Shinseki Resigns After Va Scandal

[OldDoorGunner]

Shinseki resigns after VA scandal

Dead Link Removed

J R

 

[Sleeping Dragon]

I watched the resignation announcement above, and gee wiz I feel better already.

While on the Laosian boarder in 67 my unit got a visit from the commanding general of Marine forces in the pacific. He said we were doing a great job, and I got the same thrill as I did from watching the president. For the rest of my tour the C-rats tasted better, the jungle didn't stink anymore, I learned to enjoy living in wet fatiguus, and went skipping down the road whistling Zip-pa-de-doo-da.

Yes sir, there's nothing like an insperational speach from leadeership to get you on the happy, happy, happy side of things.

SD

 

[Wagon]

About damn time he resigned. This is only the tip of the ice berg. There is so much scandal lurking in the VA, everyone there looks like the axe is about to fall.

Of course the above is all just show. "Look, we got rid of the boss, see, we're doing something"

I personally am happy to have crossed over into the lawyer phase of my VA history. Now I don't have to waste time looking at these bastards anymore.

 

[atilla]

I know I need to go back to the VA and get back on my medication, but there's so much bullshit going on with them right now. They can't even effectively run their own administration. They're too preoccupied with covering up their own mess and covering their own asses, that I'm not sure any vet could get the proper treatment right now if he smeared himself with honey, rolled in sand, and sat in the waiting room licking a mennen speed stick. I dont know

 

[Barberian]

Now for the person ultimately responsible to resign - The Commander in Chief. He knew about it in 2008 and ran on it as part of his political campaign. Now he is acting as if he never knew about it... BULLSHIT.

How many times has he said the veterans deserve nothing but the best, yet under his watch, the VA has slowly rotted from within? It's been bad for decades.

 

[SteveMD]

I was watching the Morning Joe Show, and one of the talkers, Thomas Roberts, has a Dad who takes treatments at Walter Reed. He started talking about the IG Report, and explained the Appendix---a list of IG Reports and Testimony on this exact thing dating to 2007===Bush, Obama, the House, the Senate----How could Shinseki not have known (except by being disengaged?

At the same time, I have, perhaps, spent more time than I want to at VA lately. The regular staff, docs, etc..have always been great to me, and are mortified by this stuff. In the end, they will probably be glad that the higher-up stuff might be cleaned up a little.

 

[Wagon]

It seems hit or miss on treatment. The Doc's at mine have blue skyed everything and are generally suspicious of all comers. One doc tried to trap me into saying I had a bad child hood. I had just told the previous doc I did not, but he pulled one of these "Oh so I see you had a rough childhood." "Who the hell told you that?" I said. Then he backed down.

Also after telling three doctors that I was sensistive to most pharmcueticals, the cock goes ahead and gives me the standard. Zoloft. Saying...get this "Your life is shit, you might as well try this" The side effect list on that is nice and long and I got the pleasure of experiencing ALL of them. Explosive diahrea, diziness, high anxiety and suicidal thoughts, topped off by high blood pressure and orders from another doc to go to an emergency room. Thank You VA.

The crap part about all this is I don't know what the solution is. How do we keep the quality high? When I went to Texas A&M, at the end of every semester, we were given a Proffessor critique form. Completely anonymous. If a Prof got allot of complaints, i.e more than 50% disatisfaction, They were out of there.

So where is our chance? It is OUR VA. We should get a shot at telling them what is wrong, how we want to be treated. What they do now is all second guessing and gloss. Their mantra is "Smile and don't commit to one damn thing, stonewall as much as possible and if they are claiming any compensation, treat them like the plague"

While I'm on my soap box, there is another thing happpening that is a bit disturbing. Military actions are being taken off the VA lists. A buddy of mine was kicked out of the VFW. Why? DoD took Lebanon off the war list. We've been running operations in that damn country for 30 + years. 250 Marines died there, we've done SpecOps against Hezbollah, countless intel missions, countless standoffs with Soviets and Syrians and it doesn't count for shit.

And quite frankly, I don't give a f*ck. Being a Veteran in this country is like winning the consolation door prize in hell. I don't understand why people want to fake being a Veteran. I'd gladly give anyone that status.......if I had it anymore. They can have all the other shit too.

Of course if you think about it. You do know the answer.........If you are living in the US.........It's the turd in the hamper that nobody wants to address. Everything happening at the VA is just window dressing to cover up the big glaring fact.

WE ARE BROKE. END OF STORY.

 

[atilla]

I hear you wagon. When I went to the VA the gave me something for insomnia, and an anti depressant and another anti-depressant to keep me from having seizures caused by the other two medications.. what the f*ck are we supposed to do. I've made up my mind to treat my ptsd with marijuana. I'm not kidding. It helps me with the anxiety, anger, stress, and appetite issues. Also with some of my GWS issues. The US government has given the ok to do a triple blind study in colorado on using medical marijuana to treat vets with ptsd. Unlike alcohol, it doesn't make me angrier when i'm having a bad day, it relieves it. Even the next day after I smoke it keeps me level..So 1 joint for me equals about 2 days of being able to be free from most of my symptoms. Just putting it out there bro. We as vets have to start looking for ourselves, and try to find what works for us. The VA is too pre-occupied with trying to cover their asses.

 

[Sleeping Dragon]

My Brothers and Sisters,

We're making a mistake here by judging others by our standards. Now, it's not a mistake to expect the natiion to provide care for those who were wounded in that nations defense. But, don't get overly upset when you find that that very nation doesn't really give a fat rats ass about our problems. We have one another. But, that's all we've ever had.

There are non-vets out there who do care. My wife and family, and a few close friends stood by me when they had every reason to turn their backs. But, they don't run the country. The folks who make the decisions about who gets what were bought and paid for by those with much deeper pockets than ours.

Does all this mean we have to take ths shit quietly, HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!! Little things make a diference. Sarg made a sign and picketed publicly. Did things change immediately? No. Did that sign make a difference? YES. It was a baby step, and we know about those.

I'm not saying we all need to make signs. But, we can tell others how we feel. We can writer letters to our representatives. And, it you need help with that please PM me. I have volumes of shit you can throw in their faces.

But, above all, don't let this get to you. It's tough enough as is. Keep going to the VA. Delays and crouded waiting rooms send a message to the bought and paid for politicians. And, they don't like to be embarassed.

SD

 

[BaMuoiBa]

I don't the Secretary's scalp is the solution to this beaurcratic nightmare. I feel its'a shot across the bow to those in DC that the party is over. I've had some real shitty so called civil servents that pushed my PTSD to the limit but that's a people issue. Lets be honest about it this it's about a system that is broke and it just didn't happen overnight. They ignored us in the seventies when we tried to tell them what they already knew about AO. The old quote from an old friend comes to mind "Rarely do we have time to do it right but we always have time to do it over".

As our numbers dwindle our voices become a mear whisper to those who have never made the sacrifice.

Stay tuned... Your about to be ignored again!

Ba

 

[OldDoorGunner]

Your about to be ignored again! Ba, this time I don't think that will happen. I have told a Congressman right to his face. When VA commits MURDER, I/We vets have the right to protect ourselves with lethal force!!! It will start with the VA, but I know it will move to the Congress because you let the VA get away with this shit it for over 40 years. Add in the fact that you are now calling us Combat Veterans Terrorist!!! I told him you can come and get me (maybe) but if you do, 100 maybe 1000 or more will take my place. I also told him that I would not use a firearm, as that would be to easy. But everything else would be on the table. Oh and don't forget collateral damage. The VA and Congress don't give a flying f*ck about our Kids/Family, so why should we care about yours? Ask yourself this Congressman, how many Veterans will you be dealing with? 5 million, 10 million, maybe more. Go ahead and don't fix the VA system, we will........

SD, I guess this was a baby step on Steroids! :D The man I told this to is a Nam vet.

J R

 

[JarHed]

Firing the top guy isn't going to change a f*cking thing. The problem is at numerous levels but at the top the only thing he does or sees is committees and numbers. It's all just mental masturbation, nothing is going to change. It was broke before I started there more than 40 years ago. It's like talking about reforming the IRS.