Posted on 04/24/2017 7:59:58 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Chris May survived Afghanistan. Then came the battle to fit back in to society. May was paralysed from the waist down — an effect that subsided later the same day. But he had also sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The helmet had saved his life. After six months of speech therapy in Canberra May was declared fully fit for duties — but it was ceremonial work, on home soil. Not exactly what May signed up to do.. Our veterans hate DVA (the Department of Veterans' Affairs) because they're waiting for their compensation or claims to be heard from 50 years of backlogged paperwork. "As much as it sucked, I would go through it all again."
(Excerpt) Read more at abc.net.au ...
It seems every country made the same blunder: setting up a Communist boondoggle to “care” for veterans. Every veteran should get a check with which to buy catastrophic medical insurance in the private market.
Honestly, as an Australian veteran, I’ve nothing but respect for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and find them to be efficient, and dedicated to getting it right.
The benefits are also quite generous, although I certainly would never object to them being improved.
Bless you, many thanks for your service on ANZAC Day
Once vets stopped active duty service, they should have just been given vouchers for civilian medial facilities. Creating the entire VA medical complex was a hugh mistake, and only grew the size of government even more.
BTTT
ANZAC DAY is t6omorrow ...its from 25 April 1915...Gallipoli...my mother lost 3 uncles during that time...
I wonder how the Russian veterans manage?
My guess is, it has a lot to do with the culture you are returning to.
I was lucky when I returned to the earth to find employment where most of the males were WWII or Korean vets.
When I retired, there were only three of us in a large building.
When something less than good happened, we shared a famous line from old times; “What are they going to do? Send us to Viet Nam?”
—> As an Afghan combat vet, I have had a few discussions (in jest) with Vietnam combat vets. I always tell them they had easy! Army issued beer and hot chicks when you got some free time!
“It was April 25 two years ago when he and his brother were bailed up by the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, who mocked their service in Iraq and Afghanistan and said they couldn’t possibly understand what her father went through in a real war. To the brothers, it spoke to a broader disconnect between veterans of previous conflicts and contemporary returned servicemen and women.”
—> Huh? How does 5.2% of te general population get PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a complicated web of symptoms, currently affecting an estimated 4,150 serving members of the Australian Defence Force.
That’s 8.3 per cent, compared to an incidence of 5.2 per cent in the general population.
Were you on another planet?
“....’No-one cares, mate...”
I do.
And a whole Hell of a lot of others do as well.
My old man and his brothers were WWII vets.
While I breathe, no one is forgotten.
Never mind, that was not funny. I should have read the article. So sorry.
Thank you for your service. Very few Americans realize what a long and loyal allie you Australians have been. Good on ya’, mate!
Actually, 25% of the general population in the U.S. get PTSD, but realize there are LEVELS and what veterans can get (up to 35%) is chronic or complex-PTSD. Most civilians get it for a year or so with a car accident or longer if a natural disaster. The highest rate for a demographic is in the early childhood range for child sexual trauma survivors-35%.
I was shocked at the low percentage of reported cases. That would mean either the vets are not going in for treatment, or they are not actually developing PTSD. If they are not developing it, what is different about being an Australian as opposed to American?
from the Brits:
“Anyone can be diagnosed with PTSD, and it’s estimated that 1 in 10 people develop PTSD. 1 in 5 firefighters, 1 in 3 teenagers who have survived a horrific car crash, 70% of rape victims, 2 in 3 Prisoners of War, 40% of people who experienced a sudden death of a loved one,...”
(good site by the way) http://www.ptsduk.org/what-is-ptsd/who-is-affected-by-ptsd/
Now, I was going to share the link to the guys organization. Many of our young vets do not go the VFW but are getting involved with community programs to answer the call locally.
Only a fairly small proportion of recent Australian veterans have seen real combat conditions. Even though tens of thousands have served in the recent wars, the vast majority have been in support roles - for the most part only our elite units have been routinely deployed to combat (not just special forces (SAS, Commando, etc), but even the 'regular' infantry units deployed have been the best of those - the Royal Australian Regiment, in particular). That could explain some of this - my impression is that the US has deployed a much wider range of forces into combat situations.
(Of course, just about any soldier or other serviceman can find themselves in combat but there is a different risk profile for somebody working in logistics and support, from somebody in a frontline infantry unit - it's all important work, worthy of respect, but it's not the same).
Beating by parents. Vicious, unrelenting teasing in school. Rape. Mugging. Lots of ways to get PTSD.
“Once vets stopped active duty service, they should have just been given vouchers for civilian medial facilities.”
The bureaucracy sucks but the idea is sound. It is beneficial for vets to be treated by physicians who understand military demands, lifestyle, and roe.
An alternative is opening up military clinics to vets - it keeps the vets in a system they know and keeps the skills of the medical providers up. (This is a real possibility based on recent studies and swamp talks.)
Does Australia have a union that represents the Veterans Affairs employees like America does? The American Federation of Government Employees has been a great detriment to proper care.
I was in England a few years back, and one of the the guards noticed my hat. I was wearing, which said I was a Vietnam Veteran. He had been there the same timei was and we thanked one another for our service. We also agreed that it was a time that we realized that it was not worth the lives that were lost.. We had a good time together reminiscing.
True but you don’t need to see combat to develop PTS. I think I’m going to do a little more research about Brits and Aussies. The American lifestyle is unique and may be causing more boots to get it.
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