As we enter the fifth year of our war in Iraq, I am deeply distressed that our country is betraying our service members.
As a veteran, I can assure you that there is no greater pain than the sense of betrayal by a government and a country that send you to war.
Thirty-eight years ago, while serving in Vietnam, an enemy bullet ripped through my chest as I led an assault against a hill, just below the demilitarized zone, defended by North Vietnamese regular forces. It is a miracle that I survived, albeit as a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. The military medical evacuation was the best in the world. I was flown out to the hospital ship the U.S.S. Repose and given immediate life-saving surgery. The care was spectacular. Then I entered long-term rehabilitation and things went downhill fast.
My first day in the New York City veterans' hospital, where I was to stay as an inpatient for a year, was the first time I cried since being wounded. I was overwhelmed with despair at the circumstances I found myself in. LIFE magazine depicted my ward as a "medical slum." It was awful.
When my government asked me to serve, I did. I paid an immense personal price, and my country subsequently turned its back on me. I had been betrayed.
As the war began to wind down and we became aware that our government lied about the necessity and purposefulness of the war, I became very angry and the betrayal that I felt was debilitating.
I have fought for service member and veterans benefits for more than 35 years. I used to believe that the changes enacted as a result of our struggles would lead to better care for future generations. It was my hope that no service member or veteran would ever feel a similar sense of betrayal by our country.
I was wrong.
Today's service members and veterans are being forced to fight the same battles we fought.
It is shameful.
How is it possible that America has not learned from its mistakes?
How is it possible that we collectively ignore the challenges of service members until the suffering and neglect are horrifying?
I'll tell you how:
There is a social contract between a country and those it sends to war, and America's social contract is broken.
When our citizens are willing to serve and, in some cases, sacrifice their lives for America, our government has a corresponding moral obligation to ensure that this willingness is not squandered. We must recognize and defend this obligation prior, during, and post deployment.
First, we need to ensure that deployment is absolutely necessary. The conflict must be worthy of the sacrifices being asked. Decisions that require the greatest sacrifice from our citizens must be subjected to full congressional and public debate.
Second, when our nation deploys troops, the government has an obligation to provide the capacity, the strategy, the numbers, the equipment, and any other support our troops require. Today, it is clear that our service members are not getting the support they deserve.
Third, when our service members pay a personal price by serving our country, we must do right by them when they return. This means ensuring that health, rehabilitative, and readjustment programs adequately provide for their specific needs. Everyone in America realizes that this is not the case today.
The media and public uproar following the Walter Reed debacle was a necessary first step. Now, this foundation must be built upon.
Walter Reed is symptomatic of a country disengaged from its wars.
Less than half a percent of our population is being asked to bear the burden of this "long war." Our all-volunteer military has allowed most of the country to remain oblivious to the horrors of our wars.
We must begin to equitably distribute this sacrifice - not by sharing the burden of combat, but through the burden of political engagement.
The American public can create a strong social contract. We must begin to pressure our government to uphold its end of the bargain. Our service members are in desperate need of our advocacy. The betrayal felt by this generation must be reversed.
Whether we like it our not, these are our wars, and we must begin to take ownership of their causes, conduct and consequences.
What does America owe to those who serve? We owe them a social contract worthy of their sacrifice.
Bobby Muller
President, Veterans for America
(Please help Veterans for America repair our social contract by supporting S. Res. 39 and H. Res. 163 that require the president to receive congressional approval before taking offensive military action against any additional countries and S. 117 and H. R. 1354 important first steps in assessing and providing adequate care to today's service members and veterans.)