Answering the Call

It is worth noting on this “traditional” Memorial Day of May 30^th that over 6,400 service people have lost their lives so far while fighting our two most recent wars.

Unless we put more money into health and mental health care, many thousands more will eventually lose their lives fighting the physical and mental effects of these wars.

This past weekend, we learned that 45% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans are seeking compensation for service-related injuries. 

The challenge of finding the billions of dollars needed to treat these men and women will test us as a nation. 

It will likely stoke the fires of yet another protracted battle about “public option” health care in America.

This fight is about to take place because of two reasons.

The first is that the percentage of veterans seeking compensation is twice what it was in past wars.  “Invisible” injuries with behavioral manifestations, like PTSD and traumatic brain injury, account for much of the difference.

The second is that the VA system has too little capacity to meet the needs of even the lower percentages of those who have survived past wars and made similar claims for assistance.

This usually means that we begin by denying the existence of injuries we don’t easily see. 

I remember a Memorial Day parade I attended when I was a youngster in Middletown, Connecticut.  Then, as it still does today, Middletown closed its mile-long Main Street to traffic as a collection of high school and middle school bands, children’s sports teams, public safety officers, public officials, and groups escorted war veterans past cheering crowds.

The particular parade I recall featured two of Middletown’s earliest returning Vietnam veterans.  I remember standing on the roof of a two-story building watching them as they rode in a convertible down the parade route.  They were impressive in their dress uniforms, waving to the crowd.  One, as I recall, had lost a leg in battle.  The other, an arm and an eye.

Their injuries were undeniable.

The thing about parades, though, is that once one float passes by, we always turn our heads to see what comes next. 

And with Vietnam veterans, what injuries came next weren’t always so easy to see.  Agent Orange affected thousands, addiction affected tens of thousands, and PTSD affected hundreds of thousands.  As a matter of public policy, we ignored all of these for years as the Vietnam War’s real death toll mounted. 

The ongoing lack of capacity to serve the health and mental health needs of veterans is an even bigger threat to the well-being of veterans today.

A March 2012 Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force Report provided some recent, statistical insight into this.  It noted that of the over 500,000 service members who served in Operation Desert Shield, 152,126 filed successful service-connected disability claims.  But only half – 79,415 – received VA healthcare.  The same was true of the almost 600,000 Desert Storm service members.  165,596 filed successful service-connected disability claims, but only 87,612 received VA healthcare.

There are three times as many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as there were Desert Shield or Desert Storm veterans.  By percentage, twice as many returning Iraq and Afghanistan service veterans are filing claims as did Gulf War-era veterans. 

Based on the current numbers of claims being filed, over 750,000 may ultimately file successful claims, and at least 400,000 already need treatment for mental illnesses.  The VA system has the capacity to provide health and mental health care to only a fraction of them.

These are wars for which most of the rest of us have been called on to make no sacrifice by public officials who dishonor the sacrifices of brave veterans when they cower in fear at the word “taxes.” 

This may seem harsh, but we were asked to pay no new taxes for these wars, in spite of the billions of dollars we spent on them and the thousands of lives we sacrificed.  Does that seem right?

We would say that we meant it when we honored the sacrifices of veterans – especially those who have died fighting our wars – when we flew our flags, visited our cemeteries, and attended our parades this week.

So here’s our choice.  Will we answer the call when asked to sacrifice more tax dollars for health and mental health care for all? 

Or will we turn our backs on our veterans once the parades have passed us by?