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Will VA be Ready?

A

Anonymous

Guest
I wonder how much more of this type problem will be showing up now- especially with the forced multiple tours many are having to put in :???: ...Even all the Generals admit that many have been stretched close to their limits...I only hope GW and the boys in D.C. make sure the VA has the capabilities to handle it... They've been known to drop the ball in the past and seem to think the VA system is always a good place to cut funding...

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Attorney: Ex-Ranger belongs in VA hospital, not behind prison bars
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

Danny Ray Reed II, arrested after allegedly disrupting a commercial flight, belongs in a veterans hospital, his public attorney told a federal judge Friday.

"There are significant issues here that would tend to show that Mr. Reed is far different than he has been portrayed in the press," said Chief Public Defender Tony Gallagher.

Reed, 32, a broad-shouldered man with close-cropped hair and a very worried expression, nodded solemnly.

Handcuffed and shackled with chains wrapped around his waist, he was dressed in a striped Cascade County Jail uniform for his detention hearing.
"We are attempting to work with the Veterans Administration to fashion a release plan, but the VA does not always work with alacrity," Gallagher said.

Reed was charged with interfering with crewmembers Sunday on a flight from Denver to Great Falls and faces a maximum 20-year prison term and $250,000 fine if convicted.

Officials believe Reed drank alcohol before he boarded the flight and was served two more drinks while on board.

Reed is a former member of the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and currently suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to his parents.

"He was a highly trained medic, one of those people who'd shoot you, then fix you," his father, Danny Reed Sr., said Thursday in a telephone interview from his home in Lerona, W.Va.

The elder Reed said his son was part of the mission in which Pfc. Jessica Lynch was ambushed and captured. Five other soldiers were captured that day, and 11 were killed.

"After that mission was over, there were five executed American soldiers buried in a shallow grave," said Reed Sr.. "Those Rangers dug them up by hand and put them in plastic bags.

"He was having dreams of those soldiers coming back to life again," he added.

His mother, Sonja, said she hoped her son would be sent to a VA hospital, adding, "He needs the help."


Federal Magistrate Judge Keith Strong said the strategy sounded promising and continued the detention hearing until 10 a.m. Jan. 17 to give Gallagher more time to work with the VA.
 

Steve

Well-known member
unfortunatly the VA can not give help, unless the vet decides to seek help.....

seeking help after the incident is not the VA's fault....it is guided by laws...and those laws are and have been in place since far before the War....

I pray he is allowed to seek help, and that the VA delivers for him...

I have a freind who, because of the way people react is not seeking help for his ptsd.....it is a decision shared by alot of young soldiers....get help and be forever labeled as crazy....or hope the pain passes....it was also more then likely the same case for this young soldier....

I have been visiting the VA for almost 13 years. and the treatment has been great...never once was I turneed away.
 

memanpa

Well-known member
very true steve
i work with a couple of support groups closely associated with the V.A.
BUT they must attend the sessions willingly and on their own accord!

never fails to amaze me that think that just because the V.A. is there you can be forced to seek help!
it is no different than any other hospital! with the exception that it is run by an agency of the goverment,
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Steve said:
unfortunatly the VA can not give help, unless the vet decides to seek help.....

seeking help after the incident is not the VA's fault....it is guided by laws...and those laws are and have been in place since far before the War....

I pray he is allowed to seek help, and that the VA delivers for him...

I have a freind who, because of the way people react is not seeking help for his ptsd.....it is a decision shared by alot of young soldiers....get help and be forever labeled as crazy....or hope the pain passes....it was also more then likely the same case for this young soldier....

I have been visiting the VA for almost 13 years. and the treatment has been great...never once was I turneed away.

Steve- I am still working with two Viet Nam veteran buddies that have had a rough go...One took 30 years to put his life together- and now seems to have- having been dry and doing good for 4 years now- actually seems content with life finally....Admits he can't do it on his own--He continues to work with the VA-- but sometimes their resources are awful thin around here anyway....

The other had a rough first 5-6 years-- put things together, got out of counseling, and did well until just a couple years ago.... Started having the same flashbacks and dreams- would not go back for help thinking he was strong enough to handle it--now 2 DUI's in 4 months time- back to doing crazy things he doesn't even know why/what he did....Hopefully we can get him back in the program.....

I just hope the VA/Congress is proactive on this and not reactive a few years down the line.....
 

Steve

Well-known member
While I agree that it is not an ideal situation the way the VA is set up...but at least those in charge try....with in the framework of the law governing them....and they do alot better of a job then most goverment departments..(with alot less money)....


I feel very strongly that the VA is a good system,
 

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