Wars' scandalous aftermath: abandoned veterans

[Pale Blue Dot]

snip

"It's just disgusting."

Oh, youbetcha. It's flat-out scandalous what the country they served fails to provide for veterans, but it's not the kind of scandal that can attract even 30 seconds of coverage by shallow national media all lathered up with Kobe Bryant and Laci Peterson. The real scandal essentially comes down to this: The government always makes a great show of remembering its war dead but has nowhere near that compassion for the sick, paralyzed and emotionally tormented survivors. Those vets can't help but feel as though the government would greatly prefer that they drop dead.

Fortunately, there is plenty of self-awareness on the part of administrators, and that's what was on display this week at the Highland Drive facility's Building 8. Alvarez is the chair of what the VA calls its CARES Commission, the acronym meaning Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services. It is hearing expert testimony nationwide and will make its recommendations by the end of the year to Anthony Principi, secretary of veterans affairs.

In the meantime, intolerable situations abound, as ever. In West Virginia, veterans on remote hillsides take a two-hour bus ride to Charleston and then a three-hour bus ride to Pittsburgh for specialty care. Pennsylvania veterans with spinal cord injuries have to go out of state for specialized VA care. As for homelessness, how long do you have?

http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20030831gene0831p1.asp

Excellent, but sad, article. A must read.