the contrarian - Who's Minding the Store? (Apparently No One)

Many in America are against continuing the war in Iraq, while others are fully supportive of the proposed surge.  However, there isn’t a soul who doesn’t expect that each and every one of our returning wounded should and, indeed does, receive first class, VIP care.

Thus, it was more than a little shocking for Americans to read the recent Washington Post article exposing the conditions that exist in portions of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, located just five miles from the White House.

The story in the Post begins: "Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses."

The article goes on to point out that case managers in the outpatient area were handling as many as 125 patients when they should be involved with no more than 30 to 35.

Many of the casualties throughout the country, even those being treated as outpatients, bear severe wounds, including amputations, head and body trauma, blindness, deafness and partial and full paralysis.  Some of the wounded are double and triple amputees.

While VA Medical Centers may have improved their general level of treatment over time, the president and the 109th Congress should have spared no expense to make sure that every veteran received the best treatment available.  The evidence suggests, however, that this is not the case.

One facility that apparently recognized the problem was a state-of-the-art medical center built by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund in San Antonio Texas.  Utilizing only private funds given by over 600,000 donors, the fund completed construction last month.  The world class facility encompasses 60,000 square feet, and is equipped to handle military personnel who have been catastrophically disabled as a result of their service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More funds are needed for the ongoing operation of this facility.  If you have any desire to donate, please Google “Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund” for details.

Last evening, the amazing story of Bob Woodruff’s recovery was told on the ABC show, “To Iraq and Back – Bob Woodruff Reports.” For those who missed this important show, it can be seen this morning on www.ABCNews.com.

As is well known, Woodruff was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq and incurred a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  He was in an extended coma.  A good part of the left side of his skull was removed and eventually replaced with an acrylic implant, and a stone shrapnel was removed from under his brain immediately adjacent to the carotid artery, where it had luckily lodged without damaging the artery itself.

Woodruff’s recovery is still ongoing but, as a civilian, he was fortunate to be treated not only by military doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital, but also by the best civilian surgeons available.

He made an amazingly good appearance on the show, but it was obvious that it was not without great difficulty on his part.

He described TBI as the signature injury for the returning wounded, and outside of a few major installations, he presented clear evidence that the VA has not been prepared to deal with this crisis from day one.

In defining the problem, he pointed out the discrepancy between the official number of wounded, as reported by the Department of Defense, which stands at about 23,000, and the fact that over 205,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are being treated at VA hospitals.

In interviews with doctors and other specialists, it came out that brain injuries are much more common than they are admitted to be.  Any soldiers in the general vicinity of a detonation may have such an injury and only gradually become aware of it.

Of the 1,500,000 military personnel that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was estimated by medical doctors Woodruff interviewed, that as many as 10%, or 150,000, may have some form of brain injury.  The system is overwhelmed.  In the case of one soldier Woodruff interviewed, it took 1½ years for the VA to properly diagnose his TBI.  

It would be one thing if this information was just now surfacing, but the ugly fact is it has been known for some time.  The Department of Defense has been so intent on keeping the problem out of the public eye, that it issued a gag order to its personnel, forbidding them to talk to the press about it, according to testimony on the program.

And yet, despite the fact that the problem was known to the executive branch of the government, and very likely to the 109^th Congress as well, no adequate provisions were included in prior budgets, or the president’s current budget, to correct the situation.

How this serious matter developed without proper oversight by our governmental system is hard to imagine.  Certainly, no expense has been spared for the reconstruction efforts in Iraq, and there appears to be little official concern for the billions of taxpayer dollars that have gone missing. 

And the administration doesn’t seem to lack the time or motivation to push its current controversial draft plan through the parliament of Iraq which will provide for the distribution of the country’s oil revenues, a plan described as a bonanza for the oil companies.

So the question might well be asked of the president, just where do our returning wounded soldiers stand?  The facts seem to suggest that their position of importance, in his eyes, lies somewhere behind the civilian contractors and the oil companies.

In a Presidents Day speech at Mount Vernon, George W. Bush linked his war in Iraq to George Washington’s “long struggle for freedom.”

Well, one of George Washington’s quotes, made in 1789, and pointed out by Bob Woodruff last evening, was: “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.”

This thoughtful logic on the part of Washington appears to shatter any link that Bush would like us to believe exists, and seems to draw a sharp distinction between our first president and our 43^rd.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senators Barack Obama (Ill.) and Claire McCaskill(Mo.) are introducing a bill this week which seeks to simplify the paperwork for injured soldiers, force the army to add more caseworkers, and increase the oversight of Walter Reed.

This is no more than a first step, however.  The program needs a massive infusion of funds, and improvements need to extend far beyond Walter Reed, until every serviceman throughout the country is assured of the same quality of treatment as that provided to civilians, such as Bob Woodruff. 

And time is of the essence.