Our troops volunteer to risk their lives to defend the country they love and to preserve our alleged FREEDOMS. Many of our wounded have arrived at Walter Reed hanging on by the grace of God. They have lost body parts and have permanent damage to other organs. They have strange parasites and never before seen conditions that they and their top notch medical team are trying to diagnose and treat. They have been exposed to WMD – YES, I said WMD! – and many also have to deal with the rejection of their loved ones. Some have come home to a house that has been stripped bare, along with their bank account. Do you honestly think these guys give a tinker’s damn about smoking a cigarette?
Driving around WR past the back side of the hospital and seeing our wounded warriors being wheeled out in wheelchairs or hospital beds with IVs attached and piled with blankets in the middle of the winter just to have a cigarette is, or should be, a national disgrace. It is despicable to treat our heroes this way. They are not out there smoking crack for crying out loud! Meanwhile, back inside they are given every drug known to mankind and many still experimental with no documentation on the long term effects of said drugs.
When I first started visiting Walter Reed in 2005 you were permitted to smoke outside and in the breezeway at The Mologne House. If you are not familiar, the breezeway is a rather large covered walk through from one part of the building to the other. Yes, it is cold in the winter and hotter than hell in the summer, but you are out of the elements in terms of rain, snow and the beating sun. There were tables and chairs and it was the favorite hangout spot for many of our troops and their care giving family members to smoke, enjoy stimulating conversation, play cards or music and simply relax and have a good time. There was a sense of camaraderie and belonging in those days. All races and nationalities were as one as they joked and talked and SMOKED!
Then the "NO SMOKING" signs began to appear. The guys would tear them down and light up. Gradually things got worse and all ashtrays etc. were removed and formal plaques were screwed to the walls everywhere. There was a feeling of mistrust and few congregated anywhere. Many became more reclusive and uncommunicative. This only deepened the anxiety and symptoms of PTSD, IMHO. Nothing speaks fascism like walking up and seeing a double amputee, from the pelvis down, sitting in a wheelchair in the pouring down rain trying to smoke a cigarette. This man was on his third tour of duty in Iraq and they finally got him and this is how he is treated when he returns home? This is an abominable way to treat our men and women in uniform! It must end!
Very Well said
I had a V.A. hospital Administrator tell me one time that they had to stop the smoking to keep their hospital certification.
When I contact that “certifying organization” they told me that was no so. They only required that the smoking area be away from other folks.
Very much agree
Thank you