Thread: Soldier`s lives Saved But Injuries Persist Long after Battle

This was sent to me from a friend on the local V.A. Advisory Board.
I recommend you call your congress critter and ask where's the budget for our military! There is no excuse for this!

Tori (MCDC)

Bill J. Moseley
Director of Veterans Affairs
County of San Bernardino
Ph: 909-387-5527


Soldiers' Lives Saved But Injuries Persist Long After Battle
Monday , November 27, 2006

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

WASHINGTON - Advancements in battlefield surgery, air transport and body
armor have saved the lives of thousands of American servicemen and women
wounded in Iraq.
But as waves of injured soldiers - many of them disabled for life - return
home, veterans and military sources say the public will soon realize the
breadth and scope of the American sacrifice in this war.
"I think the human cost of this war has been largely out of sight," said
Paul Rieckoff, an Iraq war veteran and director of the Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America <http://www.iava.org/index.php> .
"It is a very violent war and I think the severity of injuries is something
that people don't really have an understanding of," he said. "We're not
just talking about flesh wounds; we're talking about amputation, blindness,
traumatic brain injury. People living who would have died."
U.S. fatalities in Iraq as of Nov. 24 were 2,869; in Afghanistan 346.
Total fatalities in the Vietnam conflict were 58,226.
According to the Department of Defense, as of Nov. 4, 46,137 battle-and
non-battle related military injuries have been treated in Operation Iraqi
Freedom. Of that number, 31,122 military personnel had injuries or
"diseases" serious enough to require air transport off the battlefield.
Statistics from the Vietnam war show that 153,303 service personnel were
seriously wounded. In that conflict, that's roughly one soldier killed for
every 2.6 wounded. In Iraq, it's one soldier killed for every 16 wounded.
Rick Weidman, head of policy and government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of
America <http://www.vva.org/> , said thousands of the seriously injured men
and women in Iraq would have never left the battlefield alive a generation
ago.
"I've had this happen - where you know the guy is dying and you can't do
anything about it. They are saving those kids today," said Weidman, who
served as a medic in Vietnam.
Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr. assistant secretary of defense for health
affairs, said in an interview that the medical story of the war is a mixed
bag: the injuries are in some cases severe and problematic, but more lives
have been saved than in any other American conflict and the majority of the
injured are able to return to productive lives if not back to military
service in some capacity.
Winkenwerder said a majority of service personnel who required air transport
out of Iraq and Afghanistan will return to duty "in some form or fashion."
Of the 725 amputees from those wars, for example, 25 percent continue to
serve in the military, he said.
On the other hand, he said, about 7,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans had
sustained "significant war wounds" and probably won't be returning to duty
anytime soon.
"The performance of our military medical personnel in combat medicine is the
best in history," Winkenwerder said, noting that casualties have an 8 or 9
percent chance of dying once they get to a hospital. In Vietnam, that chance
was 25 percent.
Today, the wounded can be transported from the battlefield to top U.S.
hospitals within 48 to 72 hours. They are flown on a C-17 transport plane
outfitted as an intensive care unit. Once there, they have the most advanced
care possible, said Winkenwerder.
"It's proving to be a very advantageous approach to saving our service
members," he said.
Coming Home
Thousands of lives are being saved, but a sobering consequence is that that
back home, military and veterans hospitals, which now incorporate new
polytrauma rehabilitation centers established to respond to the most severe
brain and spinal injuries, are handling an increasing number of
life-altering injuries for vets.
"There are some unique cases coming out of this war because of the nature of
it," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson
<javascript:siteSearch('Jim Nicholson');> . "The IED, the improvised
explosive device, is the main ordnance of the enemy, and they cause these
tremendous blasts. They cause a multiplicity of injury that in all previous
wars would have ended in fatalities."
Sources in the Veterans Affairs Department and military health care system
say that traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are the most frequent causes of
battle deaths and disability today.
The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a network of eight hospitals
and health care facilities throughout the country, treated 1,529 TBI cases
from January 2003 to Sept. 30, 2006.
But advocates say the number of TBI is much larger and elusive and
could affect anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of wounded men and women
-many of whom suffered non-life threatening concussions from IED blasts or
vehicle crashes.
"Those concussions, not even just the shrapnel, are causing the wiring of
the brain to mess up," said Sgt. Patrick Campbell, who served as an Army
medic in Iraq. "It's like taking an expensive piece of stereo equipment and
bashing it against the wall and expecting it to work the same way."
Effects from TBI can range from mild - causing symptoms of
forgetfulness
* to severe - the point of profound physical and mental disabilities.
Campbell, who now serves in the Army National Guard, is pushing for
legislation on behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America that would
require detailed screening for TBI in hopes that veterans can get the
assistance they need now before symptoms affect their lives down the line.
"We just don't know how big the problem is," he said.
Are VA Preparations Enough?
Since 2002, Veterans Affairs agencies have treated 185,000 of the estimated
588,000 service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Of that group, about 6,000 have been hospitalized, the rest have received
outpatient services.
In what the VA calls "very raw categories," 64,000 vets have sought mental
health services, 32,000 have come in with respiratory problems, 56,000 have
had digestive issues, 54,000 have had problems relating to the nervous
system, 25,000 have had skin diseases and 25,000 have had circulatory
problems.
By far, said officials, 76,000 veterans fall under the broad category of
"muscular and skeletal" diagnosis, which would include anything from a
pulled muscle to injuries received from an IED blast.
In addition, the VA has assisted 500 amputees in the last year. Those
seeking assistance collectively have had their leg prostheses adjusted
11,000 times and hand and arm prostheses checked 1,200 times.
Nicholson said the severity of injuries in this war made necessary the
creation of the polytrauma centers as well as 17 smaller, regional
polytrauma facilities.
"Instead of coming home in a body bag, they are coming back on a gurney, and
that presents us with new and challenging opportunities, if you will, to
reconstitute people," he said.
He said the impact of the new veterans on the total health care system is
about 3 percent, and he is confident the VA can handle their new and
challenging needs.
"We are well-structured and well-positioned to care [for] those returning
from combat, both for their physical needs and their mental and
psychological needs," he said.
But veterans' advocates say the VA is not operating on adequate funding
levels. Congress has yet to pass the Veterans Affairs budget for fiscal year
2007, which began on Oct. 1, forcing the system to operate on last year's
fiscal levels. That's already undermining confidence in the system.
"The VA is drastically underfunded," said journalist Larry Scott, a veteran
who runs the Web site VAWatchdog.org <http://www.vawatchdog.org/> , a
clearinghouse of information for vets.
He said the increases the administration has boasted about since President
Bush took office in 2001 barely keep up with inflation much less the
increased demand of wartime.
In addition, he said the public is unaware of the impact the wave of
returning veterans will have on the society. While it cannot necessarily be
quantified in terms of dollars, it will certainly be expensive on many
fronts, Scott said.
The public "are not prepared for the financial commitment and they are not,
most assuredly, prepared for the mental and psychological commitment," he
said.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2006, nearly 21
percent of the nearly 800,000 veterans discharged between Jan. 2002 and Aug.
2005 reported a service-connected disability. Fifty-eight percent of those
had a 30 percent or higher disability rating. Of those claiming disability,
14 percent are unemployed.
Lt. Col. Kevin Arata of the Army Wounded Warriors Program
<http://www.armyfamiliesonline.org/> , which coordinates services and
assistance to wounded vets with a 30 percent or more disability rating, said
they have 1,400 soldiers in their long-term program. Amputees, burn victims
and blind soldiers make up the majority of this group.
"I am quite certain the public is aware of the number of casualties we have
incurred ...but many people are probably not aware of the number and type of
injuries sustained by our soldiers," he said.
"What you have are people with what we call profound injuries," added
Weidman, who said more resources must be made available to help veterans
adapt to their new situations. "They are going to be a real mess for a very
long time. How are these people going to earn a living? How are we going to
help get them through life?"This was sent to me from a friend on the local V.A. Advisory Board.
I recommend you call your congress critter and ask where's the budget for our military! There is no excuse for this!

Tori

Bill J. Moseley

It's tragic beyond belief.

We have to get all these troops out of that mess now and do everything required to give them all the best possible lives upon their return ... no matter what it costs.

PERIOD.

Originally Posted by Judy

It's tragic beyond belief.

We have to get all these troops out of that mess now and do everything required to give them all the best possible lives upon their return ... no matter what it costs.

PERIOD.

Are you prepared to fight the insane islamics on American soil along with this Illegal Alien battle for our sovereignty at the same time?

Hope so, cause that will be the end result if our troops are brought home without a CLEAR VICTORY.

And keep in mind, I wasn't in favor of going into Iraq. However, that's where we are at this moment in time and one cannot intellectually ignore this fact.

Right or wrong then.........the end result is clear cut now.

If you want to HELP the troops, you'd be screaming from the mountaintops demanding a VICTORY and not some half assed plan for pulling back. That's what the fighting men and women deployed want & know that's what we must do and that's good enough for me.

.

Well ... that IS what Bush wants to do ... increase troop strength and stay the course for victory.

Victory of what .... I don't know. We are the only military in Iraq. So since it will not be a military victory (we won that more than 3 years ago) we don't need to keep our military in Iraq in the cross-fires of a civilian war.

Political victory? How? The Iraqi People chose an Islamofascist State established and ingrained by their new Constitution. We would have to overthrow this government; throw out this new constitution; and start all over from scratch.

We can't force Democracy on a people that rejected it in our presence while the US occupied their nation. If they didn't want it under those circumstances, then they didn't want it at all. It defies everything we can comprehend but that is what happened over a year ago. Islam is now the Law of the Land in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

How can a democracy like the United States consider the result of an American invasion like this a victory? We think its victory when they stop fighting for their various beliefs in their new country? We think its victory if we kill everyone so they stop killing each other and we don't have to watch it on television? Maliki is an Al Sadr in a suit. There is no difference between them...except one looks like something we fear in his turban and robe while the other is in a suit. They are the same. No difference. Just a different version or interpretation of the Koran. Neither are freedom. Neither are democracy. Just a different sect of Islam. It's not our battle.

What you are asking is for Americans to continue to fund a military presence in a nation in order to defend one version of Islam versus another when neither serve our best interest.

What happened in Iraq is this:

1. We won a military victory 3 years ago

2. We lost a political victory 1 year ago

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, we can do to change those two facts.

Iraq wants and needs US to leave and we need to leave.

There is nothing left to win in Iraq or Afghanistan for that matter.

Freedom and Democracy Lost.

Islamofascism Won and is the Law of the Land in both countries guaranteed by their new Constitutions.

Do our fighting men and women understand that? Do they know that this is what they're fighting for? Defending one version of religious tyranny over another? I don't think they understand or even know what has happened politically in Iraq or Afghanistan. Which version do you kill? Why would we want to kill either one? Why would we risk American Lives and American Dollars killing one or the other or both?

Originally Posted by Judy

Well ... that IS what Bush wants to do ... increase troop strength and stay the course for victory.

Victory of what .... I don't know. We are the only military in Iraq. So since it will not be a military victory (we won that more than 3 years ago) we don't need to keep our military in Iraq in the cross-fires of a civilian war.

We won the MISSION, which is entirely different than the 'war.'
This no good 'leader' has not allowed them to WIN a VICTORY.
And Yes, it must be a military victory........that is the only kind that these insane maniacs understand! They know nothing, absolutely nothing about political victories. They respect nothing but physical VICTORY.
That is a fact.

[quote:3sydjcgk]We can't force Democracy on a people that rejected it in our presence while the US occupied their nation. If they didn't want it under those circumstances, then they didn't want it at all. It defies everything we can comprehend but that is what happened over a year ago. Islam is now the Law of the Land in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

I absolutely agree with you. Islam is not and never has been compatible with any democratic process. It cannot be. It's law is in the koran.

However, although I never agreed with this particular undertaking, there were more reasons than is understood as to why this was an acceptable action by others. On the other hand, it is proven that James Baker and his gang of thieves and conivers had this plan of action in their arsenal for some time.
Now I believe that it has become -morphed into -a diversion while the rest of the agenda is moved forward. That is my personal belief backed up by some strenuous research.

What you are asking is for Americans to continue to fund a military presence in a nation in order to defend one version of Islam versus another when neither serve our best interest.

What you don't understand is that this is where we are now defending our country from a violent invasion that you can't even imagine! You must understand that these maniacs are serious AND HAVE BEEN FOR DECADES about killing Americans. You must understand that THEY HAVE BEEN KILLING AMERICANS for decades. That is a FACT. Plain, simple and irrefutable.........FACT.

I don't give a flying fig about bush or europe or anyone else.......these maniacs are going to be so emboldened if they are not stopped, that you will witness things so much worse than 9/11. Get it and get it quickly.
We are in two wars. One with islamic insane people and one with Illegal Alien invasion. Now, the islamic maniacs are NOW RECRUITING south of the border.

What would your choice be NOW that we are already engaged? Another Viet Nam? See what we are dealing with right now? all your complaints about treason and traitors and corruption?
It culminated in the Viet Nam era with the pull out of Viet Nam AFTER we won the war. AFTER.........when we were forced by the communists in America to pull out as though we had lost. SEE where it got us? You're fighting it at this very moment. And you want us to repeat the same mistake??

1. We won a military victory 3 years ago

NO, WE DID NOT...........we won the mission. There is a major difference.
You should know that. A war is made up of phases and many missions.

2. We lost a political victory 1 year ago

You got that right but it was 2 days after we won the original mission by toppling hussein. NOt 1 year ago.

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, we can do to change those two facts.

That has nothing to do with VICTORY. apples and oranges.

Iraq wants and needs US to leave and we need to leave.

Iraq would shit in it's collective pants if we left. Are you serious? Where the hell did you come up with that? they KNOW they'll be murdered if we left. Only the supporters of the insane maniac enemy wants us gone. They're the ones who will be doing the murdering.
Please, get your facts straight.

There is nothing left to win in Iraq or Afghanistan for that matter.

You had better pray that there is or you'll be fighting on American soil.
So........take your pick cause that's all ya got.

Freedom and Democracy Lost.

What are you referring to?

Islamofascism Won and is the Law of the Land in both countries.

That's a foolish statement and only said because you have no understanding of the depth of the problem and the enemy. Very few Americans understand the islamic nuts. All most Americans know is what they hear in the press or read. However, you better take a crash course or you'll be fighting them in AMERICAN STREETS. Just as Americans have been murdered by them for the past 35 years, not mentioning back to WWII when they aided Hitler. The only difference is that until '93, Americans hadn't been murdered by them in America, they were murdered by them thoughout the rest of the world.

People should be demanding for a clear VICTORY. People should be demanding that our troops' hands are untied and allowed to do the job that so many have lost life or limb for. People should NOT allow this government to screw our troops and our families by repeating the mistake of VN! Our future depends on a clear, decisive VICTORY by destroying every enemy possible in this god forsaken country.

The ramifications of what's about to happen if we do not win this will be devastating in the long run. One must remember that Iran and China are postioned to take the reins if we don't finish this once and for all.
China already has a hold on our throats through trade and finances. You want to hand them the Middle East on a freaking silver platter?
We're at a crossroads.

[/quote:3sydjcgk]

2ndamendsis ... the Law of the Land of both Iraq and Afghanistan is their Constitution. Their new Constitutions are based upon Islamic Law now. Every law and legislation is fundamentally sourced in the Koran in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq no law or legislation may contradict or over-ride the Koran. The Koran IS THE LAW OF IRAQ now. The Koran IS THE LAW OF AFGHANISTAN now. It doesn't matter who is in power ... the KORAN RULES IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN NOW.

In Afghanistan under their new Koran Based Constitution, it is a capital offense to be Christian and you will be convicted and executed if you are Muslim and convert.

THAT IS Islamofacsism ... in both countries now according to the new Constitutions ratified in 2005 ... 1 year ago.

I can't believe Americans don't understand this and realize what it means politically.

About Iraq wanting US to leave Iraq ... it was on the news today.

Originally Posted by Judy

2ndamendsis ... the Law of the Land of both Iraq and

Afghanistan is their Constitution. Their new Constitutions are based upon Islamic Law now. Every law and legislation is fundamentally sourced in the Koran in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq no law or legislation may contradict or over-ride the Koran. The Koran IS THE LAW OF IRAQ now. The Koran IS THE LAW OF AFGHANISTAN now. It doesn't matter who is in power ... the KORAN RULES IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN NOW.

In Afghanistan under their new Koran Based Constitution, it is a capital offense to be Christian and you will be convicted and executed if you are Muslim and convert.

THAT IS Islamofacsism ... in both countries now according to the new Constitutions ratified in 2005 ... 1 year ago.

Judy, I surely know exactly what islam fanatacism is.
And this has nothing to do with our VICTORY.
What do Americans not understand about this?
This administration AND others have gotten us into a bit of a pickle but Americans had better wake up very quickly and demand that they finish the job with a WIN. Nothing less will keep you and me from this menace on our soil whether or not all of our freedoms are stripped by our home grown insane power brokers. THIS is the face of islamist fanaticism.

[quote:2aw57vw5]I can't believe Americans don't understand this and realize what it means politically.

Don't short change Americans. However, as is demonstrated, the press certainly has managed to twist the reality into a fog. And for good measure, has managed to insert lie after lie for your consumption.

About Iraq wanting US to leave Iraq ... it was on the news today.

I'm not going to believe that you're this easily manipulated. I know you, Judy, to be a very bright, quick person who understands the manipulation by government & press. After all, isn't this exactly what we're up against with this Illegal Alien invasion?
Are you picking and choosing which twisted "news" to validate with your seal of approval and which not? That's completely inconsistant. Especially in light of all we're going through right here in this battle.

As I said before, the Iraqis, those that are not islamic maniacs which are the only ones we SHOULD be giving a darn about, know that if we were to leave, their very lives would cease to exist and at the very least, there would be massive murder the likes that haven't been seen in years.
They do NOT want us to leave. And, Judy, that is a FACT.[/quote:2aw57vw5]

.

Uuuh ... maybe I didn't make my position clear. Apparently not. So I'll do that now. I don't want one more American dime or one more American life or one more American limb being spent, risked or lost in a country with an Islamic Based Constitution that supports Shariah Law that defies everything our country stands for. And no television told me to say that, no politicians told me to say that. That's just Pure Judy. I supported this war because I believed the President of the United States and thought they had MWDs. When that turned out to be a lie, I still supported this war because they were going to spread "freedom and democracy" and that has turned out to be a lie. I never believed the "al-qaeda terrorist" threat was in Iraq amd that claim by our President has also turned out to be a lie which means everything coming from the White House and Defense Department concerning the reasons to be in Iraq or to stay in Iraq have no credibility because everything they have told US thus far ... has been nothing but lies.

So ... it's very simple for me and has been for the past 19 months when I discovered for myself what this President is up to concerning illegal immigration, free trade, Security and Prosperity Partnership, North American Union and One World Government.

I'm not willing to put America's name on anything this Administration does or wants to do because we have Traitors in the White House trying to end our nation. I'm not entrusting our Armed Forces, our Budget, our Security, our Sovereignty, our Present or Future on ANYTHING this Administration wants to do when it involves a foreign nation, foreign soil, foreign nationals, foreign businessses, foreign interests .... anywhere for any reason ... let alone a nation he lied about to invade and has lied about every single day since.

The UN has reported that over 900,000 Iraqis had fled Iraq since we invaded Iraq. The Iraqi Health Ministry has counted over 150,000 dead Iraqis in their morgues but believes this is not an accurate count because not all the dead have been taken to morgues and some are still missing. We're spending $8 Billion a week of money we don't have and risking the lives of America Soldiers to support an oppressive non-secular religious based theocratic nation that has re-established Shariah Law as the Law of the Land which is the religious source of all Islamofascism.

I believe there are many moderates in Iraq. I believe there are many Iraqis who wanted "freedom and democracy" just like our country. But that isn't what they got and we didn't ensure it. We failed these people miserably and irreversibly. Worse, we threw out their existing constitution which was a secular modern Constitution based upon civil laws and not the Koran a step they took on their own in 1959 which is why Iraq was never a bed of Islamofascism; why Iraqis had more freedoms than most Arabs in the Middle East; and why this is a travesty because and I'll quote Tony Blair ... "Iraq is a disaster."

That means it's a failure. It's not a military falure. It's a political failure. And why there is nothing, absolutely nothing, the United States can do to fix it.

Can it be fixed? Sure.

But the only people that can are the Iraqis. They have two choices ... become a Democracy or live in an Islamic Police State. That's it. That choice is theirs not ours.

The people we put in power chose the Islamic Police State. Get US out of there so the Iraqis can do what they need to do to fix their country.