Treatment Of Some Groups Of Vets

[purple]

OK......I just have to get this out. I want to say upfront that what I'm about to say in NO WAY is against any vets....I would never do that to a fellow vet. This is against the VA and their treatment of some groups of vets. Please know that.

This has been mentioned off and on here a few times. It's about how Vietnam vets and other groups of vets get treated vs OIF/OEF vets.

The VA seems to think that one group of vets are more important than another group. I have to wonder why? I noticed in the VAMC that I go to (Dayton) they quickly built a center just for OIF/OEF vets only...its all new and nice, and usually empty. There are seminars, on topics I'd like to attend, that are only for OIF/OEF vets. Why? What are the rest of us?

Does the VA not realize if it hadn't been for all of the other vets, there wouldn't be any of the new vets? Or are they just trying to make up for all the wrongs they have done to previous vet groups.

Each group of vets may need different type of help...but each group deserves the same level of help.

OK....off my soapbox. Like I said, I didn't post this to offend anyone and I apologize in advance if I did.

[john999]

Purple

What you are saying is true. When the wars OIF/OEF die down these vets will be put on the shelf also. It is a publicity stunt from our great leaders.

[Ron II]

Purple

What you are saying is true. When the wars OIF/OEF die down these vets will be put on the shelf also. It is a publicity stunt from our great leaders.

Exactly.

Ron

[Berta]

I agree- Sec Peake himself deemed the returning Iraq and Afganistan vets as the "new" vets-

and in some respects these "new" vets get good care- but I sure have witnessed the fact that ,many of them are having the same problems as the 'old' vets-

I think we all realise here that whatever we do to help each other or to support legislation for vets or to let our representatives in DC know how we feel-is ultimately going to help (hopefully) the men and women serving today-

they deserve the best that the VA has to offer-

BUT so do ALL of you here!

My husband used to say that his 30% SC gave him eligibility for 30% of VA medical care-

he meant that his PTSD therapy was awful until our Congressman got involved and his other medical care- well he was right on that too-

he is dead due to VA health care-

ECvery vet regardless of their % or where they served deserves 100% of the best VA health care possible.

While many OIF/OEF vets have been able to take advantage of many programs (for example NVLSP has a new project to help them)and have gotten their proper comp award- there are just as many who are lost in the sytem already-

if they have TBI, they have problems dealing with the claims process and if they have PTSD -the VA will want to call it PD and not pay them comp-

Great infield medical care and the advances in prosthetics have made their transitions in many ways much easier than those in other wars-

but still the price of war is something they will be paying for the rest of their lives- like all of you-

and it angers me that the VA had no war plan or exit strategy to deal with new claims that are overwhelming the system-while other older veterans wait and wait (or die).

[Pete53]

Fact is that the VA has always tried to play one group of Veterans against another. In 1991 many WWII Veterans treated Viet Nam Veterans horribly.So its not always just the VA.

I think that it is important for all Veterans to come together and insist that all be treated well.

With limited resources the VA is trying to make do and by classifying Veterans and providing different levels of treatment they think that they can manage limited resources.

If you want to blame someone blame Congress and The White House.

[bobbyq]

OK......I just have to get this out. I want to say upfront that what I'm about to say in NO WAY is against any vets....I would never do that to a fellow vet. This is against the VA and their treatment of some groups of vets. Please know that.

This has been mentioned off and on here a few times. It's about how Vietnam vets and other groups of vets get treated vs OIF/OEF vets.

The VA seems to think that one group of vets are more important than another group. I have to wonder why? I noticed in the VAMC that I go to (Dayton) they quickly built a center just for OIF/OEF vets only...its all new and nice, and usually empty. There are seminars, on topics I'd like to attend, that are only for OIF/OEF vets. Why? What are the rest of us?

Does the VA not realize if it hadn't been for all of the other vets, there wouldn't be any of the new vets? Or are they just trying to make up for all the wrongs they have done to previous vet groups.

Each group of vets may need different type of help...but each group deserves the same level of help.

OK....off my soapbox. Like I said, I didn't post this to offend anyone and I apologize in advance if I did.

I work as a a service officer and I have been saying this all along. No one is willing to listen. Last two years or so I did claim and the Iraqi vets were being done in thirty days or so. Anyone else stand in line. I have a doc in the VAMC said that some of those folks did not have a diagnosis yet and they were being given preference. To me a Vet is a Vet and you treat all of them the same. I am not saying like the current author that one vet is better than the other, but give us our due. I have WWII vets, and Korea dying without their claims being adjudicated within a year or two. It is the same with service organizations. They are only as good as the people that work for them and some of them are pretty sorry inviduals. We all know that. regards to all Q

[trailblazer]

Where did you get great leaders? Great leaders lead and take care of their people. I may have misread your post. Don't take this personally but when I was a squad leader my people came first. It was my job to make sure they had their needs met before mine. I don't think our leadership is what it used to be. Just my opinion.