Thrown Into a Psych Ward for No Apparent Reason?

This story does not add up to the headline.

Do veterans get treated the way they should? Hell no! Do they wait and fight for the compensation and treatment they earned while serving? Yes and they shouldn't have to. The veteran says in the second interview that he had personal issues and left a message on his friends phone. That is what apparently caused this. The police did a "wellness check" and frankly they don't do that unless someone has called about someone they are worried about.

I've had to do it several times for veterans I was worried about. They don't just show up at a veteran's door.

This veteran says in the phone interview that he went to the VA for pain in his back and was told he would need to get evaluated by mental health and that makes sense since they are evaluating veterans for PTSD and TBI because most don't know they have either one. The pain medication he was asking for is probably addictive, so there is another reason. Plus you have to consider that we have a huge problem with veterans committing suicide.

There is no way for me to know for sure because all I can go by are the videos of this veteran being interviewed. If he left a message on his friend's machine starting the concern off, then people did what they were supposed to do. The only way the VA can take away gun rights is if the veteran is a danger to himself or others, or has a court ordered fiduciary because they cannot make rational decisions. This does not happen often.

Congress' answer to the veterans suicide epidemic was to take away guns because that is the preferred "means" of suicide however we have seen that attempt did nothing to reduce the suicide rate. By the way, this law was signed in 2008.

PROVISIONS OF THE JOSHUA OMVIG VETERANS SUICIDE PREVENTION ACT
The Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (the “Act”) mandates that VA create and implement a comprehensive program to address the mental health problems of all veterans.

Congress expressed particular concern for “the special needs of veterans suffering from PTSD and the special needs of elderly veterans who are at high risk for depression,” the veteran populations most likely to commit suicide.

The program has six major components, detailed in section 3 of the Act:

(1) education for VA staff;
(2) increased emphasis on mental health
assessments for veterans;
(3) designation of suicide prevention counselors;
(4) research on veterans’ mental health issues;
(5) provision of round-theclock
mental health care; and
(6) outreach and education for veterans and their families.

The VA also “may provide for other actions to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans that the Secretary considers appropriate.”

Finally, Congress mandated that the VA report on the implementation status of the program, its estimated timeline for completion, the estimated costs of the program, and any additional actions deemed necessary to fully address veterans’ mental health issues.

If this veteran is upset by what happened then he needs to contact his friend because it is my guess the phone call set all of this off. He should thank him for caring that much about him because making that phone call is one of the hardest things a person does. They struggle with wondering if they are saving a life or ending a friendship. Then it dawns on them that if they don't make the call just in case their fears are justified, they would live with the guilt over not trying to save the life of someone they cared about.

Disabled Veteran David Schmecker: Thrown Into a Psych Ward for No Apparent Reason
by Renee Nal
April 03, 2013

David Schmecker, 50, is a disabled veteran with "no psychiatric history" who seemingly had his firearms confiscated and gun permit revoked in Connecticut for no apparent reason. It all started when he called the Veteran's Administration to get a follow-up appointment for a spinal injury.

George Hemminger of SurviveAndThriveTV interviewed the distraught Navy veteran who explained his story. Schmecker says that when the VA called back to schedule the appointment, he was informed that the appointment would entail a visit with a psychiatrist and a psychologist on top of his physical therapy and pain management session. As noted by Opposing Views, "It's not unusual for veterans to be asked to submit to a psychological evaluation when requesting pain medication due to the high rate of addiction." Regardless, Schmecker "refused" the mental health treatment, as he said the appointment was for a "spine injury." He indicates that after his refusal, "they never got back to me and they still haven't."
read more here