1.5 million vets don't have it, and 2,200 vets die every year because of it
By Joan Walsh
It's Veterans Day, and members of both parties compete to show service members the most respect. How about passing health insurance reform?
Two Harvard researchers chose today to release a study showing that 1.5 million American veterans have no health insurance, and more than 2,200 die every year because of it. Working-poor veterans are at particular risk -- they earn too much money to qualify for certain Veterans Administration programs, but they work in jobs that don't provide insurance and they don't earn enough to buy it themselves.
"The uninsured have about a 40 percent higher risk of dying each year than otherwise comparable insured individuals," David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, told Agence France Presse. "Putting that all together you get an estimate of almost 2,300 -- 2,266 veterans who die each year from lack of health insurance." Fourteen times as many vets died for lack of health insurance than were killed in Afghanistan last year.
Meanwhile, conservative Sen. Tom Coburn continues to block a needed veterans' healthcare bill because it's too expensive.
read more here
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joan_walsh/politics/2009/11/11/veterans_day/
More than 1.5 million vets don't have it, and 2,200 vets die every year because of it
By Joan Walsh
It's Veterans Day, and members of both parties compete to show service members the most respect. How about passing health insurance reform?
Two Harvard researchers chose today to release a study showing that 1.5 million American veterans have no health insurance, and more than 2,200 die every year because of it. Working-poor veterans are at particular risk -- they earn too much money to qualify for certain Veterans Administration programs, but they work in jobs that don't provide insurance and they don't earn enough to buy it themselves.
"The uninsured have about a 40 percent higher risk of dying each year than otherwise comparable insured individuals," David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, told Agence France Presse. "Putting that all together you get an estimate of almost 2,300 -- 2,266 veterans who die each year from lack of health insurance." Fourteen times as many vets died for lack of health insurance than were killed in Afghanistan last year.
Meanwhile, conservative Sen. Tom Coburn continues to block a needed veterans' healthcare bill because it's too expensive.
read more here
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joan_walsh/politics/2009/11/11/veterans_day/
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