Comments on: Giving “Real” Support to our Troops? http://rickcastello.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/giving-real-support-to-our-troops/ Specialization is for Insects Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:53:13 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: rickcastello http://rickcastello.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/giving-real-support-to-our-troops/#comment-3 rickcastello Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:21:59 +0000 http://rickcastello.wordpress.com/?p=88#comment-3 Good points - to clarify, I'm not recommending that we sequester the returning soldiers from their families... or if we did, not for more than a week or two to get through the immediate adjustment. I just think that they should get help in adjusting in an official capacity, while still on the gov't payroll, and with the full resources of the base, not just the "go visit the nearest (underfunded and understaffed) VA center" that many soldiers get now. Good points – to clarify, I’m not recommending that we sequester the returning soldiers from their families… or if we did, not for more than a week or two to get through the immediate adjustment.

I just think that they should get help in adjusting in an official capacity, while still on the gov’t payroll, and with the full resources of the base, not just the “go visit the nearest (underfunded and understaffed) VA center” that many soldiers get now.

]]> By: John Kusters http://rickcastello.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/giving-real-support-to-our-troops/#comment-2 John Kusters Tue, 01 Apr 2008 18:14:41 +0000 http://rickcastello.wordpress.com/?p=88#comment-2 I completely agree with you that we do a terrible disservice to our fighting men and women, both in the field and at home. However, I see some hurdles to your conceptual plan, mostly logistical. I'm not sure that on said home bases there would be sufficient housing for the returning soldiers, especially since many of those serving are National Guard, whose home bases are not set up for long-term housing of troops. Second, many of those coming back have off-base homes and families, and your plan would keep them away from their families, which is generally considered a "bad thing." I don't have a complete replacement plan, but I think the very first thing we should consider doing is actually caring for the returning troops. There are all sorts of laws and regulations about how soldiers returning from combat duty should be treated, but those laws and regulations are regularly being flouted. The VA spends more time and money looking for ways to deny benefits to returning soldiers than it spends on helping them heal. I don't think we'll make any real progress on taking care of our wounded, both in body and in mind, until we get the VA working for the soldiers rather than the contractors. JOhn. I completely agree with you that we do a terrible disservice to our fighting men and women, both in the field and at home. However, I see some hurdles to your conceptual plan, mostly logistical. I’m not sure that on said home bases there would be sufficient housing for the returning soldiers, especially since many of those serving are National Guard, whose home bases are not set up for long-term housing of troops. Second, many of those coming back have off-base homes and families, and your plan would keep them away from their families, which is generally considered a “bad thing.”

I don’t have a complete replacement plan, but I think the very first thing we should consider doing is actually caring for the returning troops. There are all sorts of laws and regulations about how soldiers returning from combat duty should be treated, but those laws and regulations are regularly being flouted. The VA spends more time and money looking for ways to deny benefits to returning soldiers than it spends on helping them heal. I don’t think we’ll make any real progress on taking care of our wounded, both in body and in mind, until we get the VA working for the soldiers rather than the contractors.

JOhn.

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