Too late for too many
Combat PTSD Wounded TimesKathie Costos
December 18, 2018
If it seems as if everything just keeps getting worse for our veterans, that is because it is. This long nightmare was provided by greedy SOBs who never were held responsible for anything they got paid to do, but failed.
In 2009 when I wrote "Comprehensive Soldier Fitness will make it worse" it was because I had been doing this long enough to predict the outcome. I was right and it sucks sitting here, still paying attention to the devil in the details most people miss.
We have CONgress failing. The DOD failing. The VA failing. The "awareness" charities failing miserably. And all of them get paid to do the jobs they fail at doing. We have corporations, colleges, think tanks and other charities getting funding from the government and private donations, and they are failing. None of this is guess work. The facts prove it all sucks the life out of veterans who should be filled up with all the knowledge they need to heal. They do not even have a clue they can.
So why is it that I am still trying to warn people ahead of time and no one pays attention? Simple. Someone has to put them first! I've seen the worst that can happen and it breaks my heart because the loss does not stop at the grave. It spreads out. The thing is, I've also seen the proof of what can be when they take back control over their own lives.
The DOD has grabbing onto nonsense to show they are trying. Like using Talladega Nights when Will Ferrell was with the cougar. Or when they used the epic Gilgamesh cartoon. Not easy to come to the conclusion that was money not well spent even though they had it thanks to Congress.
Much like now, they will just keep writing huge checks and expecting absolutely nothing in return. Well, not exactly, since this time, they decided to not even spend it.
There was a report released by the GAO about funds that were supposed to be invested in suicide prevention.
Starting in June 2012, the VA consistently aired suicide preventions PSAs every month, either on the television or radio. When GAO investigators looked into the issue in August 2018, the VA hadn’t aired a PSA in over a year.
And then we have this,
Of the $6.2 million budget obligated for suicide prevention outreach in fiscal year 2018, the agency had spent only $57,000, or less than 1 percent, by September. Agency officials told investigators they would end up spending a total $1.5 million by Oct. 1, the end of the fiscal year. The remainder, $4.7 million, went unused.
Time and time again, I pointed out how the "number" of "veterans committing suicide" was false and pointed out exactly why. But no one cared. They just kept passing the crap out on social media as if they just discovered something that needed attention.
With the news that has been posted here, 29,853 times, counting this post, it gets harder and harder to do it. I think about all the people out there making money off all of this when I just had to use my own money to cover my Post Office Box rental fee. I stood in line after working a regular job and wondering why I still do it after 36 years.
And then I came home. My husband greeted me with a smile, fresh coffee waiting and my dog flipped out as if he hadn't seen me in months. That is why I do this! That is why I get up everyday with this on my mind, and in my heart.
I took all this seriously because I fell in love. If you do not love what you are doing when it comes to our veterans, then you need to be doing something else. This is serious. This is their deaths or being glad they are still living. This is about someone who was willing to die for the sake of someone else, because they valued that life so much, but not valuing their own enough to fight for themselves.
This is about getting totally pissed off over what other people are willing to settle for and getting pats on the back, big fat checks they spend on themselves and never once looking back and the destruction they caused in far too many families. It has all been too little, too late for far too many who did not need to suffer instead of celebrating.
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