IVAW faults their ignorance for their problems
Huffington Post writes that IVAW is struggling for veterans by participating in the Occupy movement.
[Dottie Guy,] The former military policewoman is just one of about 2,000 disgruntled veterans who say they’ve risked their lives and well-being only to come home to a country that profits from their sacrifices.
Yeah, I’m sure there are 2000 active veteran members of the IVAW. Despte the flight from the organization over the last two years. But Guy blames her own ignorance for her financial straits;
When she came home from Iraq in 2003 with an injured ankle and severe anxiety, Guy was not aware of the military health services that were available to her. She relied on her job’s health insurance to cover her surgery.
Yeah, who knew that a veteran could go to the Department of Veteran Affairs for help? That’s news to me.
But now that she knows she can go to the VA, she doesn’t like it;
“The VA services are abysmal,” Guy said. “But yet the corporations who are making all this money from these wars are living high off the hog.”
Yeah, you should have seen the VA before the year 2000, Dottie.
Another veteran, Scott Kimball, says that he didn’t want to go to the VA;
When Kimball returned from Iraq and was battling PTSD, he couldn’t bear confronting it.
“I was scared to go to the VA,” Kimball said. “I didn’t want to be a messed up veteran.”
Yet somehow, it’s the DVA fault he didn’t get treatment.
I’m glad that the IVAW has finally discovered that there are actually veterans who need healthcare, but their message needs to be a little less erratic and more focused so we don’t appear to be a bunch of whiney brats.
Thanks to Daniel for the link.
Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veteran Health Care
While I will say that the VA is not an easy thing to deal with, at every turn I was told “HEY FREE HEALTHCARE FOR 5 YEARS”, and I should jump on it like a fat politician on a prostitute.
having said that, its hard to deal with them, and no offense intended to the old retirees but every VA hospital I’ve ever been to has this unmistakable smell of death and decay. My first experience gave me such a bad case of the willies, that I’ve tried to avoid them ever since.
Still I’ve yet to hear of an IVAW member that’s above say E-5 (although I’m sure there are some), which might explain why they sound like a bunch of petulant privates whining about this or that.
I think they are full of shit. If the other VA Hospitals are like the two in Pittsburgh then they have nothing to complain about. I was very surprised at the care that I received and professionalism of the staff.
It sounds quite like the typical leftist mantra, “Im a dumb ass – how DARE you call me a dumb ass!” Or, “I’m an idiot and it’s YOUR fault!”
What has always astounded me was how anyone can loudly proclaim their stupidity publicly, then get all offended when those around them treat them like they are stupid.
why they sound like a bunch of petulant privates
With the same barracks lawyer bullshit to boot.
How could she NOT be aware of the healthcare provided by the VA? When my unit redeployed to CONUS we had a least four briefings on VA benefits. She was probably one of those sitting in the corner ignoring the briefer and gossiping with her friends because a briefing that gets repeated four times can’t have anything important to tell you.
The Milwaukee VA Hospital is the best hospital in Milwaukee, and we have some very good hospitals here !!!
They have saved my life at least 5 times, literally, and since I was diagnosed with heart failure in August of 2010 I have seen the absolute best of care from the wonderful staff members of our hospital.
I see a lot of OIF and OEF ans A-Stan Vets there and always thank them for their service. None have complained about the care they receive there too. Us Nam Era Vets also inhabit the place and few of us complain about it.
Their PTSD program is second to none, I know I have been through it, not for combat, but for something else that happened to me that was almost as bad as combat.
Please tell all the Vets you know to come and sign up for the VA care, they will not be disappointed.
They also take private health insurance there too and it helps them to bring better care to those of us that do not have the means to get other health insurance !!!
Thanks to all the VA people the world over for their exemplary service to all veterans.
The only thing that drives me nuts about the place is that they are always saying thank you to me for serving…
I didn’t do Nam, I went to Alaska and fought the cold war…
I lost it too…
It’s still cold up there…
LOL !!!
Thunder
I was one of those Guardsman who were told on Demob at Ft. Dix, NJ to go to the VA, as the Army hospital didnt want to look at my injuries from the IED wouldn’t give normal hearing tests to an Infantry Bn. All the Post Mob tests, TB etc. Unless you were so broke you were out into Med Hold they didnt care. Hell one of those in Med Hold was found dead, rotting in his room 2 weeks after he was AWOL from formation, thats how wonderful it was run back then.
SO I found my local VA & I went 4 days a week for physical therapy to regain use of my right arm. The VA people were great, the treatment was first class (Northport, NY VA)and I wasnt the only OIF/OEF vet there. Anyone claiming they didnt know about the VA for service related injuries treatment is fulla shit.
“She was probably one of those sitting in the corner ignoring the briefer and gossiping”. More likely, she was texting her friends, because her deployment was done and she couldn’t wait to get down to the Abercrombie store, then to Starbucks.
““I was scared to go to the VA,” Kimball said. “I didn’t want to be a messed up veteran.”” So, he didn’t go, and is now what he didn’t want to become? Brilliant dude, just brilliant.
The VA is not “abysmal.” It’s not simple and it requires some insight into the system. That requires a little process called thinking and open communication. This Guy girl should be a bit more informed about VA before coming up with such negatively decisive conclusions. I’ve been with the VA for several years now, asking many questions, and receiving not only answers but tremendous help from both medical staff and veterans alike. If you approach a situation with a pessimistic attitude, you’re not going to take the most of it and you’ll wind up walking out with what you walked in.
Seems to be the mantra of IVAW. Something along the lines of ok I enlisted, give me my money for college and leave me be, suddenly turns into HOLY SHIT!! I’M GOING TO WAR?! I DIDNT SIGN UP FOR THIS!!! I’M NOT GOING!! Regardless of your reasons for enlisting and/or expectations, yes, you did sign up for this. Not understanding that someday you might actually have to serve in a combat zone regardless of MOS is entirely the fault of the enlistee. Ignorance is no excuse.