February 20, 2007 6:38 AM

So who hates the troops now?

The real treason. Our maimed soldiers are living in cockroach infested ghettos back here in the states.

Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army’s Top Medical Facility

The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely — a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them — the majority soldiers, with some Marines — have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.

I’m sick to death of listening to hypocritical Republicans upbraiding Liberals and Democrats who oppose the war in Iraq for “not supporting the troops.” Yes, I suppose if “supporting the troops” means voting Republican and sporting magnetic ribbons on your SUV, then we’re certainly lacking. When it comes to the real thing- caring for those injured and maimed in combat- Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © and his Republican cohorts have seriously dropped the ball. No one expects soldiers to be cared for in five-star hotels, but for those who’ve served their country and returned wounded, shouldn’t we be doing everything possible to ensure that they have the care and services they need to recover and return to a normal existence?

Why are our wounded soldiers returning to a military health care system burdened by budget shortfalls, bureaucratic snafus, a lack of compassion, and just plain ineptitude? Why are these heroes having to deal with a system inadequately staffed, funded, and organized to meet their needs. To call this a disgrace would be an understatement, but there is little doubt where the responsibility lies- behind the bid desk in the Oval Office.

There is nothing that could possibly excuse a military health care system that so terribly fails those who have served their country while believing that they would be cared for if something happened to them. That this is not happening should be seen as a national embarrassment. We have plenty of money to wage a clusterf—k of a war in Iraq, but when it comes to caring for those wounded while fighting that war…well, take a number and get in line, y’all….

“We’ve done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it,” said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months. “We don’t know what to do. The people who are supposed to know don’t have the answers. It’s a nonstop process of stalling.”

Soldiers, family members, volunteers and caregivers who have tried to fix the system say each mishap seems trivial by itself, but the cumulative effect wears down the spirits of the wounded and can stall their recovery.

“It creates resentment and disenfranchisement,” said Joe Wilson, a clinical social worker at Walter Reed. “These soldiers will withdraw and stay in their rooms. They will actively avoid the very treatment and services that are meant to be helpful.”

Danny Soto, a national service officer for Disabled American Veterans who helps dozens of wounded service members each week at Walter Reed, said soldiers “get awesome medical care and their lives are being saved,” but, “Then they get into the administrative part of it and they are like, ‘You saved me for what?’ The soldiers feel like they are not getting proper respect. This leads to anger.”

We talk a good game, but when it comes to actually doing the heavy lifting of caring for those doing the fighting and dying for us, we seem OK with a substandard and inadequate health care system. And even if we’re not OK with this, we certainly seem OK with being willfully ignorant of the problem. This is the sort of national disgrace that should be front-page news from Anchorage to Key West, and yet how much of it have our heard in the Mainstream Media?

If we truly “support our troops”, shouldn’t we be spending less time slapping magnetic ribbons on SUVs and more time contacting our Senators and Congressmen, demanding that this outrage be rectified? If we can fight a war, we need to be able to care for those damaged by it. Those who return wounded deserve to have every possible resource marshalled in an effort to make certain that they can return to a normal existence, or at least as close to normal as is possible with current medical care and technology.

WE DESERVE BETTER…and so do those brave men and women doing the fighting and dying while we’re slapping magnetic ribbons on our SUVs.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 20, 2007 6:38 AM.

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