Share Your Views with the Press 

Veterans and war are often reduced to two holidays in the eyes of civilians and reporters: Veterans Day and Memorial Day.  There are no reporters covering the Department of Veterans Affairs and veterans' issues full time.  The failure to cover the human and financial consequences of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars must change now.

This weekend, MSNBC / Newsweek offers you, the citizen, and opportunity to tell reporters what you think should be covered.  Here is our chance to flood them with requests that the national press corp devote equal coverage to the problems facing veterans when they return home from war.

At this link, MSNBC / Newsweek aks for your input on important issues.  Give them an earful about the needs and concerns of our fellow citizens -- our veterans.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18826755/

Here is what I wrote to MSNBC / Newsweek, which also shares news with the Washington Post.  The questions are pre-written by MSNBC:

1. What issue facing our country today is most important to you or has the greatest impact on you, your family and neighbors?

Veterans are our fellow citizens who stand between a bullet and our Constitution.  They guard civilians in our democracy from the horrors of tyranny and anarchy.  Therefore, healthcare and disability benefits for our wounded, injured, and ill Iraq War and Afghanistan War veterans should be a top issue that can unite Americans after a terribly divisive war.  The U.S. has deployed, so far, 1.5 million service members to the two wars.  Of those, 250,000 are now being treated at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers, including 185,000 for readjustment problems.  Another 180,000 filed disability claims against VA.

Sadly, our veterans wait six months for answers from VA.  This is too long.  There are 200,000 homeless veterans on the street every night, including up to 1,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans where we failed to honor our social contract to care for them after their return home from battle.  There is a "gap" in services for our veterans - a crack that tens of thousands of new veterans fell into after they left the military and before their VA healthcare and benefits began.

2. How does it affect you, your friends or loved ones? Tell us your story, and please be specific:

As a Gulf War veteran who worked at VA and used to monitor the casualties from the two current wars, I now provides advocacy for veterans.  My daily life is filled with efforts to monitor and assist our returning veterans so that the terrible failures of the Vietnam War and Gulf War, especially the lack immediate access to healthcare and disability benefits, can be avoided.

No veteran should ever have to wait to see a doctor or get disability payments for a war-related medical problem.  No veteran, especially one with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, should be forced to complete a 23-page form to obtain assistance when the DoD should be able to push a button and share records with VA.  No veteran should ever be homeless in the richest nation on earth.  I resigned from the government in 2006 to highlight this problem an our government's inaction, and now the world knows about Walter Reed scandal, the VA bonus scandal, and the bureaucratic nightmares veterans face at VA.

3. What do you think should be done to "fix" this problem?

Just like the tremendously successful GI Bill after World War II, we can learn the lesson from the tragic Bonus Army march of 1932.  First, there must be awareness, and the media and Congress have raised the alarm in the past few months.  Harvard Professor Linda Bilmes presented a study in January 2007 where she found that the total human and financial cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars over the next 40 years will be up to 700,000 veteran patients and $700 billion.  We can pay taxes now to assist veterans.  Or, we can let the crisis worsen, and it will cost far more.

In order to "close the gap" now, the Department of Defense and VA must immediately provide free access to healthcare for wounded veterans for six months for those not placed in DoD's medical retirement program.  And VA should provide automatic approval for disability claims, at a modest amount, for up to six months, and then audit claims for accuracy.  This way, the "gap" between DoD and VA can be bridged, and fewer veterans will fall into chronic unemployment, suffer broken families, endure homelessness, or become addicted to drugs and alcohol.

To make your submission to MSNBC / Newsweek, go to this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18826755/

This is your chance to influcence the national media from the grassroots level on issues important to you.  VCS selcted veterans.  You can pick your own, including civil liberties, national security, and views about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.