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Taking care of the troops?

Disagreeable

Well-known member
Hardly.

Link below; my emphasis.

"Ron Dickey wanted to make the Army his career. When he joined the service at 19 he traded Rienzi, Miss.—a town with fewer than 500 residents—for a world of opportunities. Ambitious, Dickey became a member of the elite special forces and fought in the first Persian Gulf War. But when he got back from the Middle East, he developed extensive skin abrasions. He still doesn't know if he was exposed to something during the war, but his health began to deteriorate quickly. In addition to the mysterious skin disease, he came down with diabetes and he already had some hearing loss. In 1993, he opted not to re-enlist.

Dickey first tried his hand at police work back home in Mississippi. But his health wasn't up to it. So he went on the job market only to find that with a resume strong on weaponry but weak on Microsoft Word he was bouncing from one low-paying job to another. "There were a thousand options to collect a [benefits] check," says Dickey, now 35. "But I wanted to be a functioning member of society. I had to come up with a new way to be productive."

Many former soldiers are finding it difficult to return to 9-to-5 America. The number of disabled vets from all wars deemed "unemployable" by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tripled from 71,000 to 220,000 between 1996 and 2005. Unemployable vets receive about $2,393 a month, with the total cost of the program now $3.1 billion a year (up from $857 million in 1996). That staggering price tag doesn't include the bulk of recent vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who will enter the system over the next few decades.

Many of those now receiving benefits aren't able to work because of their disabilities, and a majority are over age 60. But some vets, like Ron Dickey, could and would work under the right circumstances. And, while it is easier than ever for disabled vets to go online and get information about receiving unemployment benefits, the options for those who want to get a job are more complicated.

In a much-anticipated report issued last month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) criticized the VA's unemployablity benefits for having unclear guidelines and weak follow-up. They found the big jump in those receiving benefits particularly troubling at a time when "advances in medicine and technology, along with labor market changes, have provided greater opportunity for people with disabilities to seek and maintain employment." Even the VA concurred with the criticism. "The VA should look at the program as an opportunity to return people to work if they can," says Cristina Chaplain, a GAO director and author of the May 30 report—the first major review of veterans' disability benefits in 50 years. "The demands of a new generation of veterans are going to be incredible, and the VA needs to get a good system in place."

It's difficult to gauge how much of an impact the new generation of war vets will have on the VA's already strained system. More than 150,000 military personnel are now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the total number of troops who've rotated through either country at some point since September 2001 will definitely be much higher. About 18,000 military personnel have already been wounded in both conflicts. And many injuries like posttraumatic stress disorder may not surface until well after their homecomings."


More at the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13319120/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/
 

Steve

Well-known member
but his (Ron Dicky) health began to deteriorate quickly. In addition to the mysterious skin disease, he came down with diabetes and he already had some hearing loss. In 1993,

and who was President in 93?

Willie had 7 years to get Dicky some help.....




really want to help though try...contacting the VA....
"The Department of Veterans Affair's Veterans Benefits Administration's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) service is vested with delivering timely, effective vocational rehabilitation services to veterans with service-connected disabilities. Enabling our injured soldiers, sailors, airmen, and other veterans with disabilities for a seamless transition from military service to a successful rehabilitation and on to suitable employment after service to our Nation. For some severely disabled veterans, this success will be to live independently, achieving the highest quality of life possible with a realized hope for employment given future advances in medical science and technology. The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment service strives to exceed the service delivery expectations of veterans and their families.
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/index.htm

or
http://dva.jobsearch.org/
http://www.va.gov/jobs/resources.htm
 
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