My heart is breaking for our military.

[EmilyAnne]

They were lied to by their Commander-in-Chief (Bush) about the reasons for war in Iraq.

They were used as political props in his stupid photo-ops such as the Mission Accomplished costume party.

Idiots slapped their "Support the Troops" stickers on their Hummers and felt that they were truly supporting them.

Meanwhile, our troops were sent off without proper body armor, guns, armored vehicles, ammunition, communication devices, etc.

That they were ever without proper supplies is disgusting enough, but even worse, their calls for the needed supplies were often ignored.

They have been exposed to contaminated water thanks to Dick Cheney's own Halliburton.

They have been fed mainly junk food. If they are sick of the unhealthy MREs, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Burger King and Pizza Hut are some of their additional options while in Iraq.

They have had their mental health care needs ignored and covered up.

They have been forced to beg for benefits such as medical care that they rightfully earned.

They have been abandoned to the roaches, rats and mold in hospitals such as Walter Reed.

They have been recalled and overextended.

Afghanistan continues to be a pitiful mess. The agenda there is still unclear and no one is quite sure what will happen next, nor what should happen next.

They have Dick Cheney, an architect of our two current wars, dissing the current Commander-in-Chief and planting fear and distrust in the minds of our soldiers.


Now, a man who set off alarms MANY times kills at least 12 at Fort Hood.
Despite these alarms, he was still entrusted with the mental health of men and women returning from Iraq.
I know its must be very difficult to open a formal investigation, but COME ON!
He wasn't "just" a soldier.
His duty was helping soldiers with mental illnesses, in particular victims of traumatic stress.
This guy gets a poor performance report while at Walter Reed and is still made responsible for people who may be severely depressed, suicidal, suffering from PTSD, etc?

Is this another sign that our military men and women continue to be short changed when it comes to mental health?
The military is so desperate for mental health care professionals that they accept those who perform poorly?


BTW-here is Robert Gates' October 26th address at the Mental Health Summit about the chronic shortage and what needs to be done to address it.
http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1391

[spoony]

1. k/r

They're treated like cattle with guns. Totally expendable on and off the battlefield.