Last night, after some fun times at the river with my wife (stay tuned, pics to come) Carrie and I had the not-so-awesome pleasure of watching Paul Haggis' "In the Valley of Elah." This is one of those movies that is phenomenal, but not entertaining in the least. It is really gut wrenching and depressing, but a movie that everyone really needs to watch. The movie, which is based on a true story, covers the very real topic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I don't want to go into to many details about the movie other than to say that this film really captures what it must feel like to come back from war.
These young men and women have seen and done things that humans are not supposed to do to one another, and because of this many (probably most) have an extremely hard time adjusting to life upon returning home. And guess what, our government isn't taking care of these people. Right now, soldiers are required to take a three page survey regarding their mental health. However, studies only show that only 35% of our Iraq vets are receiving mental health services. I am sorry, but that number just isn't high enough. After seeing and being a part of tragic human loss, all of these brave men and women should go through some form of counseling. And sweet irony that our commander in chief wants to increase spending in this area by 6%. 6%!?! Does that seem a little low to anyone else? In addition to this ridiculously low increase in services (while soldiers' duties have increased from 12 to 15 months) Bush's plan also calls for some fees and co-pays...
So, let me make sure I get this straight...
1. The soldiers are expect to fill out a three page survey regrading their mental health in order to screen for potential problems upon returning from tour. First, do you think that a three page survey is really going to be effective in finding out if someone really needs help? And if you were a soldier, would you, after spending 15 months in a hell hole, want to potentially post-pone your homecoming by receiving mental health services? The answer is of course no, so I question the legitimacy and accuracy of the answers that these soldiers provide. (Please don't read this last sentence as condescending, I'd lie on every form possible if I thought it was going to hinder my chances of going home as fast as possible.)
2. Our commander in chief, after surging our troops (21,500 addition troops, a conservative estimate) thinks that a 6% percent increase in the budget for mental health for our soldiers is enough? I have been against this war for quite a while now, but that doesn't mean that I am against taking care of the people who are following the orders of our commander-in-Chief. These people are brave, courageous, and hard working and they deserve to be taken care of; while serving and when returning home.
3. In the event that a soldier was complete honest and forthright on his survey (despite the fears of causing more time away from home), and the survey was enough to indicate that he/she need help, and there was enough funding to pay for the personal to give the help, then the soldier might have to help pay for those services. After a 15 month duty, after seeing (and possibly participating in) death, destruction, and despair, we have the audacity to charge our soldiers money for mental health services? Its just not right.
Please understand, that while I am against this war vehemently, I do believe that we should be supporting our troops. Conservatives love to claim that liberals (like myself) don't want to support our brave men and women. And while I can't speak for all liberals, I know that I can speak for me: and I want our troops supported! They need to be taken care of when they return home. We need to help re-acclimate them with a world outside of war. We need to make sure that they receive the services they need.
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