Friday, September 18, 2009

Mental health issues plague returning vets

Yesterday, Admiral Mike Mullen expressed concern that the Dept. of Veterans Affairs was keeping pace with the mental health problems of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since the wars began, thousands of veterans have struggled with post traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries, and suicide.

The issue of veteran care is something that Democrats, including Obama, rightly criticized the Bush administration for. There is nothing more deplorable than using soldiers as props for patriotism, and then cutting VA hospital budgets and veteran care.

I do believe the Obama administration is trying- with people like former General Eric Shinseki and Tammy Duckworth at the helm services are bound to improve. Yet there is no denying that the mental health problems these veterans face will likely plague them and their families for the rest of their lives, and that pain is rarely calculated by the beltway politicians and pundits who are asking if this war is still worth fighting.

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