During my USAF technical training, I had a roommmate who fell while doing her mile and a quarter PT run and broke her wrist. The TI didn't believe her and forced her to do pushups on it. Her AFSC was computer operator, and the injury made her unfit for both her job description and any sort of military duty beyond guarding facilities. She should have been medically discharged.
Instead they made her wait over nine months while trying to decide what to do with her. A civilian would have been able to take any other employer to court over this. They relegated this extremely intelligent young lady to guard duty for nine months while they tried to find a way out of paying her disability. They wanted to get their investment back and they were going to get it, even if it was setting her at guard duty for months; literally adding insult to injury. And this is how they treated someone active duty in peacetime (1986). If I had known then what I know now, I would have told her to get in touch with her Congressman pronto.
On two occasions, at two different bases, I came down with bronchial pneumonia. At Keesler, I was openly accused of malingering, but at least given the medicine I needed. At Ramstein, I was made to wait three hours in the waiting room, shivering in my field jacket until the fever broke, then handed a prescription for ASPIRIN (!!!!) and again accused of malingering. I had to go back a second time when a different doctor was on duty to get the antibiotics necessary.
Military medical care can be heinous on the best of occasions. I have no illusions about that.
The concern, of course, that some wounded Guards simply want to go home, to areas where there is no VA hospital near than, and without official resolution of their status. Due to Federal budget-cutting, there are fewer VA hospitals than there once were, and they are open fewer hours in some cases, with fewer staff. So while those with service-connected medical issues are priority, the services they need may not be available in their home area.
One of the things the newly Democratic Congress should look at is allowing vets to use their military benefits from whatever medical facilities are nearest them. Whether they are guard, reserve or active duty, you don't see anyone military saying "Well this isn't MY little backwater, why should *I* bother putting my life on the line for it?" The military protects the entire nation, why should it be that only PARTS of the nation are made available to them when they need medical attention for injuries sustained in that service?
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timeasmymeasure
Re: veterans benefits for National Guard
Date: 2007-01-07 07:09 pm (UTC)Instead they made her wait over nine months while trying to decide what to do with her. A civilian would have been able to take any other employer to court over this. They relegated this extremely intelligent young lady to guard duty for nine months while they tried to find a way out of paying her disability. They wanted to get their investment back and they were going to get it, even if it was setting her at guard duty for months; literally adding insult to injury. And this is how they treated someone active duty in peacetime (1986). If I had known then what I know now, I would have told her to get in touch with her Congressman pronto.
On two occasions, at two different bases, I came down with bronchial pneumonia. At Keesler, I was openly accused of malingering, but at least given the medicine I needed. At Ramstein, I was made to wait three hours in the waiting room, shivering in my field jacket until the fever broke, then handed a prescription for ASPIRIN (!!!!) and again accused of malingering. I had to go back a second time when a different doctor was on duty to get the antibiotics necessary.
Military medical care can be heinous on the best of occasions. I have no illusions about that.
The concern, of course, that some wounded Guards simply want to go home, to areas where there is no VA hospital near than, and without official resolution of their status. Due to Federal budget-cutting, there are fewer VA hospitals than there once were, and they are open fewer hours in some cases, with fewer staff. So while those with service-connected medical issues are priority, the services they need may not be available in their home area.
One of the things the newly Democratic Congress should look at is allowing vets to use their military benefits from whatever medical facilities are nearest them. Whether they are guard, reserve or active duty, you don't see anyone military saying "Well this isn't MY little backwater, why should *I* bother putting my life on the line for it?" The military protects the entire nation, why should it be that only PARTS of the nation are made available to them when they need medical attention for injuries sustained in that service?