Lawsuit, panel findings spotlight grievous failure of Washington to back troops

July 29, 2007 - That two veterans groups have been forced to file suit against the Department of Veteran's Affairs for the nation's failure to meet its obligation to those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan is a disgrace.

The suit, filed Monday in the name of hundreds of thousands of vets, marks a desperate effort to focus America's attention on the problems of the VA -- still not adequately addressed by a White House and Congress that offers lip service instead of funding.

If that wasn't enough, another bombshell landed Wednesday:

A scathing report from a blue-ribbon panel headed by former Sen. Bob Dole and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala that called for fundamental changes in the care of wounded troops and veterans.

The system's problems spotlight the Bush administration's utter lack of planning in sending brave men and women to war with no provision for the enormous amount of medical care that would be needed now and for decades to come.

The result is that tens of thousands of veterans are returning home -- many to the Space Coast -- wounded in mind and body and not getting help.

The PTSD demon

Billy Pickering of Titusville is one of those vets.

The former Marine corporal saw brutal fighting in Iraq and struggled for 18 months to get VA assistance for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"It's not just me," he says. "All the Iraq veterans who go to the VA for care have to struggle. . . I went off to fight a war and then I had to fight another one, to get the benefits they promised in the contract."

Pickering is one of more than 244,000 service members diagnosed by the VA with PTSD since World War II -- more than 52,000 of them veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

But PTSD, because of the unrelenting urban combat in Iraq, has become the "signature" problem for veterans of that war.

In fact, the Pentagon reports 38 percent of soldiers and 50 percent of National Guard members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have mental health issues, including PTSD and brain injuries caused by repeated exposure to roadside bomb blasts.

Without prompt treatment, the disorder can lead to intense anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse, depression, unemployment, divorce and suicide.

But instead of gearing up to address it, the VA still has only 27 stress disorder programs among its 1,400 hospitals, and far too few doctors and specialists everywhere -- including the VA Outpatient Clinic in Viera -- to treat it.

That's the major target of the lawsuit, which also points out the VA's backlog of 600,000 claims, mismanaged systems and impenetrable bureaucracy.

For example, a vet has to fill out a 23-page form just to ask for help.

Many broken promises

It's unconscionable that Americans who are putting their lives on the line are treated this way.

Claims by the White House and Congress that they "support the troops" remain hypocritical until they ensure the best possible care for Iraq-Afghanistan vets, for as long as they need it.

And, despite the promises now pouring forth in the wake of the Dole-Shalala report, there's no guarantee Bush and Congress will come through.

For instance, implementing the panel's recommendations would cost about $500 million, which is "much less than what Congress is planning to spend, considerably less," Shalala told USA Today.

That makes it critical that every American keep the pressure on the White House and Congress to meet the letter and spirit of those recommendations, which include:

--Immediately creating comprehensive recovery plans for every seriously injured service member with a public-health coordinator assigned to each case so vets don't get lost in the system.

--Completely restructuring the disability and compensation systems between the Pentagon and VA that determine an injured soldier's "fitness to serve," disability status and payments.

--Aggressively preventing and treating PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

--Significantly strengthening support for families by changing the Family and Medical Leave Act to allow up to six months' leave for spouses and parents of badly wounded soldiers.

--Rapidly transferring patient information between the Pentagon and VA to ensure speedy treatment of veterans.

Such action is just a start on the duty of America and Congress to serve those who have so willingly served us.