Shoddy conditions. Vermin and mold. Indifference and neglect. Breach of trust. Battlefield wounds compounded by administrative failures. Woefully inadequate mental health screenings. Despite official promises of care, people left to suffer needlessly. Can this really be happening in America? Sadly, yes. As we watch the painful, powerful testimony before Congress from patients and caregivers and administrators, one theme resonates above all others: this is no way to treat America's heroes.
Today my colleagues on the Democratic National Committee Veterans and Military Families Council - led by veterans from modern wartime eras and blue star moms - called this disgrace for what it is, saying: "The Walter Reed travesty is a Katrina moment for the Bush Administration because it shows how the administration has completely failed in their duty to care for the troops who have served so bravely and their families back home."
The full statement, online here, continues: "President Abraham Lincoln during his second inaugural address in 1865, stated: 'To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.' President Lincoln clearly understood the importance of caring for our military and veterans that we put in harms way and the importance of also caring for their family members."
Real reform will only be possible through the advocacy of a new generation of veterans. Thus the DNC Veterans and Military Families Council "calls on President Bush to appoint veterans from all wartime eras to include Iraq or Afghanistan and their family members on the new Presidential Commission he is formulating to look at our military and veterans health facilities. We need to ensure the current generation is heard and represented. We need to take care of our heroes and will accept nothing less."
America's veterans and military families have it right: over 140 years after President Lincoln's call, it is time for a 21st Century approach to achieve the vision. To modernize and humanize our military and veterans care delivery systems, essentials include: in-person mental health exams, including brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) screenings; modern medicine, equipment and lodging for inpatient and outpatient services; and, a tracking registry of new veterans, their benefits and transition into civilian life. If we say we support our troops, we must keep faith with our veterans. Opening the official veterans and military care investigations to the full participation of this new generation of leaders would be a promising start.