President Obama: Where is Your Casualty Plan?

Your update this week focuses on President Barack Obama's anticipated surge of 40,000 troops into Afghanistan.  Based on the recent Stanford University study of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans that found about one-third will return with mental health conditions, Obama's escalation may cause 13,000 new TBI and/or PTSD veteran patients.

Veterans for Common Sense remains deeply concerned about the needs of our troops and our veterans. Nearly two million U.S. troops have deployed to war since 9/11, and nearly a half million veteran patients were already treated at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals or clinics.  If President Obama escalates the Afghanistan War, VCS demands he also implement a plan to provide medical care for our service members and veterans - especially for mental health conditions.

As of June 30, 2009, VA counted 480,000 total Iraq and Afghanistan war patients, based on a VA report released to VCS under the Freedom of Information Act.  The evidence shows there is a mental health crisis caused by the wars - especially multiple deployments.  Among our veterans treated at VA, 227,000 were diagnosed with a mental health condition, including 134,000 diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

For all the talk about expanding the Afghanistan War or winding down the Iraq War, there remains very little discussion about our troops in the trenches and our veterans struggling here at home.
 
VCS Advocacy in the News
 
On Thanksgiving Day, our VCS advocacy efforts were highlighted by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper.  "Veterans for Common Sense sees the shootings [at Fort Hood] in the context of a growing string of violent incidents - killings, suicides and assaults - that have plagued military installations in recent years....  At Fort Carson in Colorado, six soldiers from a single unit were charged in murders after returning home, among 14 killings related to soldiers at the post over three years."

We all know that deploying more troops into heavy combat means more casualties.  According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Michael Blecker, the executive director at Swords to Plowshares in San Francisco, estimates 13,000 new veteran PTSD cases if President Obama deploys 40,000 new troops to the Afghanistan war.

Remember General Bradley's Legacy
 
General of the Army Omar Bradley was highly praised for being "the soldier's general" during World War II because he placed the needs of our troops - those doing the actual fighting and dying - first.  Down the hall from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki's office sits the Bradley Room, a powerful reminder of how Bradley overhauled VA after World War II.

VCS urges President Obama to work closely with VA Secretary Shinseki, who is also a retired Army General, to make sure the anticipated surge in casualties from Afghanistan receive prompt and high-quality care while at the same time making sure every other veteran receives equal access.
 
VCS agrees with the editors at the News Review in Greensboro, North Carolina demanding care for our troops, especially the expected increase in mental health conditions, including PTSD.

The Price of Freedom - Another Record Number of Suicides
 
The growing price of freedom and the price of failing to provide urgently needed mental healthcare flash before us today with yet another record number of military suicides in 2009.
 
TruthOut quoted VCS urging the military and VA to hire more mental health professionals to provide exams and treatment, and to launch an anti-stigma effort that encourages veterans to seek care.
 
The situation is tough at VA, argues Victor Montgomery, author of the book Healing Suicidal Veterans.  Montgomery wrote an essay about the severe shortage of mental health professionals at VA - where each VA mental health worker handles about 1,275 veterans.
 
Another surge will only add to the nearly half million Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran patients already treated by VA.

VCS Takes Lead on VBA Reform
 
VCS was quoted by the New York Times when VA Secretary Shinseki began his long-awaited house cleaning at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the agency charged with handling veterans' disability claims.
 
VCS urges VA Secretary Shinseki to move VBA leaders from their current building at 1800 G Street in Washington to VA's headquarters building at 810 Vermont Avenue. So long as VBA's leaders remain out of sight, veterans are left with the real impression that our disability claims are not a high priority.
 
New leadership at VBA creates a rare window of opportunity to streamline VBA's complex and adversarial policies and to place VBA's claims processing staff inside VA's medical facilities where they can provide faster and friendlier face-to-face service to our veterans.  VCS looks forward to learning who Shinseki will name as VBA's new leader.
VCS Interviewed by CBS News "60 Minutes"
 
"60 Minutes" to Focus on VA's Claims Backlog

Veterans for Common Sense was recently interviewed by reporters at "60 Minutes" about the significant and systemic problems at VBA.  As soon as an air date is scheduled by CBS News, we will notify you.
 
Thank You for Your Support - Veterans for Common Sense