It was about the fifth letter from the fifth different agency wanting money to help our Veterans. It is not that I do not appreciate and respect what our young men and women in the services do. I think it is an incredible act of loyalty and commitment to go and fight in two military operations which should never have been begun. Our enemy was never a nation and we should have never been the invader of two countries. That those men and women have gone and fought for so many years with so many tours of duty is simply remarkable.
Yet still I wonder about all these independent charities that are asking for money to help the Veterans. There is something inside of me that thinks that these men and women who have served their country so well and so long should be getting all the care and attention they need from the government they served. Medical and psychological help should be available to all of those families. There should be no need for private or independent agencies to provide for these veterans. We as a nation owe them all care and help for sending them into such complicated and difficult jobs.
Either some of these independent and private Veteran charities are questionable and trying to play upon our charity and compassion for these Veterans or they must be evidence that we as a nation are failing these men and women. These are the kind of people that need our government help. Either these Veterans ought to be getting help from the Military funding of the government which is never being cut by the current budget proposal or they are going to be “collateral damage” of the cuts to human services budget.
These men and women are just another reason why we ought to raise and increase revenue for the government to be able to care for these men and women or we need to eliminate a few bombers and air craft carriers and use that money to pay for the care of these soldiers. We should be providing all the care they need and the constant flow of requests I have gotten from private charities suggests to me that we are not providing what is needed. This is Memorial Week-end and we need to let Congress know that the benefits for the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan need to be dramatically increased.
Well, Mr. Brand, again you speak volumes about your ignorance of the Veteran’s Administration and betray your political allegiances. The VA bureaucracy and that of the Defense Dept. are difficult to navigate at best. A friend of mine has a son who volunteered to serve in the US Army was wounded by an IED while deployed. The young man was initially denied disability despite suffering a traumatic brain injury because he had only been in the service less than one year. I am quite sure that he did not enlist to get wounded and receive a pension.
Then, rather than do the hard work of helping him cope with PTSD, our state mental health system and VA gave him pain medication which rendered him unconscious much of the time and addicted him to the narcotics. The young man is now struggling with addiction as his parents fight with VA and the state mental health system to treat him.
Many of the privately run charities may be scams with high administrative costs (like the Presbyterian Church) but some of them offer free transportation, lobbying for better treatment. etc. Many of us wish you would retire and go away. More government and higher taxes are not always the answer. Sometimes all that is necessary is forcing the VA and Defense Dept. bureaucracy to follow their own rules and common sense. But, sadly common sense is not common for bureaucrats or retired preachers.
Would the Rev. favor cutting cradle to grave benefits for those who have NEVER worked? Would the Rev. say “Whoa” to medical benefits to illegals? Would the Rev. think it a good idea to require photo ID to vote?
Now that would be a beginning to getting our country back.
Of course the VA needs revamping–our soldiers and their families need care–but they aren’t getting it due to the growing “fair share” Obama sociaklist bent.
I think downandout is really making my case. Those departments ought to be providing those benefits and doing that work, and the fact that they are not is either they have no funds to do them or Congress has told them not to do them. That is what I am arguing for. That those agencies ought to be demanded to provide services all across the board. I think it is outrageous that these men and women have served and are then treated as you describe.
When the military spends 400 million on site preparation in Afghanistan and then decides not to use the site, when the military spends billions on air planes that never fly and robots that are never used, I think they could use some of that money to provide benefits to all our soldiers.
Mr. Brand,
You are correct both in your initial posting. Thank you, downandout for restating Mr. Brand’s observation; although you were attempting to disparage his observation.
I have to say that I agree with Mr. Brand here. A question of legitimacy does come to mind when I receive one of these ‘letters’ not to mention the other question which begs to know where the government funding is to fix the mess they made. I am all for having serious and successful armed forces to defend us, but they must understand that there is all kinds of collateral damage to think about.
Also, Down and Out in Kittrell basically made Mr. Brand’s argument for him. They are both stating from the same point of view. Not sure why they wanted to attack him since this was the case?
Here is a link to the transcript of an NPR story that aired this morning (May 23, 2012) on Morning Edition talking about the VA’s efforts to use clergy to help military service members returning home from war. “Veterans dealing with the trauma of war will often turn to a priest or pastor of their church for guidance before going to a mental health professional. Experts say that type of support can be especially important in rural areas that aren’t near a VA medical center.”
Link: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/23/153350166/va-offers-training-to-clergy-to-minister-to-vets