Veterans divided, hurt all veterans

I have not been writing much of anything lately, burn out, stress, the holidays? Who knows, but I have noticed that veterans are being pulled into factions again, veterans who served before the “War on Terror” and those that have served since 9/11. I am distressed by this, as a Vietnam era veteran, Gulf War veteran I thought veterans had decided to not let these divisions happen ever again.

Those of us that are old enough remember how Vietnam veterans were treated in the VA system  in the late 60s and 70s were treated as “not real veterans, we didn’t serve in a real war” not like the World War Two veterans who comprised most all of the Service Organizations and the patients in the VA health care system at the time. They felt that Vietnam veterans were using up to many of the already miserly healthcare available.  The Vietnam veterans pledged that we would never “LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN”  yet here we are and that is exactly what is happening, we now have a VA that treats new veterans different, veterans of the new wars are pushed to the head of the line for claims processing, special advisors at the VA hospitals, etc.  We are divided, why?

What is really hard for me to understand, is that many veterans come from families that have a long term standing of service to this nation, as military members. Some going back to the Revolutionary War, or ever since their families immigrated here.

I was just informed on Dec 30, that the Army is going to be blessed with the presence of it’s newest generation of “Beetle” Bailey in June 2010. My son Kevin graduates from high school in May and enters basic training in June. He will continue a family tradition of Army service going  back to 1775, both of my brothers also served in  the Army as I did. My father served from 1914-1916 as did his father from 1861-1865, for some reason the men in our family had children late in life. So each version of the Department of Veteran Affairs has impacted our entire family chain, going back to a land grant in New York after the Revolutionary War went to a member of my grand fathers family in Barre, NY  made up of people moving west after the war, from Barre, Mass.

So veterans are not fighting each other, they are fighting their own family in many cases, and if my life experiences are similar to other veterans, we all served with people we came to trust and care for as much as family if not more. Bonds are made in service that nothing will ever come between, you depend on people in service to keep you alive, you know people that died, making that happen, people you would and have killed for.

The 60 Minutes piece a week ago showed that there are major problems in the compensation claims backlog, but it left a lot to be desired for most veterans. It did not dig into the real cause of the problem or what solutions are available to correct the issue, I would call it a “fluff piece” it showed the problem exists, but it did not dig into the “core” of it.  It did not show the new Tier Two veterans, that is where allof the “new veterans” claims are pushed to the front of the line, ahead of Vietnam Veterans, Gulf War veterans or even WW2 or Korean War veterans claims that are being filed now, as most veterans know, there are many issues that show up years after the veterans has left the service.

Or veterans have chosen not to go to the VA because of the perception of “mental health” issues, such as PTSD, or they have a distrust of the government. They have heard stories of other veterans and the problems they have had getting claims approved, and they do not want to get involved in the process. The false claims that they will have their “guns” taken away if they are diagnosed with PTSD, they fear intrusion into their lives.

One thing is certain though, all of the veterans groups wether they be old and established or new fighting to make names for themselves need to remember, we are all veterans, “comrades in arms” it should not make a difference when we served or in what branch of the military we served in, we are all affected by whatever rules Congress, or the Secretary of the VA establish. The VA is different than almost any other agency, the Secretary of the VA can and has declared medical issues as “presumptive” entitling  veterans and their spouses benefits, the newest being the recent decision by  Secretary Shinseki  is as follows:

The rule, expected to be published soon, will make almost any veteran who set foot in Vietnam, and is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemia or ischemic heart disease (known also as coronary artery disease), eligible for disability compensation and VA medical care. The exception would be if credible evidence surfaces of a non-service cause for the ailment.

This is sure to increase the compensation claims for Vietnam veterans to increase for Coronary Artery Disease, if the rule is adopted as it surely will be, I expect tens of thousands of new claims to be made, heart disease is a common problem among males in their late 50s and 60s, wether they served in Vietnam or not, but I have noticed an increase among military veterans the higher percentages of men that have heart problems younger than their non service counter parts of the same age. I myself had a stroke at age 36, and the first of 7 heart attacks at 39, a triple bypass at age 41 and totally disabled by age 45  after the bypass  had failed and the 2 stents placed had also failed, and the VA doctors told me that I am not “fixable” with any surgical solution, I am a medicate only patient. They have offered to install a implant defib, which I have declined, I am a strong believer in “Murphy’s law”  what can go wrong will go wrong, I have a lot of experience in it, my bypass surgery which is normally a 4 day hospital stay for an “average patient” turned into a 6 week hospital adventure for me.

I do nothing anymore unless there is no other option, medically. I would however love to see veterans quit fighting each other for “benefits” new or old, we are all members of a “family” as large as it is, we all  did the “Duty, Honor and Country” regardless of what branch we chose, we all love this nation, as messed up as it is at times, I still think most of us, believe it is still the best nation on earth to call “home”.

I am proud to be an Army veteran, to have followed in my fathers foot steps and his fathers and the men before them, we all served as NCO’s, I hope my son will make an NCO rank before he becomes and Officer, so he will better understand the men he may command one day in the future, but after 235 years it may be time for a Bailey from this line of the family to become a “commissioned officer”, not that there is anything wrong with NCO’s but hey if he’s going to make a career out of it, officers retirement checks are a lot better than an NCO’s.