For the past three days, this five-part diary series has shared the experiences of Rachel, an Iraq War Veteran, and her encounters with the private military contractor, KBR. In a series of interviews, she revealed stories of unfair disparities in pay and treatment between contractors and military personnel, having to shower in what was essentially wastewater because of KBR's negligence, and her reactions to the KBR water scandal investigations upon her return to the United States.
Today's installment tells a different story, but one that is equally appalling and pertinent to the issue of how the Pentagon continues to subject the troops to mistreatment and negligence. Josh, a soldier who was also stationed at Camp Ramadi, describes his experiences with struggling to find medical help for a traumatic brain injury (TBI), induced by a roadside bomb in Iraq, and his subsequent case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:
What caused your TBI?
I was serving as the gunner in the turret of a humvee when we were hit on the front driver's side by a roadside bomb which was set off by the radio. I was knocked unconscious for a couple minutes by the blast and had a concussion.
Can you describe the symptoms caused by your TBI?
With my TBI I have speech problems, balance and coordination problems, memory and concentration problems and post-traumatic stress disorder.
How were you treated?
I wasn't. I was "examined" by a battalion medic who was a staff sergeant. Apparently I had regained my hearing back and had no other problems. The notes said I should return if I had ringing in the ears, hearing problems, or unexplained chest pains or if my hearing worsened. Then I started back doing missions again. My commander filled out an LOD [a Line of Duty Investigation].
When we came home six months later, on my post deployment checklist, I noted that I had headaches, chest pain, difficulty breathing, ringing in the ears and difficulty remembering things. On the same checklist, I answered yes to 3 of 4 have-you-ever "PTSD Screening Questions." I received no follow up referrals and didn't know anything about PTSD or the possibility that I could even have it. So then we just went home. That was it, no physical, just [a week of] paperwork and drinking [in an intake facility], then home.
Would you characterize VA medical care as adequate?
It's inadequate because it takes so long to get in and get anything done. It's also inadequate because hundreds of thousands of soldiers who need it aren't even getting taken care of by the VA, and thousands more are attempting to commit suicide under their care. Not only that, but when I went there as "a danger to myself and other people," they said it was in the past and that it didn't mean that I was still. They didn't want me to be there and they didn't know what to do with me. It's no wonder they wanted to "Shhh..." the numbers of veterans attempting to commit suicide under their care.
Do you feel that there would be more volunteer recruits for the military if the government offered better treatment for the troops?
Definitely, I think a lot more people would volunteer. It just seems like it isn’t worth it right now and it only sounds like it’s going to get worse before it gets better. A big part of the recruiting is all about these benefits and, in my experience, they’re nearly impossible to get.
Do you feel that the effect of having more people sign up for service would diminish the need for the Pentagon to outsource all these services to private contractors?
It could definitely do that, because those hundreds of thousands of civilians serving overseas would be likely to do it for the army if it offered the same pay, benefits and leave. I got 15 days rest and recuperation leave from Iraq, while the people serving in Kuwait got 30 days and the civilians I talked to got to leave, all expenses paid, for two weeks every three months to go wherever they wanted to fly. In addition to the higher wages, the time away from home wouldn’t seem as bad if the tours were shorter or leave was more [frequent] or longer. It would also be smart to utilize the job skills the reserves and national guard bring to the army from the civilian side for some of the skill sets that they’re outsourcing. It would make sense to find a happy medium and pay civilians less and the military more, and give some of the military benefits as pay to avoid the red tape.
The "Shh..." that Josh talks about in his testimony refers to the subject line of an email sent by a VA official regarding the number of suicide attempts by veterans of the Global War on Terror. As instances of veterans' tragedies started to crop up (the New York Times published a series of articles chronicling these cases), so has the Department of Veterans' Affair's attempts to muffle and downplay these tragedies.
How much longer can the United States afford to sweep the needs of these soldiers under the rug? What does all this say about how much our leaders value the sacrifices these young men and women have made for our country? We need to send a message to the Pentagon that the American public will not stand for the unfair treatment of our troops, and that we will not turn our backs on these injustices. Tomorrow, Rachel will share her thoughts on what it would mean for all of us if the contractors were granted immunity for the injustices they've committed, and will lead a call for consequences.