Submitted by Guest1212 (not verified) on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 7:29pm.
It is too bad it has come to this for a "call to action."
The military and government have turned their cheek and it is embarrassing that those that go and serve our country don't get the assistance they deserve when it comes to mental illness.
Clearly killing others and being in a war zone has long lasting effects. Did we learn anything from Vietnam? PTSD isn't exactly new. I'm sorry this doctor died, but there have been thousands of lives ruined by military experiences that have had negative emotional/behaviorial/mental consequences. This is our wake up call? I doubt it... why should this one incident wake up those who have been slumbering through decades of ignored soldiers?
These bills are of no good if there is no follow through, and an exit test from a doctor is easy enough to pass if one wants to. What about five, ten, twenty years down the road... where is the necessary mental illness assistance then? I hope Mr. McIntyre succeeds and this isn't just some feel good measure that masks the real catastrophe that exists.
Maybe I'm too skeptical, but the members of the military have never received the treatment they've deserved. I don't know if it goes with the mindset of being a soldier, "suck it up and get over it", but for years, military personnel have basically been brainwashed to deal with it.
Sometimes the decisions of those in government are so perplexing. Shouldn't our men and women get the care they deserve after putting their lives on the line? What's next, cutting education funds and making children seem insignificant?
It is too bad it has come to