Open Letter On Veteran Suicide
1 Suicide every 65 Minutes
James Yakym
Air Force Veteran
IU Alumni
I've been a IU football fan since they were horrible!
My issue is veteran suicide.
I have lost all trust in this government when it comes to taking care of veterans. Phoenix scandal that
let 40 vets die than handed out millions in bonuses. The former chief of staff in Indiana turning vets
into drug addicts and breaking federal prescribing laws. The South Bend Vet Center
that failed a veteran as he too committed suicide.(Article Family Gets 1.7M Settlement For Veteran
Suicide)
I got out of the VA years ago because of its failures. I shouldn't have to show up to a VA appointment
with police tape because a veteran decided to end his life in the parking lot. These suicides are
government failures and I blame the VA.
I'm requesting this government to ban all pills with the side effects of suicide and homicide.
I'm requesting this government read article Veterans Betrayed: Psychiatric Programs Fuel Suicide,
Public Violence, Death and despair.
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Why cant this be prevented ?
the US military spends months programming impressionable american youth to be killers, and 1 hour deprogramming them prior to discharge.
Well, depends on which branch of the military Dev - I got a full week of deprogramming from the Marines in '68 and the same from the Coast Guard in '92. Course, had a nephew get discharged, medically, from the Army and his deprogramming lasted for 'bout six months due to the exposures he had. Sadly, he contacted pancreatic cancer and passed away within a year
This is a horrible lack of care for our vets. My SIL worked at the VA for a few years as a psychiatrist (he was also a coastie) and he says that there are just not enough doctors to go around and vets don't often want to admit they have a problem... not a good combo.
I'm a Marine Vet, this is sadly true.
Have been using VA services for a while and basically have found that the care offered and received has a lot to do with the location of the facilities.
Example - Kavika's son had not been treated by their local VA (can't remember which facility) and they transferred him to another one which, according to Kav, has given him excellent care and treatment.
My treatment center's are El Paso and NM and I am receiving great care as are the other vets I meet and talk with in our locations. However, the VA's located in Albuquerque, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver and the few in LA that I'm aware of are short staffed and funding is almost abysmal, primarily due to the political pressures from the DC folks who care for their personal funding and not institutional.
Congress will set the "rules" and pass the funding - but - how many in Congress are Veterans? 98 out of 536, or 18% - 20 veterans serve in the Senate (or 17–20 depending on exact tracking), and 78 to 80 veterans serve in the House of Representatives.
IMHO, as there are less "members" with prior service, there won't be a lot support.
Veterans receive weekly "news updates" giving us the in's and out's of what is happening in the VA community and the updates continually show lack of support and funding due to lack of knowledge or concern of what the vets actually need - manning/staffing/service and funding oversight - such as the "bonuses" that hit the news.
Where do the bonuses come from? Congressional funding that isn't being properly tracked by leadership who have no oversight to quit just throwing money out the window.
The issue is not with the VA administration - it is, as always, Congressional oversight - there is none. Congress, IMHO, is worse than teats on a boar hog for many, many programs because they don't care for the "people" unless the people have the same familial ties as the Congressional members who are busy moving funding to their "pet" projects - one of which IS NOT the care and well-being of our veterans.
18% ain't gonna get a lot done in places where it actually needs to be done - oversight, funding, staffing and service to the veterans.
Had a buddy that was a vet, he was suicidal....called 911 and was arrested and sat in a jail cell for 2 days, then was released. No medical care, no nothing. So it's a big ask for people (Vets) to call 911 when they are seeking help.
Do not call 911 if you are experiencing mental issues. Call 988 .
Which will call the police the second they get your address.
That's criminal holding him in a jail cell for 2 days and not getting any help!
Exactly.
I have sat with my father for hours at the VA waiting for his turn. That was fifty years ago. Even back then the VA was essentially Medicaid for veterans.
Veterans back then didn't seem to have as many incidents of suicide. The veterans from that era tended to be extraordinarily violent. At least that was the case with the veterans I encountered. So, to me, the problem seems to stem from how active service members are treated today. The problems begin long before the VA enters the picture. Expecting the VA to fix what the active military screws up doesn't seem realistic. That's just an excuse for the 'oorah' boys to ignore the problems they're creating.
I would like to see reform on this issue. Feel free to post this on your social media