War vets dismissed with wrong diagnoses, denied benefits

This is just wrong. It's another legacy of the Bush/Cheney era. All those politicians who claim to support the troops aren't supporting the troops if they let this happen:

At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely to be suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.

So, we sent these men and women to war, they suffered because of it. And, instead of helping them, the Army kicked them out with no benefits.

Fix it. Read More......

Another reason why dogs are man's best friends: Service dogs help vets deal with PTSD

You only have to look in that box titled "AMERICAblog Reader Pets" in the upper right hand corner of this site to see how much we all love their pets. We've received hundreds and hundreds of pet photos -- and they keep coming. Last week, John -- finally -- joined the rank of pet owners. So, all the animal lovers should read this article from today's New York Times about dogs who have come to the aid of vets dealing with PTSD:

The dogs to whom they credit their improved health are not just pets. Rather, they are psychiatric service dogs specially trained to help traumatized veterans leave the battlefield behind as they reintegrate into society.

Because of stories like these, the federal government, not usually at the forefront of alternative medical treatments, is spending several million dollars to study whether scientific research supports anecdotal reports that the dogs might speed recovery from the psychological wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In dozens of interviews, veterans and their therapists reported drastic reductions in P.T.S.D. symptoms and in reliance on medication after receiving a service dog.

The article is really worth a read. And, hat tip to Senator Al Franken:

Under a bill written by Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, veterans with P.T.S.D. will get service dogs as part of a pilot program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Training a psychiatric service dog and pairing it with a client costs more than $20,000. The government already helps provide dogs to soldiers who lost their sight or were severely wounded in combat, but had never considered placing dogs for emotional damage.

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GOP's Coburn "is denying veterans many benefits and services”

We'll hear a lot of speeches about veterans and their service to our nation today. But, any Republican Senator who speaks today should be ashamed. Their colleague, Tom Coburn (OK) is still blocking a bill to aid vets. At the end of last week, Senator Akaka laid down the gauntlet:

Speaking Friday on the Senate floor about a procedural hold that is blocking passage of S. 1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said “it would be truly disgraceful” if the bill didn’t clear the Senate by Veterans’ Day.

Akaka said the bill represents a bipartisan collection of veterans’ committee proposals packaged into one bill so it could quickly pass. Consideration of the measure is being blocked by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who doesn’t want the measure brought up unless he is given an opportunity to offer amendments.

“This single senator is denying veterans many benefits and services,” Akaka said, including a new caregiver assistant program at families of the “most seriously wounded veterans.”

Well, it's Veterans Day and Coburn is still blocking the bill. His GOP colleagues are enabling him.

On Monday, Democratic Senators held a press conference to focus attention on this issue. And, Coburn showed up for what he called the "festivities." The Democrats blasted him anyway:

Festivities? This is all fun and games for Coburn. It's reality for the vets and their families.

Isn't it time to just roll over Coburn? If the Senate can't do it for veterans, they won't do it for anyone. Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

It's Veterans Day.

Today marks the anniversary of the end of World War I. It was also known as "the war to end all wars," which, unfortunately, it wasn't. My grandfather, Festus Joyce, served in World War I. He emigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1910. A few years later, he shipped out to Europe to fight for his new country, which earned him U.S. citizenship. That is a very American story -- and is repeated to this day. Below is my grandfather in his uniform. He died in 1970 when I was 10:

On this day when we honor them, thanks to all the vets and future vets.

Thread the news... Read More......

GOP Senator Tom Coburn using secret hold to block bill on veterans benefits

We always knew "support the troops" didn't really mean anything to Republicans. It was a slogan, nothing more. And, that's being confirmed by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) who is using the anonymous "hold" procedure in the Senate to prevent action on a bill designed to support veterans. Usually, these "holds" are secret, but the veterans have outed Coburn:

Thirteen major military and veterans groups have joined forces to try to force one senator — Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — to release a hold that he has placed on a major veterans benefits bill.

Coburn has been identified by Senate aides as the lawmaker preventing consideration of S 1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009, by using an informal but legal practice of putting a hold on a bill.

Maybe the Democrats should file a cloture motion on S. 1963 to force the GOP caucus to choose between Coburn and the vets. Read More......

Agent Orange continues to cause problems

During the runup to the invasion of Iraq I could never understand how people could fall for the war-mongering talk about chemical weapons. At the time I was in Vietnam, seeing first hand what American chemical weapons had done. Seeing young children of 10 or 11 suffering from dioxin and then hearing the chicken hawks scream about Iraq's chemical weapons (that the US sold to Iraq) was hard to swallow. If only those demanding war had a clue about the lasting impact of their actions.

A few months after leaving Vietnam I was taking my father to the VA in the US where I met vets who were on permanent disability due to exposure to the same chemicals. What a horrible, lasting impact those chemicals have had on the world. Decades after the US left Vietnam, it's still a problem.

New environmental tests confirm extremely high levels of dioxin, the toxic ingredient of Agent Orange, in people, fish and soil near a former U.S. air base where American troops stored the herbicide during the Vietnam War.

"Time is of the essence" to finish cleaning up the site, now home to the Danang airport, where dioxin levels in the soil, sediment and fish were 300 to 400 times higher than internationally accepted levels, the survey by the Canadian environmental firm Hatfield Consultants said.

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Arlen Specter keeps pushing GOP/FOX talking points on FOX, no less. Joe Sestak obliterated it.

We wrote about the FOX-led lie on the "death book" for veterans earlier today. But, it's important to see who keeps pushing this fraud. This morning, Arlen Specter appeared on FOX News to keep up the drumbeat on the FOX-led lies. It's appalling that a Democrat (even a new one like Specter) would continue spreading these falsehoods. Media Matters has the video of Specter on FOX today.

Fortunately, there is a Democrat in Pennsylvania who is obliterating the GOP/FOX lies: Joe Sestak. Not only is Sestak a decorated veteran (the highest ranking vet serving in Congress), he's challenging Specter in the Democratic primary. Sestak issued a tough statement today, which blasted the lies and Specter:

"As a Veteran, I read with deep concern an editorial entitled 'The Death Book for Veterans,' which accuses the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of deliberately sending Veterans a 'hurry-up-and-die message' with a pamphlet on living wills and end-of-life care. Anyone may criticize -- and, indeed, suggest improvements to the pamphlet -- but to seriously allege that an honest effort by the VA that sincerely helps families plan for the most difficult emotional experience of their lives is a 'death book' is counter to the public's and Veterans' interest.

"This is the same kind of sensationalized rhetoric and misleading accusations behind the misinformation on 'death panels' in the health care reform debate, and I am disappointed that Arlen Specter would lend credence to this insincere rhetoric by calling for a Senate hearing without, by his own admission, even reading the pamphlet.

That's right, Specter hadn't read the document but was on FOX pushing the lie. Old GOP habits die hard -- and Specter was a GOPer for a long, long, long time.
Sestak was also on Rachel Maddow last night -- and he's outraged by those trying to scare veterans:

Sestak not only destroyed the GOP/FOX lies, he made Specter look like a buffoon. Read More......

Homeless female vets rapidly increasing

The actual number remains small but the rapid increase is disturbing. Boston Globe:

As more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled over the last decade, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For younger veterans, it is even more pronounced: One out of every 10 homeless vets under the age of 45 is now a woman, the statistics show.

And unlike their male counterparts, many have the added burden of being single parents.

“Some of the first homeless vets that walked into our office were single moms,’’ said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “When people think of homeless vets, they don’t think of a Hispanic mother and her kids. The new generation of veterans is made up of far more women.’’

Overall, female veterans are now between two and four times more likely to end up homeless than their civilian counterparts, according to the VA, most as a result of the same factors that contribute to homelessness among male veterans: mental trauma related to their military service and difficulty transitioning into the civilian economy.

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"For a vet, McCain's record sorely lacking"

From the News Leader (VA):

On July 7, at a town hall meeting in Denver, a Vietnam veteran confronted John McCain about his support of veterans' issues.
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"I have a perfect voting record from organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and all the other veterans service organizations," responded McCain.

Although this sounds good, it is inaccurate and misleading. The VFW and American Legion do not compile congressional voting records, and other veterans' organizations that do compile records aren't favorable.

Disabled American Veterans is an organization that was founded following World War I, and today has 1.4 million members.

It not only tracks this legislation, but tracks how politicians vote. John McCain is documented as having voted with DAV-supported legislation 34 percent of the time. Barack Obama has voted with the DAV 89 percent of the time.

Another organization that tracks legislation important to veterans is Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the first and largest organization dedicated to those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

IAVA is only concerned with bettering the lives of returning veterans, and advocating for their rights. Its records show McCain voting with IAVA 58 percent of the time, and receiving a "D" rating. Obama voted with IAVA 89 percent of the time, receiving a "B-plus" rating.

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Another Bush-Mccain soldier neglect story

And the Democrats let people like McCain and Bush dare to question their patriotism, dare to suggest that we don't care about the troops. What has John McCain for these folks? What has George Bush done? I mean, yes, John McCain makes tv commercials talking about how much he cares about the troops and Barack Obama doesn't - so what has McCain done for these guys?

Mold infests the barracks that were set up here a year ago for wounded soldiers after poor conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center triggered a systemwide overhaul, soldiers say.

Twenty soldiers, who spoke to USA TODAY early last week, said their complaints about mold and other problems went unheeded for months. They also said they had been ordered not speak about the conditions at Fort Sill.

Oh, and while walking around Paris today, I came across this seeming-castle in the 5th arrondissement. I asked my friend what it was.



It's Val-de-Grâce. It's not a castle. It's a military hospital. And the treatment is impeccable. They're treated like kings. We treat our service members like dogs, and the Republicans have done nothing about it. Read More......

McCain gets "D" grade from Vets group

From Crooks and Liars:

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans (Obama got a B+), while the Disabled Veterans of America gave McCain a 20% vote rating. The Vietnam Veterans of America compiled a list of key votes, and found McCain voted against the group’s position 15 times and with the group eight times. (Obama, in contrast, voted with the VVA 12 times, and against it only once.)

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Make sure you ask McCain why he opposed the GI Bill - he didn't even vote for it

McCain likes to talk about how he's was a tortured vet, so that means he's good on veteran's issues. No, it means he was a tortured vet. In order to see how good McCain actually is on veterans' issues, you need to look at his actual voting record on those issues. Just last month, McCain opposed the new GI Bill for our vets because he thought it was too generous. Too generous? What's too generous for our troops who are willing to die for our freedom? Well you'd have to ask John McCain, because he's the one who said it. In the end, the bill became law anyway, in spite of John McCain's and George Bush's objections. But McCain, the guy who never misses a chance to say how HE'S the one who supports the troops the most, didn't even bother showing up for the vote on the GI Bill. He was busy going to fundraisers in Los Angeles at the time (hope he wasn't in Hollywood). Much more important. Never forget that fact - when our troops needed John McCain, he didn't even bother showing up. I'd say that maybe he was at the gym playing basketball instead, but, I'm gonna go with water aerobics. Read More......

Rachel Maddow: "There's a difference between being a veteran and supporting a veteran as a politician."

Olbermann and Maddow eviscerate McCain over his lack of support of vets and the troops. Olbermann details all the pro-troops legislation that McCain either opposed or refused to even show up for a vote. You really need to watch this, then send it to your friends. These are actual votes that McCain opposed, actual legislation that would have helped the troops, and he was against it. McCain likes to talk about how he's all about the troops, but he doesn't like to talk about the specifics of his record. Well the specifics are here (h/t Jed).

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A vet from the Afghanistan war weighs in

After the news broke that nine U.S. soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, I got this email from a friend who did a tour of duty in that war zone back in 2003. From his perspective, it's pretty clear the situation has deteriorated dramatically:

Coming up on the five year anniversary of when I deployed. Yesterday's attack – full frontal on a base – NEVER would have happened when I was there. We used to joke when we pulled perimeter security for the FOB (forward operating base) that the only real danger was from a sergeant catching you racked out. The enemy was disorganized and didn't even have the capacity to mount a serious attack on an American base. ACMs (anti-coalition militias) focused on soft targets (aid workers, civilians) almost exclusively.

The first time I went into the mountain villages, I was really shocked by all the Karzai posters in peoples' homes. The Afghans were really on board with us. The biggest difference between Afghanistan and Iraq – and there are a lot – is that Afghans have been at war since 1978. They were exhausted. They didn't want to fight anymore. They were happy to have us take over for them.

I'm not there, now, so I don't know what I'm not seeing, but it seems like that's gone. We've been there almost 7 years, and we still can't get decent roads built? We can't protect our friends and allies? It's bullshit, but it was clear even in '03 that no one at the highest levels really cared about our theater. Newsweek was already calling it the Forgotten War. We never resourced it properly, so we didn't kill the insurgency in its cradle.

I think we probably can still pull Afghanistan out, but not as long as we're stuck in Iraq, and every day we delay, getting to win gets more and more unreachable. We saw it yesterday. We're losing Afghanistan slowly. When I think about the fact that we're losing two wars, and so many people, it's so fucking depressing.

Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

T minus 24 hours before Joe returns, the open threads are his. I was just looking at this story from ABC News about the Bush administration hurting our vets, again. And I noticed that ABC teamed up with the Moonie cult-owned paper, the Washington Times, to do their investigation. What could have possibly compelled ABC to team up with a fake newspaper run by a cult? Seriously, why should anyone believe anything the Washington Times prints? I mean, what's next - teaming up with the Scientologists to cover the elections? Very weird, and troubling, move by ABC. Read More......

McCain and Bush taken to task for opposing GI Bill. They think it's "too generous" to our troops.

NYT Editorial:

President Bush opposes a new G.I. Bill of Rights. He worries that if the traditional path to college for service members since World War II is improved and expanded for the post-9/11 generation, too many people will take it.

He is wrong, but at least he is consistent. Having saddled the military with a botched, unwinnable war, having squandered soldiers’ lives and failed them in so many ways, the commander in chief now resists giving the troops a chance at better futures out of uniform. He does this on the ground that the bill is too generous and may discourage re-enlistment, further weakening the military he has done so much to break.

So lavish with other people’s sacrifices, so reckless in pouring the national treasure into the sandy pit of Iraq, Mr. Bush remains as cheap as ever when it comes to helping people at home....

Mr. Bush — and, to his great discredit, Senator John McCain — have argued against a better G.I. Bill, for the worst reasons. They would prefer that college benefits for service members remain just mediocre enough that people in uniform are more likely to stay put.

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One reason vet care is so important

Veterans issues have been in the news recently, appropriately and necessarily, due to Senators Webb's continuing efforts on a 21st century GI Bill, the disgraceful behavior of a VA hospital employee instructing doctors to avoid making PTSD diagnoses, and because of a number of stories about recovery from injuries.

That last category is one that tends to be overlooked, but it's vital. Two factors are combining in this particular war to lower the number of soldiers killed but significantly raise the number of those who survive catastrophic injuries. As a comparison, in Vietnam, there were roughly 60,000 U.S. troops killed and about 300,000 wounded, for a 1 to 5 killed to injured ratio. In Iraq, there are approximately 4,000 dead but nearly 30,000 wounded, making the ratio drastically different -- about 1 to 7.5 killed to injured. I imagine there are several factors involved in this, but two main ones are: (1) The *extraordinary* advances in medicine, especially on the battlefield, and (2) the nature of the injuries -- burns and (relatively) small explosions far more than gunshots and large explosive munitions. Combine these two factors and many more injured troops are being saved than ever before . . . but that means people are surviving with life-changing injuries (major burns, loss of limb(s), etc). Not to mention brain injuries from explosions that often go undiagnosed.

So this issue of veteran care is far from academic, and the effects are far from uncommon. As one example, via a reader comes an NBC interview with a severely burned Army Sergeant that's tough to watch but vitally important for people to understand what this war means for individual lives on a daily basis. There's no need to politicize injuries or the stories of particular people, and readers know my thoughts on the war in general, so regarding this story, I just want to say that Americans should view this war with both eyes open. Too often the real and profound human costs are ignored. Read More......

More on veterans and the Bush administration

When I wrote a post yesterday on veterans, I had no idea that just hours later a story would hit, via VoteVets and CREW, and now getting massive media attention, that a VA hospital's PTSD program coordinator sent an email to other VA employees instructing them to "refrain" from diagnosing vets with PTSD, and instead consider a diagnosis of "adjustment disorder." I was going to write that there's no analysis necessary here, no explanation or hidden meaning, but that's not actually true -- the motivating reason is, I suspect, that veterans diagnosed with PTSD are likely to get better care and more disability pay than those diagnosed with other illnesses. But whatever the "reason" behind it, is just straight up despicable. From VoteVets:

Jon Soltz, an Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org, added, "This is an issue I take personally. I know of many people who received a diagnosis of 'Adjustment Disorder,' who strongly felt they had PTSD, many of whom confirmed that suspicion with an independent diagnosis. Many veterans believe that the government just doesn't want to pay out the disability that comes along with a PTSD diagnosis, and this revelation will not allay their concerns. It is crucial that we quickly get to the bottom of this, and ensure that misdiagnosing veterans is not part of some cost-cutting policy."

The continued mistreatment and exploitation of those who serve is appalling. On the flip side, it's to the great credit of organizations like CREW and VoteVets that they're on top of these issues. Hopefully we'll see some improvement in the next administration, but many people can't wait that long. Corrections are necessary now. Read More......

Taking care of vets

Attention regarding the military is currently focused, understandably, mostly on the war in Iraq and, secondarily, Afghanistan and beyond. But given how this administration is pushing the military to the breaking point when it comes to personnel, rotations, recruiting, etc, the personal aspect of the military continues to be overlooked by most media and commentators. Recently Senator Webb's bill to provide a new G.I. Bill has brought to much-needed focus to military and veterans issues, but the lack of support to veterans runs deeper than that.

The group Foreign Policy in Focus recently put out a report on veteran suicides, and their data indicates that more veterans commit suicide than are killed in combat overseas. From the report:

Eighteen American war veterans kill themselves every day. One thousand former soldiers receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs attempt suicide every month. More veterans are committing suicide than are dying in combat overseas.

These are statistics that most Americans don't know, because the Bush administration has refused to tell them. Since the start of the Iraq War, the government has tried to present it as a war without casualties.

In fact, they never would have come to light were it not for a class action lawsuit brought by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth on behalf of the 1.7 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The two groups allege the Department of Veterans Affairs has systematically denied mental health care and disability benefits to veterans returning from the conflict zones.

The Iraq war is especially problematic, I think, when it comes to psychological difficulties because of the combination of long and repeated tours, as well as the nature of counterinsurgency where everybody is a potential threat. The people who serve deserve better treatment from our government than they're getting. Read More......

Bush's VA: Too many troops have PTSD, so stop diagnosing it

Yes he did. And they've got the memo to prove it. Take this, along with John McCain and the Republicans fighting to kill the GI Bill because it's "too generous" to our troops, and once again you get a clearer idea about which party is for our troops and which party simply talks. Read More......