The Military and VA

Occasionally there is something you read that is so moving, it's hard to know how to deal with it. A piece by Nicholas Kristof in The NY Times is one of those. He hit every critical area that we face today with our vets. Major Richards is an example. He also nailed it: the military mentality. The article was pretty scathing  in terms of the Army and VA. Here's the rub:The mission of the military is designed for one thing: to fight amd win wars. When it moves beyond that, it doesn't know what to do. The Sec Def is right: let's don't kid ourselves. The VA is overwhelmed and it is only beginning. The elephant in the room is the new soldier paradigm. The modern soldier is keenly attuned to social media and aware  of the system. Even while he is in combat, he is calling home, describing the action; he's emailing, tweeting. He understands what his/her benefits are, i.e., nearly half of returning soldiers are applying for benefits before they hit the ground. PTSD is a good example. It was 10 years before Vietnam vets by hook and crook could even get a hearing and then it all had to be meticulously documented. I know,  although never filing a claim personally, I've helped many. Now, a soldier, thanks to the President, only has to say, they were "present for duty." And, let me tell you this, all combat is not equal. In Vietnam, we had prolonged fire fights that could last for days. Snipers and booby traps came toward the end of the war, wounds similar to what Iraqi and Afghan vets received. Most of the 58,000 Vietnam soldiers died in the old fashioned way by bullets fired by an enemy intent on killing him. While a good Army, repetitive tours can be directly blamed on a volunteer military that is too small and less emotionally sophisticated, making them prone to an inability to cope, possibly an explanation for the epidemic of suicides. It may be the calibre of the recruit. While the good major blames a culture of the Army, I do the same for different reasons. Instead of telling the American people that care that we will face these problems, they used tho old "can do" philosophy. Think Shinsekie, now head of the VA, when he suggested another course for Iraq, as opposed to the old, "Can do," they in essenes fired his ass. I am certainly no apologist for the VA and my disclaimer is that although never having filed a claim, I have helped many. VA has improved but is onerwhelmed. And, let us not forget: the claims side of VA is different from the medical side which is as good as any HMO or better maybe.