Caring For Our Veterans

author : Daisy Ouye topic : Costs of War

by Daisy Ouye

Poor conditions discovered at Walter Reed Hospital made headlines last year, spurring media attention and prompting investigations of Army Health Care facilities nationwide. Madigan at Fort Lewis was no exception, turning up some serious problems that needed to be addressed in regard to safety, medical treatment, living conditions and availability of care for those suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues.

War Wounds

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), a variant of concussion, has been called “the signature wound of the war on terror.” Screening at Madigan has improved for TBI, which in turn has improved access to appropriate treatment. But with depression being a side effect of TBI, 43% of soldiers returning with mental health problems, and little discussion in the mainstream about the health effects of radioactive depleted uranium (DU) munitions, the true "signature wound" is yet to be revealed.

DU is a byproduct of nuclear power production. Truly safe nuclear weapon deployment is impossible -- through the explosion of this weaponry, waste is ground into nanoparticles and dispersed into the air that our troops breathe. It is no coincidence that the problems covered heavily by mainstream news, such as TBI, get addressed, while other killers like DU remain unknown to the masses, including doctors and many of those affected. General Electric, which produces nuclear fuel (and waste), is the parent company of NBC. The health problems which are caused by “terrorists” are widely discussed, but the health problems created by American corporations are largely overlooked; this is the way of the corporate mainstream media.

Staff Sergeant Matt Bumpus died after exposure to radiation and chemicals in Iraq, a two year battle with leukemia, and eight proud years of service to his country in the US Army. He and his family had previously been denied coverage for his illness. The file of this Fort Lewis soldier was just reopened. Bumpus urged troops, through his website, to get what's called a Gulf War Exam, which he discovered too late to save his own health. It's the right of any soldier, but it must be requested. It may help with diagnosis and treatment for exposures to contaminants. Recent US acknowledgment of "Gulf War Syndrome" as a legitimate illness may also help veterans get better coverage. Pyridostigmine bromide (PB), a pill to protect against nerve agents, and pesticide exposure were cited as the cause of a number of health problems that fall under the label Gulf War Syndrome or GWS. The acknowledgment does not cite exposure to DU as a contributor and has not been applied to soldiers suffering the same illnesses from the current invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rosalie Bertel, Doug Rokke and Asaf Duracowicz are among the nuclear scientists who have studied DU and proven the dangers of its use. Exposure can cause health problems ranging from headaches, digestive problems and kidney stones, to muscular sclerosis, cancers and birth defects in offspring (obviously passing contamination and health problems to sexual partners). It is the Agent Orange of today, and if our media truly informed the public, the use of DU and the damage it causes would be front-page news.

The Psychological Costs of War

The nature of the so-called ”War on Terror” is that troops never get to leave the front lines of what seems to be an open-ended conflict. An active duty soldier recently informed me that troops are directed to "Hand out lead, not bread," and they don’t always know who they’re fighting. The father of one Iraq vet told me his son went AWOL because he was having trouble coping with his participation in home raids, and was especially haunted by memories involving children.

I have had the opportunity to meet many active duty soldiers. When they tell me they've been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, I ask them what they'd like us to know about what's happening. I get mixed reactions to this question. Some are taken aback by it, and want some time to think it over. Some just shrug, maybe because they don't want to think about it at all. Others tell me their stories.

One of the last soldiers I spoke to was anxiously awaiting discharge after serving three tours in Iraq. Without hesitation he said, "There's a lot of corruption, trash everywhere and people being blown up. Dead bodies. I saw a lot of dead bodies.” I could see the pain in his eyes.

Then there's Chris, "E-4 Specialist." He was discharged but still in uniform, adorned with his own non-issue patches. He was proud of his skill, and his courage. But he felt completely betrayed by the Army. Chris received a dishonorable discharge. He explained that he didn't pass a physical due to a knee injury he sustained when reprimanded by a superior from another unit. "There's a lot of fighting amongst the ranks." He said "It's like being in prison, only in prison you get showers."

He was upset about putting out oil fires when he doesn't even have a car. He was well-informed and thought others should be. He wondered how he could be sent to war for his country, find out it was all based on lies, and then be left with nothing. Chris is one of half a million homeless vets. That's 25% of the homeless population in America.

Mainstream media covered the infamous story of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib, but failed to uncover the real story. There is insurmountable evidence of widespread systematic torture, ordered from the highest ranks. This is a far cry from the image sold to young recruits. It all amounts to the US government asking things of our troops that go far beyond what they signed up for.

Inadequate Mental Health Support

The types of injuries and mental scars troops suffer, along with difficulty pursuing treatment, pose many challenges, including that of suicide risk. A CBS investigation on veteran suicide and a pending class action lawsuit filed by a coalition of Iraq War Vets against the Department of Veteran Affairs, have brought mental health care to the forefront. The investigation reported that the Department of Defense was claiming there were 2200 veteran suicide deaths between 1995 and 2007, a twelve year span. Evidence CBS obtained from the Department of Veteran's Affairs gathered from a total of 45 states proved that the number of veterans whose lives were lost to suicide, was 6,256 in 2005 alone. The lawsuit cites long waits and inadequate care as the cause.

Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Modern Warfare are also filing suit against the VA over "unacceptable delays." They say "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."

Like all of our Army and VA facilities, improvements are being made at Madigan. Nevertheless, the facility is extremely understaffed, as more doctors are deploying and, as one Madigan staff member explained, others are just “burning out.” There is a growing concern there about how the highly addictive drug oxycontin and others like it that are being prescribed to injured troops. While doctors often recognize signs of addiction, sometimes shared by the spouse, they fear backlash for not providing care when a soldier comes in asking for something. Raising red flags nationwide, prescriptions for narcotic painkillers have gone from 30,000 per month before the Iraq invasion, to 50,000 per month today, along with a rise in the number of people seeking drug abuse treatment.

One veteran testified before Congress at the Winter Soldier hearings that, in Iraq they hand out pain medicines “like candy.” In the absence of psychological care, these narcotics are commonly used to escape mental, as well as physical pain. The combination of depression and substance abuse puts these combat vets in the highest risk group for taking their own lives.

If we listen to veterans, young and old, they are trying to tell us their truths in the cafes, on the streets, at the ports and in the courtrooms. Resoundingly, they bring into question the appropriateness of the actions of this "Global War on Terror" and why it continues without better care for its warriors.

President-elect Barack Obama vows to take care of our veterans. We all need to help hold him to it.

Daisy Ouye is a frequent contributor to Works In Progress.