A true activist wrote a diary about troops and veterans on Wednesday about the quagmire that many vets and troops have found themselves in. Angelajean is a beacon of activism in the military community for our active military and veterans.
Anglejean's diary
I am going to share with you all some of the distress we as a nation are now facing on from several perspectives and welcome any other stories of woe that is completely unnecessary. Many know my story of chasing lies and neglect around a mulberry bush but I am going to share without names some stories of the email I get regarding veterans, pleading for help. I hold no public office and cannot change one thing other than try to bring things to the spotlight of transparency and be very vocal, that of which I can do. The need, the horror, the sheer numbers have made me call upon every activist here to bring about CHANGE in the way this country is heading with their
treatment of veterans and active military. We can no longer just sit on our hands hoping that things will be better. We have too many veterans slipping through cracks.
We have too many active military being redeployed with mental illness that needs attention that are a danger to themselves and others.
Follow me below the fold and I will give REAL examples of what I know is real and share some info along with some demands that we should be making right now on this administration. From this morning's diary and please read it of How stressed are the Troops from Jimstaro...another activist on this site... How Stressed are the troops?
Stress - PTS, Combat or Civilian
There's another report out of the Lewis-McCord base, hitting yesterday, on a lieutenant colonel who was planning on bombing a local government building as well as he had put out a $150,000 contract on his ex-wife and another officer. At first, having served in theater and the way the reports of have been written, one might think that he might have snapped because of serving in these. But near the end of the report you find the seeds were already planted long ago. He witnessed his mother shoot and kill his siblings as well as getting shot and surviving himself years ago. Probably misdiagnosed then or not diagnosed at all, lived with that and became successful in the military and in life, yet the trigger was set when sent into theater and the stresses there as well as in his personal life!!
If the country hadn't ignored, after finally understanding what always had been, for some forty years, we would have had the results of our wars of choice right up there with War As A Very Last Resort in our policy making, which I think is finally registering with some we, and others, make leaders, and the past decade would have been completely different for the whole country as well as the planet in relation to our actions 'In Our Names!'!!
We need to do this and below is the reason why
As suggested. A diary from a post from Angie's Diary
what you have to do is download that interview and LISTEN.
A Retired AF LT Colonel who served on the Joints Chief of Staff wanted this circulated. I cannot translate it but wish I could. If anyone is knowledgeble to translate in type written form of the interview.. That would be terrific. A translated on paper of the interview is pretty much the same as what was in the diaries BUT Hal had disturbing information as well.
1, In the interview Mr Donahue conveyed.....PTSD and traumatic brain injury patients are being taken out of the hospital and commanders are putting weapons in their hand for duty on a battlefield INCLUDING
the vet who killed the people over the weekend.
Hal Donahue and Vetwife Interview
2. When they are shoving veterans (many veteran medical centers) to the back because of underfunding and over
whelmed...then that is a problem.
3. If they are doing this insanity to the active warriors who are like wounded animals and dangerous then we have a problem. There needs to be a withdrawal immediately of involvement due to duress. This is nothing short of torture. who are we helping? We also have to worry about the DOD working with these active military patients before the VA gets them and what is happening is when they snap,,,,They get courtmartialed and be ever so sure , it is the ones getting redeployed. We need a major Take care of the troops and Vets Campaign.
5. We need a major overhaul of liasons to check on VA medical centers and no cuts in funding. WE NEED OVERSIGHT. We need a lot of money for the sick aging boomers plus the healthcare and economy dragging folks to the VA that never would have used it before. We have serious problems from two wars recent and aging baby boomers from wars past.
6. When servicemembers lay down their weapons in front of Leon Panetta like what happened they have lost the will to kill. GET OUT. it is past time.
7. GET all controversial programming off the ER and mental health and cardiac waiting rooms. Damn get the TV's out period. This is making things worse. If people want to up their blood pressure let them bring their ear buds and I phones. Not everyone wants to hear bombs bursting in air and death doom and destruction in an emergency room and slamming the president or servicepeople on either side of the aisle. REMOVE them from sick rooms where people have no choice. They worry about big macs and obesity and smoking but up their bloodpressure with Fox and Rush.
8, I think it is no less than treason to have a voice slamming the Commander in Chief during wartime like
Rush Limbaugh.. Get him off AFN. Petition to remove Rush from AFN
9. We need a form letter demanding for mental health
and physical well being and money saving cuts.. KILL the TV in ER's. and other areas of hospitals where people have not choice. At least at taxpayer expense. Make it a law to have this kind of controversy running making people sicker in Federal an State Facilities.
10. We need A senate hearing on VA healthcare and the call for budget increase not cuts in the VA system.
These are just starters. ( UNITE
Any other suggestions are welcome
Please donate what you can... Trust me.. it is needed.
DONATE TO UVA
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Sharing....Just a few letters I get daily from here and at UVA United Veterans of America " We Really Care" ..The small org I started some 12 years ago that needs your support because I am funding it mostly and cannot do it any longer and need your help. I cannot financially do this without some funding so please donate to help this work go forward. I desperately need some monetary help because this nightmare has not only drained me emotionally but broke the piggy bank into a zillion pieces. \
snippets from letters I receive..personally and snippets from stories here.
letter 1.... and recent
Vetwife,
I know you’re a very busy person with a lot on her plate but I’d like to impose on you for a brief moment if I may. I don’t need an answer right away, just wanted to send out this request to get it off my mind for a little while. I don’t have anyone I can trust or turn to for this.
Five years ago I fell and broke my humerus and dislocated (shattered) my shoulder. 16 hours later I was admitted into surgery at the local VAMC, Salem, Virginia. The surgeon botched the repair. My arm is still broken, my shoulder is still in pieces and the metal rod he put in has broken as well. I’ve been in pain since March ‘06 and it’s getting worse. The VA won’t give me anything for the pain because I’m on blood thinner (coumadin).
I was combat wounded in Vietnam and qualify for primary care. I filed a claim for agent orange and ptsd eight months ago and have been told it may be another 6 months before I get a determination. I haven’t been able to find work for the past two years and I can see the bottom of the barrel from here.
My question is – should I file a claim for compensation or seek damages in court?
If you’ve gotten this far I want to thank you for your time. No need to reply right away, its almost the weekend, take care of your family first. I’ll probably ‘see’ you on DailyKos tonight if your there
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letter 2 ...and recent
Service officer Howard XXXXXX Worthless won't return calls emails.
Going to see him when I retire and give him a piece of my mind.
Glenn sent me an email wanted to call me. Never did. Worthless. Caught
him crouched over talking probably to women while at work on several
occasions. He too/ Worthless/ Saxby Chambliss wrote them a letter. I
don't think it does any good. He gave me an aid in his Thomaston office
if I needed any help. Haven't asked yet. You told me I was 4 weeks out
about 2mos ago so I held off. They say if you disturb your file it goes
back to the bottom of the pile. I don't know if that is true or not. They all just lie.
Probably run a round. I trust no one anymore they lie to your face.
Thought I could trust them but that is a word they don't know. Also
Marilyn no call back no emails answered. I have my eye on a transport
van that leaves the station here by the courthouse about 1 pm every day
going to the VA. I am thinking about stopping it and questioning the
riders to see if they know anyone that can help. May get fired but who
cares right. Now I find out I have neuropathy in my feet which is from
diabetes which is a new claim. Waiting on my claim for diabetes to
settle then I am filing for that. Amanda I appreciate all you are doing in this
struggle. I know you have your own as well. At least the contacts
and your calls got me a little further down the road but still at a dead end. Help !
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letter 3 and recent
Please do get his DD214 apply for a disability. I am so glad he got that treatment and thank you for letting me know again. There were some calls made.
Peace
Amanda
Re: My brother was admitted to Wilkes Barre VA Hospital
Sat Jan 14, 2012 at 11:00 AM EST
My brother died New Year's Day. I updated the story with pictures included. Thanks for all your support.
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Letter 4 and recent
You got any new rabbits you can pull out of your bag of tricks? I think
they just don't want to process the cases in front of them. All my
paperwork is in Since March and last they told me was waiting for
compensation hearing. I know it don't take this long If they had
100tthousand cases by now they could have worked through that stack.
They are just waiting for us to die out. If you have anyone to call you
have my file number if not I will give it to you.
I do appreciate everything you have done for me in my struggles
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Letter 5 and recent
Gainesville VA
We did everything we could think of and we had occasional successes in getting someone to listen and do something to help but it was the rare exception. But we were never able to penetrate the bureaucratic matrix in any enduring way. We'd get someone to respond and do something and then it's like they put you right on a "do not call" list - you never get them again.
I still can't actually talk about my dad's death without crying - I'll always feel like I failed him. He wasn't a particularly good person - in fact, he did some awful things in his life.
But no one should suffer the way he did physically, emotionally and mentally - the lack of access, resources, the broken processes, systemic dysfunction - and all of it topped with a culture devoid of the capacity for humane consideration. It was like watching the deconstruction of a human being in very slow motion
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#6
the vet who died and much of the diary sent to me prviately
I don't give up easily. I started calling Veterans Administration Social Workers trying to get my brother the help that he needed.
His memory was shot, so he missed appointments.
He lost his drivers License so he could not drive to his appointments.
He was so physically weak that he needed a wheel chair to make it from the car into his local VA Hospital.
The VA had no answers, no transportation, no advocate to get him the services he needed. Their sole response was if he came into the VA facility and agreed to treatment they would treat him.
I want you all to stop and think about the VA's answer. PTSD robs people of their ability to handle normal everyday stress.
On what planet do you ignore soldiers that are to sick to get treatment?
Just making a phone call to try to schedule an appointment was a huge challenge for Bill.
When I was in town he always had a list of people for me to call, problems to straighten out.
Imagine being sick and not being able to ask for help.
That feeling is despair.
Seeing that look in my brother's eyes day after day, failure after failure tore out my heart.
I don't want to bash the people I spoke with at the VA.
Every person I spoke with was kind, I think they cared, they just had no help to offer.
The VA understands PTSD quite well, so they cannot say that they didn't know that many of the veterans they are charged with caring for are not getting treatment.
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AMANDA...
Daddy is aggressive and defiant, but not violent. Dad hallucinates and is severely paranoid. He refuses to bath and shave, and is losing control of bodily functions. He can not carry on a conversation anymore because he has lost all his words, and can not understand what anyone says to him. He definitely isn't the man I khnow as my Dad
Help!!!! Applied for VA benefit for Dad with the help of of "Aging Options Consulting Group". Provided everything the VA asked for, including medical evidence. Just received phone call from VA to set up appointment for Dad with VA doctor at VA hospital in Decatur. Tried to explain to them that (1) medical evidence had been provided; and (2) that Dad is in no condition to travel to VA and sit there for hours, but to no avail. All the forms, instructions, and processes that I read and completed said nothing about requiring a VA doc to see and question Dad to determine that Dad can't take care of himself or his finances. Have you ever run into this? If you can, please give me a call @ 678-. Thanks.
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Amanda, my Daddy died. thanks for what help you tried to give. They don't listen and
they suck. I will tell anyone they are worthless and in Atlanta they just don't care. Maybe they don't care anywhere where veterans are dying. He was a good solider and got nothing but pain.
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There are so many letters I could post on here but you get the picture.
There is one more letter that is from a well known Kossack here. I can't post it but it is heartbreaking. The system actually worked for him...He was homeless, broken, fighting PTSD, and just now getting on his feet. I can't post that letter. He will be posting it himself soon. One Vet got relief in the most dire circumstances. Not a good
average I would say but I am wanting to be fair here.
llbear, anglejean, and several other Kossacks from the military community are handling problems from all over the United States. We are doing all we can and have become closer and speak almost daily over what now overwhelms us. We are even trying to contact the HUGE activists like Wayward Wind who have long been retired because we need all the info and resources we can muster. It is up to you guys now. I am sure they could share some letters such as this...I have so many and still reaching for more.
Things have not been this bad regarding trying to get letters answered, phone calls returned and cooperation from a system that is overloaded and underfunded.
Here is another link that is useful on documention. I agree with some of it.
Such as statements like this..just makes no sense to me. We need a better answer than this..
Overall, your VA does a very good job. Once secured, the benefits you earned are generous and steady. Home loans and GI Bill education are superb even with some of the bumps along the way to using them. Your health care that's provided by the Veterans Health Administration is as good as it gets in America and most anywhere else in the world.
Having said all that, your VA operates in a state of chaos every day. There is no other organization that can compare to the VA when it comes to a lack of leadership on the front lines and stark incompetence in the ability of managers to fix problems that occur over and over.
Your VA isn't evil and it isn't the enemy. It's more like your uncle Joe...the one who has entered the early stages of Alzheimer's disease or an onset of senile dementia. He doesn't mean to hurt you when he withholds that money he promised you for your birthday, he doesn't remember telling you that. When he does remember, he can't recall where he put the money. When he remembers where the money is, he can't find his ATM card to withdraw it for you. When he finds the card, he's forgotten who you are.
The VA isn't evil, it's incompetent
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.VA Watchdog
Accepting a VA in chaos is not acceptable to me. FIX IT !