OBAMA IMPROVES VETERAN CARE

As a veteran I have been troubled by our nation’s treatment of its military since the beginning of the Iraq war. The continuous rotation of soldiers and marines into combat zones with little or no rest is horrendous and has led to an extremely high incidence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Anyone forced to endure multiple rotations into combat situations is likely to emerge with some level of PTSD.
One of the most blatant contradictions within the Bush administration was the difference between the flag-waving rhetoric and the treatment of veterans. We saw it in the ugliness of mistreatment at Walter Reed and in the practice of prescribing psychotropic medications for PTSD suffering men and women so that they could be sent back into combat situations.
Department of Veteran Affairs regulations in place during that era made it increasingly harder for our veterans to obtain help in dealing with their PTSD, but the Obama administration has changed regulations to enable treatment.
In the past, veterans had to prove that they served in a specific situation which produced symptoms of PTSD. The paperwork was often arduous and the reaction of those charged with evaluating applicants was frequently demeaning and discouraging. All this kept a great many suffering veterans from seeking or obtaining help.
New regulations will not only eliminate the need to link the presence of symptoms to a documentable incident and the people present, but will also recognize that even those in support roles can be susceptible to the disorder.
The upshot is that one of the many problems faced by our veterans is being addressed. We should all be watching to see whether the changes have a real effect and also whether or not other problems are seriously addressed.
Will this administration stop sending people into multiple combat and other high-stress rotations? Will they end the military slavery created by extending service terms beyond the time agreed to at recruitment? Will veterans be able to obtain services throughout the VA system without humiliation or subjection to services below accepted standards of care? And, ultimately, will this administration that so proudly touts transparency achieve ultimate visibility by re-instating the draft?
The American public remains ignorant and powerless in relation to military policy by virtue of the distance created by a totally volunteer military. A volunteer army removes widespread objection to inappropriate warfare and attracts not only the highly motivated patriot, but those who cannot imagine anything they would rather do than fight and kill.
A draft forces all citizens to evaluate the quality of the war they or their sons and daughters are forced to fight and so requires constant public analysis that could squelch false wars like the one in Iraq.
Yes, we need a military defense, but we also need to use our military correctly and wisely and to honor their service by providing quality care for them.
Score one for the Obama administration, but demand more.