ptsd Gulf War Veterans 90-91 Forgotten/lost?

[allan]

Gulf War Veterans 90-91 Forgotten/Lost?

Posted on October 31, 2009 by dsnurse

Gulf War Veterans Forgotten in the US House of Representatives and US Senate?

Gulf War Veterans have been asking for Senate VA Committee Hearings or Joint House and Senate VA Committee Hearing in regards to the loss of a 75 million dollar research effort at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas led by DR Haley. Its supporters Ross Perot and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson have been strangely quiet. The major media has also chosen not to investigate and report this story.

Now after having the House VA Committee- Subcommittee scheduled for a third hearing on Gulf War Illness and Research on November 4, 2009. The announcement on the House VA subcommittee site on the internet that had been posted with no information on who was testifying is mysteriously removed from the website on Thursday.

WE have confirmed it was canceled. Some comment of possible reschedule. Despite calls to the subcommittee and emails over the last several weeks, not one of the staffers reply to emails or phone calls seeking further information.

When Chairman of the subcommittee, Representative Mitchell (D-5th district) AZ DC office was contacted no staffer has returned the call when we asked for further information on the hearing, witnesses, or reason for cancellation. WE either have a swine flu outbreak on the hill in DC or the only issue in town on the Hill is Health Care Reform. Gulf War Veterans 90-91 are being left out in the cold with no answers! Our answer is no to national health care and raise the question if the government can not answer and help the illl Gulf War Veterans how can they take care of legal immigrants or those civilians without insurance?

How can the government ignore Veterans that have been ill for 19 years? Is the national health care bill the way? WE also notice that Defense Appropriations bill has yet to come out of conference for final approval and to be sent to President for signature into Law! A number of appropriations bills are still awaiting action at the end of October when they should already be passed and signed. Are they holding the government as a hostage or what?

When the CFIDS Civilians have a Hard hitting Breaking Research Finding of a new Retrovirus that has the CDC, HHS, and Blood Safety Department in the RED HOT Spotlight and a landmark meeting the last two days re HHS CFIDS Advisory Committee, we wonder and reflect on their history over the last 20-30 years of denial. There are indeed similarities...we gulf war veterans were also told it was all in our heads, psychological, PTSD, psychosomatic, somatiform illness and regular doctors had no help or answers for us.

Well at least we have the VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illness meeting in DC November 2-3. Maybe we will have company for that hearing from the politicians and staffers on the Hill. Where is the Change we thought President Obama would bring? Where is the transparency of the Democratic Party? Answers are needed urgently NOW!

http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9203.html

[Quint7]

John that's a good one! But my VA clinic (Rochester NY, affiliated with the Canandaigua NY VAMC which is a HUGE campus made up of depressing looking stone buildings from the early 20th century) is actually full of post Vietnam vets. That isn't to say that there aren't plenty of Vietnam and earlier vets there, but I see a lot of vets younger than I am there and I'm 39. Sadly the rehab clinic there has more than a few young amputees and others with severe injuries getting treatment.

I am happy in a sad kind of way that they are using the system as it will force VA to keep moving towards providing the care we all deserve.

[Testvet]

Consider that the Korean War is almost totally forgotten. Vietnam is forgotten except as a negative as in " This war in Afghanistan is turning into another Vietnam". The Gulf War was such a total and quick victory. The vets were forgotten almost as fast as they returned home, except when they got sick years later.

John the 1148th Transportation unit that shared the same National Guard base in Augusta with the 878th Emgineers started having people die within a year of returning home, the Captain himself lost weight really fast and literally wasted away, many of them became sick and have nothing but problems since coming home, I had transferred out of the 878th when the war started and was activated with the 49th Brigade on November 30, 1990 the 878th was never activated for that war, they did go to Bosnia and to Iraq for this war.

[john999]

Quint

It could be that since I live in Florida there are many older vets in the area that use the VA. People think of Florida as beaches and orange trees, but it is really poverty and service workers. Travel 50 milies north and west from Miami and you find poverty. I live in Tampa. Travel east towards Polk County and you find poverty and hordes of trailor parks. These are the people that use my VA. Half the state of Michigan moved to Florida when the auto industry started to collapse. They wanted sand in their shoes. They got food stamps. It is sort of like the "Grapes of Wrath".

It is good that younger vets use the VA. If we have a larger constituency then they can demand better services. Vets must vote like the older people represented by AARP. I don't think younger vets vote. As the Vietnam era vets leave this world the younger vets are going to face cutbacks unless they become very active politically.

[Quint7]

Yeah John, I agree on all points. I know Florida well. My family has been in Northern Florida since the Spanish owned it. Mayo Florida in Lafayette County to be exact. Literally on the backs of the Suwanee River. The only reason I'm a NY'er is my Grandfather went in the Army in the Depression to make money for the family and met my Grandmother who was 1st generation with French Canadian parents who came over from Montreal. When he retired in 1976 they went back to "his people" and then to St. Pete where they lived til they died. My dad is also in Cocoa Beach and has been for for almost 30 years. The last time I was in Florida (7 years or so ago) I went to both places and Cocoa Beach is a high rise Yankee condo town with some of the strippers and beach bums hanging on and Mayo is pretty sure that the South won the Civil War.

I feel for ya with all of the Yankee transplants and now with the horrible housing situation. The funny things I think about are that the grocery stores here now carry boiled peanuts (much to my mom's happiness!) and I can probably go down there and get better pizza than I can here!

[john999]

Southern Florida and North Florida are two different states. Norther Florida is like Georgia. The Panhandle is like the deep, deep south. The center of the state away from Orlando is not that populated except for farm workers, ranchers, and people who need dentures. My people moved from Georgia to Rhode Island during the depression to keep from starving and then to Florida. Florida has bad schools, bad roads, bad government and summers that are like Vietnam. I grew up here so I am used to it. One of my relatives actually fought in the Seminole war and got a land grant as a reward. He should have given it back.