For some…the war will go on forever

distributorcap NY

There is absolutely nothing pretty or honorable about the war in Iraq. It was started for immoral and bogus reasons and continues to be fought for immoral, bogus and pathetic reasons. Despite what you hear from the insulated press, the surge is not working – violence might be down, but even one American soldier or innocent Iraqi death is too many to call this a success. Besides, the whole “stated” intention of the surge was to get the political process in motion – show us any semblance of that happening. In reality, the purpose of the surge was to dump this problem off on the 44^th President.

George Bush’s ugly war has a very different kind of battle being fought well beyond the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan. This battle is an endless one and well beyond the sight line of anyone from the Bush administration.

One of the most depressing and insidious sides of this (or any) war has been the role thousands of families must take when their child comes home injured from Iraq. Soldiers – often young and unmarried, have turned to their parents for emotional, financial, medical and logistical support. And for these parents, it has meant delaying retirement, working overtime or extra jobs, moving to another city, putting off any expenses, dealing with the governmental bureaucracy and completely re-arranging their entire lives as they are forced into the role of long-term care takers. It is estimated that over 10,000 Iraq veterans are now dependent on their parents for care. This is heartbreaking to the nth degree.

In previous conflicts, many of the injuries sustained in Iraq would have been fatal. Army physician Dr. Ronald Glasser called this “a war of disability, not a war of deaths” in his book Wounded: Vietnam to Iraq. Better equipment and armor has saved lives, but so have the improvements in battlefield therapies and the ability to quickly move the injured to well-staffed hospitals. In Iraq, there are 6 deaths for every 100 injuries. In Vietnam that number was 28 out of 100, in World War II it was 38. Modern medicine and transport has been a godsend.

While this statistic is terrific and rousing, there is a flip side to it. Many of the injuries that the wounded now survive are so extensive and so precarious, they require full time and complex care. Those infamous IEDs are so powerful virtually anyone caught in an explosive wave is going have dramatic and critical injuries. In addition to the physical injuries (estimated at up to 300,000), there are thousands of cases of PTSD, depression and other mentally debilitating illnesses. Military screeners estimate up to 40% of returning soldiers have some sort of psychological symptoms that need treatment.

With so many soldiers in there early 20’s, parents have become nurse, doctor and psychiatrist to their injured child – dressing wounds, changing tracheotomy tubes, injecting medication, and dealing with depression. They are physical therapist, social worker, advocate and parent all at once. Many of these parents were retired – but now they have to take on a new and more critical full time job. They are the heroes to those that have put their lives on the line (whether you believe in this war or not) for this country. And often they are forgotten, ignored or worse – treated with disdain by the government and VA.

This new adjustment in their lives comes at an enormous cost – emotionally, mentally and financially. Travel is often not covered, neither are hotels and all the little expenses necessary to make the injured comfortable. In some cases the Army wants to pass responsibility onto the Veteran’s Administration – which means a whole new set of rules and regulations. Despite the horrible press from Walter Reed a few years back, the hospital is still known for some top-notch treatment of war-related injuries. Expensive and over-crowded, the Army cannot keep all patients at Walter Reed and will often opt for early discharge. Parents learn to navigate the bureaucracy and nab politicians as they come in for their photo-ops as part of the treatment for their war-injured child. Without their parents’ constant haranguing, many of the maimed would fall through the cracks end up like the neglected at Walter Reed.

Care can be substandard and pitiful – typical of many (but I emphasize not ALL) government operations. Nurses have been known to ignore some of the more severely injured, while many physicians are over-loaded to the breaking point. Appointments can take months. Some patients are mistreated. Parents have to be vigilant about the care their children are receiving – that tests are completed, medications are doled out, food is served, sheets are cleaned, and treatment is complete and apropos. In short, the parents become the doctor, lawyer and Indian chief. Dealing with the VA (aka “veterans adversary”) is often the worst part of the recovery. With staff and time in short supply – the VA will outsource some of the care to civilian hospitals. Now another whole bureaucracy enters the picture.

Imagine seeing your child go off to Iraq and come back injured, and now have to deal with this? The anger must be overwhelming.

What happens when a veteran doesn’t have a family? Or their families turn their backs? What happens if a severely injured vet outlives his parents? What about the families that do not have the financial or emotional wherewithal to deal with this trauma? And what will ensure that returning Iraqi veterans receive proper, complete and comprehensive treatment for ALL their illnesses – physical and mental. This is one of the most alarming, ominous and depressing sides of this war we DO NOT talk about or report about in the media. War is ugly, but this treatment is wretched and disturbing.

This has been a war with no flag-draped coffins, no sacrifice from those on the home front, and no public view of anything that tarnishes the marketing. It has been George Bush’s ugly war for George Bush’s maniacal and grandiose ego. For the rest of us – “let them eat cake or schrapnel – and let some one else clean up the crumbs.” This is a side of the war that will not end, even when the last troop does come home.

~ by distributorcap on June 4, 2008.