Thoughts on the VA

So what's up with the VA that hasn't been up since WWII? Not much.

    Unless you've been living in a cave on the other side of Gilligan's Island and the professor's coconut powered laptop stopped working you know the VA is under fire for dicking veterans around with secret waiting lists, an insane backlog of unprocessed claims, piss poor outpatient care, vets dying from neglect in VA hospitals, an antiquated filing and charting system and just about anything else you can think of a Medical treatment service can screw up. It's a sad, sad state of affairs for veterans and their families and it says quite a bit about how America feels about her Veterans once we put down our rifles, come home and ask "Where's the vodka, weed and crack at? I don't feel so good." 

    The truth is the VA has consistently jerked veterans around since the Vietnam days in large part by being overwhelmed by severely wounded veterans who would have died on the field in previous conflicts. Vietnam introduced the use of medical air EVAC on a huge scale to the first modern, well equipped field hospitals that were often close to the action. For the first time in armed conflict badly wounded men could be on the operating table within an hour of being hit. This had a huge impact on the rate of severely wounded GI's coming home needing a great deal of long term medical care.Vietnam was unusual psychologically in the respect that US forces were facing an elusive, intelligent and determined enemy that didn't where a uniform, could be anywhere, strike anytime and employed unusual and effective forms of psychological combat. Iraq and Afghanistan were the same in this respect. (Constantly having IED's, snipers and ambushes at the forefront of your mind is exhausting. When any middle eastern male between the ages of 10 and 70 could be an enemy combatant it doesn't take long to get wildly paranoid and you just as soon watch everyone through your rifle sites as look at them.) The American psychiatric association didn't officially recognize PTSD as a treatable diagnosis until 1980 and the VA didn't set up the National center for PTSD until 1989. Severe, life debilitating PTSD was left untreated in tens of thousands of veterans that had no where to turn except self medicating and the streets when they came home to a hostile public that made the tragic mistake of blaming the vets for an unpopular war many of them were drafted into and paid a high price for. The plight of the Vietnam vet is an embarrassment to American history and a massive failure of our culture. The war on terror vets have fared better with public perception than the nam vet did. (The support our troops campaign was wildly successful. I was a regular rock star when I came home after my deployments to Iraq. That was pretty cool.) Problems with an overwhelmed, dysfunctional VA tragically persist though. Both Republicans and Democratic leaders have a history of blocking and cutting funding to veterans programs while spending wildly on defense programs that are often obsolete and unnecessary. Since the end of WWII US foreign policy has been brutally hawkish. First with the cold war then the war on terror US foreign policy has utilized enemies, both real and imagined to further US interest abroad. The full fruition of "the industrial Military Complex" President Eisenhower warned America of back in the 1950's.

   So what of the current "Va Crisis." Beyond the usual political posturing and finger pointing my prediction is a big stink will be made about it in the press for a few weeks until the next crisis du jour comes along and it'll be forgotten about by the wider public. If congress does anything at all it'll likely be a band aid fix over a the gapping shrapnel wound that's the VA's tragic saga of being overwhelmed and underfunded. So the next time you meet a vet and he doesn't seemed particularly enthusiastic about your gratitude and doesn't want to talk about his experience remember that in our ears what we're hearing is lip service and empty promises. Such was our bullshit homecoming. Thank you for reading. Baby Ricochet.

    

Author's Note

Happy memorial day. I'm getting shitfaced. Later

Reviews

[smurfett]

Well put. It is sad how things continue to be. I like your boldness! Bravo!!

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

The term Fodder for the machine, comes to mind.
Well written piece. you need to get this out there. Push it on to all multi media sources.
Nice one my friend.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you MAD ENGLISHMAN

[MOON]

Chew you up and spit you out . Heartbreaking

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you Moon

[vaishnavi]

its a real good story i like it :D

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you Vaishnavi

[vaishnavi]

ur welcome

[icelandicblue]

This is not the first time a scandal of this sort has come up with the VA. Agent orange denials, drug addictions, head injuries, PTSD, and a myriad of other serious ailments. Each time the VA has denied, then dragged their feet and in my humble opinion they wait for everyone to die so that they don't have to deal with it. It breaks my heart and makes my blood boil. You deserve each and every beer you drank baby. I'm sorry we're such a hypocritical country when it comes to the human carnage known as the survivors. We are friggen Spartans about those who need help.

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you Blue. I appreciate it

[unsavable_soul]

Nicely penned,
As usual you hit some topic right in the gut. It is a crying shame the state at which military is a lot of smoke and mirrors. We told them in every war those that come home would be taken care of. Few see that come to fruition. I fear you are also right when you say that this problem will soon blow over in the American mind, it shouldn't but I fear it will. Excellent little write and thanks for putting it out there.
Chris

[Baby Ricochet]

Thank you unsavable soul. It's good to hear from you

[Tai Ryens]

You state the harsh realities of what veterans must go through firmly and without holding back and it truly is a heartbreaking truth that veterans must endure, from the being viewed as an enemy for something that often wasn't their fault to begin with to simply the traumatizing memories that they have amassed while they were on duty.

Truly I do commend you all for your service and wish good will upon you all. Whether the government is slowly urging towards giving veterans benefits, I know not, for I tend not to follow politics too closely.

Well spoken, Baby, as always

[Baby Ricochet]

Thanks Tai. I appreciate your input

[Corset]

Have a couple more for my dad.

[Baby Ricochet]

I think I did. Thank you Corset

[Corset]

I'm sure of it. Thanks Baby :)

[Tate Morgan]

You see things through clear eyes as do many of us old enough to remember

[Baby Ricochet]

I know a lot of Vietnam vets. We owe them. Thanks Tate