Hunger-strike Vietnam vet: Obama still not doing enough

Hunger-strike vet: Obama still not doing enough
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Army Times
Posted : Tuesday Sep 4, 2012

An order signed by President Obama on Friday that will create a joint task force on military and veterans mental health issues doesn’t go far enough for one former soldier to end his 16-day hunger strike.

Tom Mahany, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, said Tuesday he wants assurances from the White House that the task force will include private-sector experts and take public input before he ends his fast.

Mahany launched his protest across from the White House in Lafayette Square on Aug. 19 to press the Obama administration to address the rising number of suicides among troops and veterans.

He wants Obama to create a federal advisory committee on the issue.

The presidential order establishes a task force of government representatives from various agencies, including the Defense and Education departments, the Domestic Policy Council, National Security Staff, Office of Management and Budget, and others, to make recommendations on strategies to “improve mental health and substance abuse treatment for veterans, service members and their families.”

Mahany called the order a “step in the right direction” but believes the task force needs private organizations such as the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, One Mind for Research and the National Center for the Victims of Crime to succeed.
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