If all they fix is Bldg 18 ....... or Walter Reed ....... then they have failed miserably.

[Stinky The Clown]

What needs to be fixed is MEDICAL CARE for our VETERANS.

Ramstein works.

For the most part, even Walter Reed works.

Bethesda works.

But for each of those positive statements, append this phrase: "..... as far as it goes."

The record in this country, going back at least to the guys from World War 2 and Korea .... and God knows, from Viet Nam ......... has been ABYSMAL.

We do a fair to middling job of pacthing holes in body parts. Our battlefield triage and immediate medevac programs are nothing short of brilliant. The stabalization at places like Ramstein are absolutely cutting edge. But for all of that, we do a crap-ass job of dealing holistically with our wounded and cast-off cannon fodder.

Look around your town and notice the 60-ish homeless guy.

Look around and notice the 40-something guy with the worn out cammos and the greasy hair.

Ask you dad or your grandfather if he knows anyone who 'fell through the cracks'.

The whole fucking system is broken and nobody gives a fat rat's ass.

The American Legion? You're fucking kidding, right? They just 'support the troops' on the way in.

The VFW? Wrong again. They didn't even want the guys from Viet Nam as members.

The VA itself? Mostly, they'd love to be of help. I know people who work there, both on the line and in adminsitration. The issue isn't a caring staff. It is LACK OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM OUR GOVERNMENT.

If all we do is put a band aid on Building 18, we have squandered once again a golden opportunity to MAYBE .... to FINALLY ....... to AT LAST ..... to keep faith with those who kept faith with us.

God help us but we owe them.

[frogcycle]

1. more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030401394.html

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Insult added to injury added to incompetence added to moumental failure of leadership.

[liberal N proud]

2. They will only do what it takes to quite the media

If fixing Walter Reed makes the story go away, that is all they will do.

[NI4NI]

4. Kerry was trying to tell us

what was going on before, after and during his presidential campaign, he was fighting for veterans and Americans still called him a "traitor".
Even though he got his 18 million $ bill passed in 11/06 for VA funding, it's still a drop in the bucket when you compare it to the numbers at this link: http://www.awolbush.com/
He tried so hard but lost.
The VETS are still losing.

[China_cat]

5. When the Navy base here in Charleston closed

the veterans in the lower part of the state were assured that the Naval Hospital would remain open for their care.

That was then, this is now. The hospital is being closed and the medical facility moved to the Naval Weapons Station. From 110 beds and necessary equipment, our vets will have to share the 25 beds at the NWS and be contracted out to civilian hospitals for testing. There will be no more dispensary available. From being right on the public transport bus line (the bus stops right in front of the hospital) medical care will be in a place you can't get to by public transportation...and where even vets are barred from entering if they don't have top secret security clearances. (One guy in my niece's class at nuke school couldn't even have his wife go to his graduation because she couldn't get clearance as a resident alien.)

The Naval Hospital was supposed to serve veterans from Myrtle Beach to Beaufort and inland almost to Columbia. We have a LOT of veterans in this area. People who served a lifetime and retired here for the climate and the care.

What about the VA hospital? Oh, they closed that down about 10 years before the base closure.