The
statement below was released by March Forward! an organization of veterans and
active-duty service members opposed to the ongoing wars and occupations. The
author is a former U.S. Marine infantryman who served in Iraq in 2005, and a
member of March Forward! To read more statements from March Forward! click here.
In the midst of scandals, declining
support for the occupations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and undeniable
criminal negligence resulting in the homelessness, drug addiction, and suicides
of thousands of veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been cornered
into submission. Currently, it has been reported that
more active duty soldiers and Marines commit suicide every month than die in
combat. This statistic in conjunction with the projection of mass casualties as
the war in Afghanistan escalates, has forced the VA to issue a new set of procedures
that will ease the process for veterans claiming post traumatic stress disorder.
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The New York Times reported on July 7
that the government is in the process of issuing new regulations that will “make
it substantially easier for veterans who have been found to have post-traumatic
stress disorder to receive disability benefits.”
This new procedure will eliminate the
current requirement that veterans provide documentation of specific events such
as bomb blasts, fire fights or mortar attacks that may have triggered PTSD. This
gives any veteran who has served in a combat zone, in a job consistent with the
events that they say caused their condition, the ability to claim PTSD without
proving specific events. In addition, any veteran with a legitimate fear of
traumatic events will be covered.
Like all U.S. government plans, there is
a plethora of fine print in these proposed changes. Fine print that, based on the
history of the VA, will most likely result in the further suffering of our
veterans. All filed cases of PTSD are required to go through a final
determination process by a psychiatrist or psychologist who works for the VA
This regulation means that a diagnosis
from a veteran’s private physician is not admissible. Tom Pamperin, the associate
deputy under secretary for policy and program management at the VA stated, “VA
and VA-Contract clinicians go through a certification process. They are well
familiar with military life and can make an assessment of whether the stressor
is consistent with the veteran’s duties and place of service”.
A revealing e-mail
However, an internal e-mail made public
in May 2008, entitled “Suggestion,” reveals the real reason for this clause. The
e-mail states, “Given that we are having more and more compensation seeking
veterans, I’d like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD
straight out. Consider a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder rather than PTSD.”
It is obvious that the actual reason
behind this “Suggestion” is to control the number of filed cases that receive
benefits. As of 2001, 2 million service members have deployed to Iraq,
Afghanistan, or both. It is projected that 20 percent will suffer the horrible
effects of PTSD. Over 150,000 cases of PTSD have been diagnosed by the veterans’
health system, yet records show that the VA has approved only 78,000 cases,
according to Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense.
Proposed
changes fall short
For the women who put their lives on the
line, the proposed changes do not go far enough. Currently, over 250,000 women
serve in the U.S. military. While the new guidelines may help more women who
have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan obtain benefits for PTSD, the regulations
do not address PTSD caused by rape and sexual harassment. While one out of three
female veterans report military sexual trauma, only one of 10 rapes is even
reported. These statistics make it clear that the U.S. government along with
the VA have no intention of taking care of female veterans, whether by
protecting them from rape while in the service or giving them the health care
they need upon returning home.
The immediate projected cost of the new
regulations is $5 billion, with a total cost of $42 billion over the course of
10-plus years. This is nothing short of a slap in the face to all veterans when
compared to the hundreds of billions of dollars given to Wall Street. In 2008,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were given $400 billion and American International
Group was given $180 billion. The Troubled Asset Relief Program gave a total of
$700 billion to the Capital Purchase Program,, the automotive industry, AIG, the
Mortgage Loan Modification Plan, and Goldman and Sachs and other big banking
and insurance corporations. As if that were not enough, as Marines, soldiers,
and other veterans commit suicide at record numbers, Goldman and Sachs made
sure to set aside $16.2 billion to “reward its employees””, as reported by
the New York Times, January 21.
The announcement that the VA will relax
its strict guidelines for diagnosing PTSD comes on the heels of the deadliest
month yet for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Every general and politician is
claiming that the casualty count will continue to climb. Public support for the
war is dwindling. With the already abysmal track record for treating returning
veterans weighing on its reputation, the VA is now attempting to improve its
public image to quell the opposition to sending thousands more young men and
women to be killed, maimed and traumatized.
A process that is more fair to veterans is a welcome
development. Nonetheless, the U.S. government has sent us to kill and die for
the profits of a tiny few. They have sent us to endure horrible physical and
psychological wounds, and now they expect us to be thankful when they offer us
a band-aid!
Here is the real solution to the PTSD
crisis: ending the criminal, immoral wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Veterans are under attack, not by an
enemy in far away Iraq or Afghanistan, but right here, in the very country for
which soldiers give their lives. While Wall Street banks and oil companies
report record profits, veterans are coming home to the streets broke, alone,
addicted and wounded. It has been made perfectly clear by both the government
and the VA that the number one priority is profit and returning veterans are
nothing more than a liability. The only way for veterans to break this cycle
and shut down the war machine is by laying down their arms and refusing to
fight for these criminal occupations.
