Lets See Now, ‘Supporting The Troops’

What do those three words really mean in this ever so Rich, Powerful, and Patriotic Country of Ours, not to mention Supposedly Christian as well?

Is it just the mouthing of?

If a politician, which some call a profession, is it the wearing of a Flag Lapel Pin?

I have one I wear on my Veterans For Peace ballcap Turned Upside Down!!!

Is it little cheap Magnetic Yellow Ribbons that have those words printed on them, and seem to have rapidly disappeared?

We once had a conflict, we have ‘The Wall’ of remembrance of 58,000 lives lost in that conflict.

The one we, as a Nation, stated we should never forget the lessons of, and Quickly Forgot The Lessons Of!

We have a Huge Collective Guilt of how this Nation treated us returning Vets of that conflict and as we Cheered on the Invasion of another Innocent Little Country we came up with ‘Support The Troops’ and the little trinkets along with a bunch of ‘Patriotic’ slogans and putdowns, for those that did and those that didn’t, follow the collective mindset!

With all my brothers went through on returning, especially those suffering from the Trauma of Conflict Theaters, myself coming back unscathed physically but the experiances of having served there rarely leaving my mind, left me with the ability to be an Advocate for my fellow ‘Nam Veterans.

How many, non-veterans, knew that on February 26, 2008, 2PM at 334 Cannon House Office Building , at the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, this hearing was held:

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities And asked themselves why, if we ‘Support The Troops’, as myself and many other Veterans ask ourselves over and over, are we still having Congressional Hearings on Disability Ratings!

We’re a Wealthy Country, or at least some are, Extremely Wealthy, beyond amounts that one can use in a lifetime, and we ‘Support The Troops’!

With all we learned? from that other conflict, not so long ago, the one the lessons were never going to be forgotten, the one that Finally gave a name to

and an explosion of knowledge about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, i.e. PTSD, why hasn’t the Veterans Affairs Department, the Peoples Representatives in Congress

and the Commanders in Chiefs since than made Military and Veterans Care a Top Priority and Budgetted at the Top of the Defense Budgets with No Questions of Cost,

after all we ‘Support The Troops’ and we now have a Professional Military!

The Navy Times had abit about the above hearing called, of all things, Experts: VA disability system can be fixed. Say What!!

For some reason the term ‘Experts’ and VA, System, Fixed just don’t seem to fit together.

With the wealth of information, the fighting the system that Vets have had to do, the huge problems encountered by returning ‘Nam Vets back than with the VA, why weren’t these ‘Experts’ fixing what was already broken long ago, especially as we supposedly modernized with a professional military!

“The VA needs the right tools to do the right thing,” Hall said.

VA argued that it is already doing the right thing and has been updating the rating schedule, though officials acknowledged they could do better. From 1990 through 2007, VA had updated 47 percent of the ratings schedule, but 35 percent of the codes had not been touched since 1945. However, VA said it updated the codes for TBI in January and is working on an update for PTSD.

Working on an Update for PTSD??

“I believe the ratings schedule needs to be clarified so it has logic from the point of view of medicine and science,” McGinn said. “It has not progressed in the last five decades.”

No Shit!!

Kilpatrick said the exam for PTSD is also key. Examiners need to be carefully trained in how to diagnose and rate PTSD, and the exam should take up to three hours, rather than the 20 minutes that the Institute of Medicine found is often the case with veterans.

Send our Military Personal to create a ‘Hell On Earth’ than when they return take 20min. to find out how that may have effected them, 20 Minutes, think they can really spare even that, apparently it would be an even greater trauma, for the examiners, if they needed more than 20 Minutes, hell 3 Hours isn’t even enough!!!

Now add to the fact that this country, who Supports The Troops, still need to have Congressional Hearings on the care of those same troops after they return we can add another travesty, the Veterans Need To Bring Lawsuits Against the Government, Us, Who They Served!

Tomorrow the following will take place:

VCS and VUFT Press Release: Court Hearing Set for March 3 in Lawsuit Against VA

MEDIA ADVISORY: FEBRUARY 28, 2008

FEDERAL COURT TO HEAR TESTIMONY ABOUT BREAKDOWNS IN VA HEALTH DELIVERY SYSTEM

Contacts:

* Paul Sullivan, Veterans for Common Sense, (202) 558-4553

* Robert M. Handy, Veterans United for Truth, (805) 455-5259

* Gordon P. Erspamer and Heather A. Moser, Morrison & Foerster, (925) 295-3341 and (415) 268-7091

* Sidney M. Wolinsky, Disability Rights Advocates, (510) 665-8644

WHAT: Hearing with Witnesses on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction

WHO: Before Senior Judge Samuel Conti, United States District Court, Northern District of California.

WHEN: Beginning Monday, March 3, 2008 at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Federal Courthouse, Courtroom #1, 17th Floor, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA

Beginning Monday, March 3, and continuing throughout the week, Senior Judge Samuel Conti will hear testimony from witnesses concerning Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) neglect of veterans who have shown a potential for committing suicide. Opening statements from both sides shall precede testimony. This unusual hearing stems from the filing by Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) and Veterans United for Truth (VUFT) of a Motion for Preliminary Injunction. The motion asks the Court to order the VA to immediately screen and treat all potentially suicidal veterans.

Veteran suicides have reached an epidemic level, with approximately 120 veterans taking their own lives every week. Despite these numbers, the VA argues that veterans are only entitled to health care if the VA decides to provide it, and that veterans lack “entitlement” to any health care. The judge has convened the evidentiary hearings to assist in his decision on the Preliminary Injunction.

In January, the Court cleared the way for this major national class action lawsuit on behalf of disabled veterans to directly challenge the VA failings. The ruling affirms the rights of veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to sue in federal court over the lengthy waiting times that veterans face in receiving needed mental health care, the huge backlog of disability claims, and the inadequacy of care for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. If you visit one of the companies that specialize in disability home care Melbourne area you will find the adequate and required support and home care that some of these veterans might need. It is a shame that these can’t be provided properly in more locations. The complaint, filed in the United States District Court in July, seeks a judicial finding that the VA’s system of handling claims and appeals is so dysfunctional that it violates veterans’ constitutional and statutory rights. The suit also calls for court orders requiring the VA to provide immediate medical and psychological help to returning troops and to screen them for risk of suicide. For more information about the lawsuit, please go to this web site: Veterans For Common Sense et al. v. Peake,

Case No. C 07 3758, U.S.D.C. {N.D. Cal. 2007}.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can develop in a person who witnesses or is confronted with a traumatic event. PTSD is the most prevalent mental disorder arising from combat. The suit claims that numerous VA practices violate the constitutional and statutory rights of veterans with PTSD by denying veterans adequate procedural safeguards in VA benefits process, access to the judicial process, and mandated medical care.

Military Spouses for Change are Strong Advocates with ‘Veterans For Common Sense’ and ‘Veterans United for Truth’ on the above Class Action Lawsuit, their Newly Created Blog

Once again I’ll ask, if we as a Country ‘Support The Troops’, why do We Make Those Same Troops and Veterans Jump through Hoops of Red Tape and Broken Promises to Seek That Support ?!!!!

An Update to an Earlier ‘Alert’ Post:

Family turns to homeless – Missing Marine

Eric Hall

Age: 24

Hair: brownish-blond

Eyes: brown

Height: 5 feet, 9 inches; walks with a limp

Weight: 140 pounds

Clothing: black leather jacket with patch that says “In Memory of Pops” (a memorial to a friend’s deceased father), plaid long-sleeved shirt, white T-shirt, blue jeans, possibly a motorcycle helmet

Tattoos: “sinner” written on inside of right bicep, “saint” on inside of left bicep, Chinese characters on stomach, dog tags on left side of ribcage, praying hands on left side of chest, and “established in 1983” written on lower back

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office at 941-639-0013 or Becky Hall at 502-500-7732.

Hall, a 24-year-old native of Clark County and Iraq war veteran, was said to be experiencing hallucinations and war flashbacks when he fled a family member’s home in Charlotte County, Fla.

There have been a few updates since I posted about Eric here, especially about the two phone calls a friend received, this update also mentions them.

Earlier this month, a female friend of the family received two phone calls, initially thought to be from Eric Hall. Hopes were dashed when one of the calls was traced back to Louisville and found to be a hoax – perpetuated by someone with whom the family friend used to be involved, said Kevin Hall.

Authorities have yet to confirm whether the other phone call was real or not.

And apparently there isn’t much they can do to the AssWipe who made the fake phone call, my guess a young, non-military, supporter of the war!!!