by Taylor Marsh
"Support the troops" trips off the tongues of Republicans like buttah. The likes of Mr. Bush, Dick Cheney and Mitch McConnell love using the troops as a weapon against Democrats whenever they can. But the reality behind their rhetoric is stark. Remember Rep. Musgrave's military photo op flap? We covered it from the beginning, starting with Josh Marshall, but then the story got traction. Of course, who can forget Curt I support the troops Weldon going after Joe Sestak? In fact, if you're a veteran, you better not come between a Republican and his power base, because you will feel the wrath of the Republicans' support the troop pr platform heading straight on into Republicans swiftboat veterans, don't we.
However, nothing will prepare you for what Republican policies have done to our veterans once they've served their pr purpose to the GOP. Veterans benefits? Hell no, say Republicans, tax cuts for the rich are for me! Make no mistake about it. These Republican policies come with a price tag, something you won't hear Rush or Sean Hannity talking about on wingnut radio. No siree. Reality is saved for those serving, not those chickenhawks who'd rather cut taxes and send our troops into harm's way over and over again, topped off with escalation, even if they don't have the equipment they need. But once home, fughettabout it, soldier, Republicans want you seen not heard.
The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 1/2 years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution into something else entirely -- a holding ground for physically and psychologically damaged outpatients. Almost 700 of them -- the majority soldiers, with some Marines -- have been released from hospital beds but still need treatment or are awaiting bureaucratic decisions before being discharged or returned to active duty.
They suffer from brain injuries, severed arms and legs, organ and back damage, and various degrees of post-traumatic stress. Their legions have grown so exponentially -- they outnumber hospital patients at Walter Reed 17 to 1 -- that they take up every available bed on post and spill into dozens of nearby hotels and apartments leased by the Army. The average stay is 10 months, but some have been stuck there for as long as two years. ...
Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility
The flag waving window dressing of the Republican Party goes on. The fact that Republicans are willing to escalate the Iraq war while continuing to under equip our forces and their Humvees has been proven again just recently through the FRAG Kit 5 story. But that didn't keep Republicans from trumpeting escalation from the Capitol Hill rooftops just yesterday.
That there is currently a Senate recess during an escalating war the public doesn't want and voted Democrats in to stop, while our troops go wanting on the battlefield, boggles the mind. But what Republicans are willing to do in the face of such fraudulent "suppport the troop" rhetoric falls nothing short of moral bankruptcy.
Republicans love to stand beside the troops for photos ops. While...
Disengaged clerks, unqualified platoon sergeants and overworked case managers fumble with simple needs: feeding soldiers' families who are close to poverty, replacing a uniform ripped off by medics in the desert sand or helping a brain-damaged soldier remember his next appointment.
"We've done our duty. We fought the war. We came home wounded. Fine. But whoever the people are back here who are supposed to give us the easy transition should be doing it," said Marine Sgt. Ryan Groves, 26, an amputee who lived at Walter Reed for 16 months. "We don't know what to do. The people who are supposed to know don't have the answers. It's a nonstop process of stalling."
Republicans savor posturing through legislation containing only words about supporting the troops. While...
Soldiers, family members, volunteers and caregivers who have tried to fix the system say each mishap seems trivial by itself, but the cumulative effect wears down the spirits of the wounded and can stall their recovery.
"It creates resentment and disenfranchisement," said Joe Wilson, a clinical social worker at Walter Reed. "These soldiers will withdraw and stay in their rooms. They will actively avoid the very treatment and services that are meant to be helpful."
Republicans make sure to send our troops into harm's way without a thought on how we will get them out of their deployments and actually end the war. While...
"We owe them all we can give them," Bush said during his last visit, a few days before Christmas. "Not only for when they're in harm's way, but when they come home to help them adjust if they have wounds, or help them adjust after their time in service."
(snip)
Yet at a deeper level, the soldiers say they feel alone and frustrated. Seventy-five percent of the troops polled by Walter Reed last March said their experience was "stressful." Suicide attempts and unintentional overdoses from prescription drugs and alcohol, which is sold on post, are part of the narrative here.
Vera Heron spent 15 frustrating months living on post to help care for her son. "It just absolutely took forever to get anything done," Heron said. "They do the paperwork, they lose the paperwork. Then they have to redo the paperwork. You are talking about guys and girls whose lives are disrupted for the rest of their lives, and they don't put any priority on it."
What Republicans don't want to talk about is what happens after they're finished with the soldiers. After the veterans come home injured, maimed or with PTSD, that's when the Republicans suddenly become mute or say, Troops? What troops?
But let's be frank, shall we? Republicans always prefer tax cuts to funding veterans benefits. They also ignore the health care reality of our returning soldiers, leaving tens of thousands of veterans fending for themselves.
Enter Mr. Bush and Senators Mitch McConnell and Joe Lieberman et al. all thumping their patriotic support the troops language while soldiers lay dying from the battle wounds without enough help or the proper healthcare, which includes emotional support.
Yet at a deeper level, the soldiers say they feel alone and frustrated. Seventy-five percent of the troops polled by Walter Reed last March said their experience was "stressful." Suicide attempts and unintentional overdoses from prescription drugs and alcohol, which is sold on post, are part of the narrative here.
Vera Heron spent 15 frustrating months living on post to help care for her son. "It just absolutely took forever to get anything done," Heron said. "They do the paperwork, they lose the paperwork. Then they have to redo the paperwork. You are talking about guys and girls whose lives are disrupted for the rest of their lives, and they don't put any priority on it."
Read the whole article by Dana Priest and Anne Hull. But make sure you've got a strong stomach. The disrespect of our soldiers will make you physically sick. This is happening on Mr. Bush's watch, while Republicans in the Senate slime Democrats for wanting to defund escalation and put the money into restoring our Armed Forces. While...
The disappearance of necessary forms and records is the most common reason soldiers languish at Walter Reed longer than they should, according to soldiers, family members and staffers. Sometimes the Army has no record that a soldier even served in Iraq. A combat medic who did three tours had to bring in letters and photos of herself in Iraq to show she that had been there, after a clerk couldn't find a record of her service.
Shannon, who wears an eye patch and a visible skull implant, said he had to prove he had served in Iraq when he tried to get a free uniform to replace the bloody one left behind on a medic's stretcher. When he finally tracked down the supply clerk, he discovered the problem: His name was mistakenly left off the "GWOT list" -- the list of "Global War on Terrorism" patients with priority funding from the Defense Department.
He brought his Purple Heart to the clerk to prove he was in Iraq.
So once and for all let's all get it straight on who is really supporting the troops. It isn't the Republicans or Joe Lieberman either, who want to escalate the war and send our soldiers into harm's way without the equipment they need so they can fight an Iraqi civil war. It isn't the Republicans or Joe Lieberman who then turn their backs on our soldiers, while cutting taxes and ignoring VA shortfalls.
It takes more than talk, fanfare, wordy resolutions of support, "mission accomplished" banners, and vacuous talks of some fictional "victory" to support the troops. It also takes knowing when our soldiers have finished their mission and it's time to bring them home. It takes knowing when the original fight has morphed into mission creep and an going battle that is not our own. It takes the political courage and will to stand up to dirty politics and empty political charges, because in the end you know what you're doing is not only morally right, but in true solidarity with the troops we owe our allegiance to support.
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