Growing Concern over Vets' Financial Issues, PTSD

Is it better for the troops coming home today than four years ago? Sure, but with the "better than nothing" thought, it is not as good as it should be when you think about the money spent. When you think about some folks in congress playing games with the lives of the combat veterans coming home, it should be sending warning bells across the nation. As bad as it is, it could have been worse had congress not acted in 2007, 08, 09 and 2010. Bills were flying out of congress to make it right but the troops had been in combat since 2001 in Afghanistan and 2003 in Iraq. They had a lot to make up for.

Four Years After Walter Reed, Government Still Faulted for Troop Support
Growing Concern over Vets' Financial Issues, PTSD

OVERVIEW

About a third (34%) of those who say the government has not done enough for returning troops point to mental health issues as the biggest area of concern; that is unchanged from 2008. However, specific mentions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have doubled – from 5% to 11%.

As President Obama begins to draw down U.S. forces in Afghanistan, most Americans continue to say that government support for troops returning from war is falling short.

The public remains divided over whether the American people give enough support to soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Opinions on this tilt more negative, however, among the families of those who have served in the military since the 9/11 terror attacks.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted June 15-19 among 1,502 adults, finds that the government gets better marks for supporting returning troops than it did in 2007, amid the scandal over military medical care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, or a year later.

Nonetheless, just 32% say the government gives enough support to soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly twice as many (62%) say the government does not provide enough support for the returning troops. In 2007 and 2008, even fewer said the government was providing adequate support for the troops (21% in 2007, 22% in 2008).
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Government Still Faulted for Troop Support