About Us
Mission Statement
Rules of Conduct
 
Name:
Pswd:
Remember Me
Register
 

Ask A Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 05/10/2011 10:26:22

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,974th day in Iraq and our 3,502nd day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning as we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing wars, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4452
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4311
Since Handover (6/29/04): 363
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 224
Since Operation New Dawn: 34

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,566
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 875
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,487
Journalists - Iraq: 348
Academics Killed - Iraq: 448

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$1, 192, 204, 500, 000 .00


I want you to go back to the timeline and think about how long we've been at war. A day count is a visual reminder, but it doesn't do much in real-world terms. I'll put it in more practical terms here.


We've been in Iraq for 8 years, 1 month, 21 days.
We've been in Afghanistan for 9 years, 7 months, 3 days.

Think about that for a minute. Is there anything in your personal life that you've done every day for this length of time? Even with the recent death of our primary target, there seems to be no end in sight. Some soldiers have been overseas 4 and 5 times during this span. (One married service couple has 8 deployments between the two of them.) Do you think this has any effect on morale?
Well of course it does. And while there may have been some small-scale "V-J day" style celebrations, it was mostly civilians and those too young to even remember why we were fighting in the first place.


"We're an Army that's in uncharted territory here," says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, who has focused on combat stress. "We have never fought for this long with an all-volunteer force that's 1% of the population."

Mental health strain was most severe among veterans of three or more deployments, with a third of those showing signs of psychological problems defined as either stress, depression or anxiety, the report obtained by USA TODAY says.

The research, based on a survey of soldiers and Marines in 2010, also found that the praise the troops have for their unit sergeants has never been higher as the United States approaches the 10th year of its longest war.

The report says decline in individual morale is significant: 46.5% of troops said they had medium, high or very high morale, compared with 65.7% who said that in 2005. About one in seven soldiers — and one in five Marines — reported high or very high morale.

President Obama ordered a surge of 30,000 troops into Afghanistan last year, bringing the total number to 100,000 troops. He said at the time that withdrawals would begin this July depending on security. The report says soldiers and Marines reported more intense fighting than during the surge in Iraq in 2006-07, with 75%-80% of those in Afghanistan involved in firefights.

Half or more of those surveyed said they had killed the enemy, and 75%-80% described the death or wounding of a buddy. Half also said that an improvised explosive device detonated within 55 yards while they were on foot patrol. The study's researchers also found evidence of physical wear-and-tear with a third of the force experiencing chronic pain.

"I'm not worried about our ability to continue the fight," Chiarelli says. "Folks who are coming home now are going to see that they're not going back for 24 months. And that hasn't been the way it's been for 10 years."


Mental Health is one of those areas where we've sadly fallen short. You don't have to go very far on the internet before you run across a story about a returning vet drinking himself into some sort of trouble with the law...whether it's assault, robbery, or worse. We Americans love our fighting men and women, and we expect them to be tough and stoic. The reality is they are fragile human being like the rest of us.

Coming home should be a great joy, but for most of them, the reality is the ongoing 'great recession' means they may have been better off in the service. I myself have a colleague from LL Bean who re-enlisted more than a year ago. As he said at the time, "It's a better job than anything I can find out here". And like many of us out there in some form of hardship, veterans are no exception. The subset of the population that should receive the most support from the rest of us is in the same boat as far as the politicians are concerned. While there is much talk about cutting the Pentagon budget, there can't be any wading in indiscriminately with a chainsaw. Many programs deserve to be cut, but many more may be worthy of funding increases...especially programs that pay for veteran's care.


WASHINGTON — Health care fees for working-age military retirees would increase slightly under a defense bill unveiled Monday that drew fierce opposition from the 2.1 million-strong Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The Pentagon is reeling from health care costs that have jumped from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in the latest budget request. Determined to slash expenses, President Barack Obama is seeking a boost in fees that have remained unchanged for 11 years.

The defense bill proposed by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., goes along with a small increase in the next budget but limits long-term increases by linking them to cost of living adjustments for retirees.
The VFW, one in a network of powerful groups of retired officers and veterans, is resisting any increase, urging its members to contact lawmakers in a full-court challenge.

The military health care program, known as TRICARE, "is the cornerstone of a military retirement package that the armed forces must provide in order to entice someone to voluntarily give up 20 or more years of their youth to serve their nation," Robert E. Wallace, the executive director of the VFW, said in a May 4 letter to McKeon.

Joe Davis, a spokesman for the VFW, said Monday that the organization would mobilize its membership to fight any increase as the bill makes its way through Congress.
*snip*
The health care fees also will generate debate in the committee. The current fees are $230 a year for an individual and $460 for a family. That's far less than what civilian federal workers pay for health care, about $5,000 a year, and what most other people in the U.S. pay.

Obama is seeking a fee increase of $2.50 per month for an individual and $5 per month for families, which approaches the current price of a gallon of gasoline. Future increases starting in 2013 would be pegged to rising costs as measured by the national health care expenditure index produced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which projects 6.2 percent growth.

"Health care is eating the department alive," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said bluntly — two years ago.


So....it's a tad meaty today, but veteran's issues are rarely easy. Keep calling those congresscritters. It's been a long road, but perhaps the end is growing near.
 

55 comments (Latest Comment: 05/11/2011 00:27:51 by BobR)
   Perma Link

Share This!

Furl it!
Spurl
NewsVine
Reddit
Technorati