Elected must reconnect with their own veteran constituents

Elected must reconnect with their own constituents

A lot of our elected appeared in commercials for Reconnect American. When I watch the Military Channel, Discovery Channel or National Geographic, there are a lot of these commercials appearing, with heart warming speeches of how much people need to support our troops and veterans. Congressman Patrick Murphy and Governor Edward G. Rendell, of Pennsylvania were on last night while I was watching the Discovery Channel. Great commercials but I am left to wonder what they do when they are not making speeches or appearing on TV.

There are so many veterans, wounded combat veterans, seeking help for their wounds, trapped in a mountain of backlogged claims, sporadic programs, clinics, leaving those in rural areas across the country unable to find their way to help for their wounds or financial assistance while their claims are tied up for months, or years, on end. Many of these veterans write to their elected seeking help. It is not in their character to beg for help. These are proud individuals, born heroes and the most noble among our citizenry. They would be totally self-sufficient, working, supporting their own families, had they not been wounded in service to this nation.

What do we put them through? With each claim you hear tied up, on last count it was 800,000 in a report I read not too long ago, there is a veteran and usually a family, fighting to have a wound treated and their families provided for because they are no longer able to support them due to their wound. Most of them were career military. This is all they wanted to do, all they trained for right out of high school and in many cases, while still in high school under ROTC.

So they serve according to the calling of their heart. They believe if they are killed in combat or wounded, their families will be taken care of. They believe in the government of this nation they risk their lives for. Yet this same government is the first to fail them.

When Afghanistan and Iraq were being planned to be invaded, the administration claims they had no way of knowing how many would be wounded, killed, or how long these combat operations would last. They use this lack of knowledge as a reason for the deplorable treatment, backlog of claims and understaffing as an excuse. In all truth, it was the lack of care behind it all. Had they cared enough, they would have used statistics to increase staff and mobilize the entire nation to provide for what they had to go through.

Both occupations have lasted longer than the government claimed they would and both have produced thousands of wounded, waiting for justice and suffering.

Senator Arlen Specter, along with most of the elected in this country, can offer up speeches and bills but when they are contacted by the veterans in their own state, they respond with form letters touting how much they do for the veterans, instead of taking care of the need of that veteran. If they were in fact doing what is needed, no veteran would have to contact their elected seeking help, but instead would be contacting them to thank them for what they do.

The veterans needing help are forced in most cases, to involve the media in their plight. The vast majority, especially veterans with PTSD, cannot bring themselves to turn to the media, nor should they have to do this. It is up to our elected to take care of these veterans and not just on the national stage where all eyes can see. When they do only what is seen by the TV cameras, they are serving their own self interests.

Senator Arlen Specter sent a form letter to a veteran in response to an urgent plea for help. How do I know this? Because the veteran emailed me a copy of it. Imagine that! Imagine for one second being a veteran carrying the wound of PTSD, a proud, private individual, reduced to begging for help for a wound they received in service to this country. Then imagine if you will for another second, trying to find the strength to keep reaching out for help, when none is offered. Try finding it within yourself to be dealing with flashbacks, nightmares, short term memory loss and inhibited thought processes while your family turn their backs on you because you are no longer someone they know. Try to find the will to keep fighting for what you know you wouldn't need help with if you did not serve this country.

Think of all of this and then maybe, just maybe you can understand why so many veterans end up homeless because of PTSD with absolutely no hope of help ever finding them. How long could you last being abandoned by the government, by your elected officials sending you form letters telling you how much they do for veterans when they just turned their back on you? Tell me how long you could hang onto the fact you are a veteran, wounded in service to this nation, that no longer cares if you live or die today, tomorrow, next week, next month or a year from now when they build the grand new hospital as a tribute to their hard work on your behalf? Tell me what good knowing a new hospital will be built next year when you are facing a catastrophic collapse right now?

I keep screaming that I am sick and tired of losing more of our veterans after war than we do during them. Does the White House hear me or any of us around the country doing this work? Do the Senators hear any of us? Oh, sure they can invite testimony and listen to personal stories. What does listening do when they are still not motivated to take all of this seriously enough to respond as if this were a life or death emergency? Would they call 911 and then see it as no problem to wait for help or would they expect it immediately? Every time I hear Bush say the term "emergency supplemental" for war funding I want to bash in my TV set. He can see it as an emergency to seek funds for two occupations but cannot treat the warriors with the same kind of attention.

If any Senator or Congressman is really serious about taking care of our wounded veterans, all of them and not just some of them which they apparently can only focus on one at a time, then they better make damn sure that when a veteran contacts their office for help, they do not respond with a form letter telling them how much they do for veterans when they cannot do anything for the one who just contacted them!

Am I pissed off beyond belief right now? No, I've been this pissed off for far too long. To Senator Specter and the rest, the next time you meet with your staff you better bring them up to speed on how to respond to a veteran in need of help. Form letters touting your "actions" does them no good.

I just got off the phone with Congressman Tom Feeney's office, speaking to Erin on behalf of veterans in dire need of help today. I could hear the compassion in her voice as I explained what they are going through in the backlog of claims, in the horrors of PTSD, as their lives fall apart and their families dissolve. The backlog of claims is waiting for income in most cases as well as help. Until the claims are processed and approved, they are not counted as disabled veterans. All of this is how the homeless veteran population has increased, how the divorce rate has increased and how the suicide rate has increased.

No one heard their screams for help. I did and thousands of us across the country did, but we have no power to make sure the help is there waiting for them. Our power ends when they know what PTSD is, overcome the stupidity of the stigma and find it within themselves to seek help. At that point, my job with them is done, or at least it used to be. Now I have them until they can get to the help they desperately need. Hundreds of emails go back and forth from the advocates and outreach workers across the country but our elected get away with making speeches and having a staffer send out a form letter. How many more military grave yards have to be expanded before they get serious about all of this?

To the elected: Please make sure you do more of these commercials on the Military Channel and Discovery Channel telling our wounded veterans how much they mean to you. It's sure a relief to hear you all say the words when they are seeing none of the benefits.

These are the groups associated with Reconnect America. Go there and support these groups but while your at it, dash off your own email to the elected across this country. The wounded are dying for their attention.

FEATURED ORGANIZATION: Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA)
The ASYMCA has provided military family support services for more than 140 years, with a special focus on junior-enlisted men and women — the individuals on the front lines defending our nation and their families. The ASYMCA offers many essential programs!

Fisher House™ Foundation
Fisher House™ Foundation donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times - during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

OPERATION GRATITUDE seeks to lift troops' morale, and bring a smile to their faces by sending care packages to service members overseas. OPERATION GRATITUDE care packages contain food, toiletries, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support.

National Military Family Association
National Military Family Association (NMFA) is dedicated to providing information to and representing the interests of family members of the uniformed services. NMFA sponsors a military spouse scholarship program, the NMFA Very Important Patriot Award, and the NMFA Family Award.

USO
The USO is a nonprofit organization that provides morale, welfare and recreation services for America’s troops and their families. Your donation supports the efforts of 26,000 volunteers who operate 132 centers around the world, send care packages and free phone cards to deployed service members, provide support to injured troops, deploy world-class entertainers to lift the spirits of America’s sons and daughters serving far from home, and many more programs and services. For 66 years, the USO has supported our nation’s military and your generosity makes this possible.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc.
TAPS is a one of a kind non-profit Veteran Service Organization offering hope, healing, comfort and care to thousands of American armed forces families facing the death of a loved one each year. TAPS receives absolutely no government funding and needs your help!

Sew Much Comfort
Sew Much Comfort is a 501C3 non-profit organization whose mission is to design, create and deliver customized clothing for our wounded troops. Adaptive clothing accommodates their medical devices or injuries and allows them to recuperate in comfort with dignity.

go here to learn more about these groups and to see what you can do for them.
http://www.reconnectamerica.com/giveback/

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

- George Washington