Retirees and veterans of my generation were given a promise of free medical care. In addition, VA medical care was promised, based upon "beds available". This has turned out to be an empty promise. Those that served honorably in the military fulfilled their side of the bargain, and it's more than time for the government to fulfill it's part.

Insurance -- whatever it's flavor, is not free medical care as promised. And, such things as annual fees, co-pays, deductibles, etc. are just another way for the government to avoid costs associated with fulfilling the promise it made to millions of retirees and veterans. In addition, the current practice of billing private medical insurance is another example of the government profiting at the expense of those who pay the premium.

RE: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,164397,00.html

The United States Government continues to come up woefully short in it's obligations to those most deserving of the promises made: the young men and women who step forward in good faith to serve while sacrificing greatly and at great personal risk.

For those of us that were in the service prior to 1957, even the Supreme Court stated that we were promised free health care but they could not rule in our favor - the only way that promise could be fulfilled was that it had to be enacted by Congress. Of course, every year a law is proposed, but sits in committee where it dies. So we old guys pay from our meager Social Security for the privilege of getting Medicare - now for the over 65 crowd, they want to propose a $125 fee for Tricare for Life enrollment. Yet, at Medicare enrollment time, I see where HMOs are refunding to their users the Medicare fee that the government requires for users of Medicare. HMOs are making super profits, yet my wife and I pay approximately $2400 for our "free" health care. This President ran on a "take care of our Veterans" platform, when first elected - since then, him and Dr. Chu, have constantly attempted to raise health care fees and now they are trying to pay the retirement of the current force at 60 years of age or higher. Further, they now say that military pay is comparable to that of the civilian force. How do they measure the 24 hour day or the constant threat of death in the combat zone. When is enough for these people - they know that we will obey our CinC and follow till death - that is the soldier's way - if you want continued enlistments and support of the military, do not abuse them.

quote:

Originally posted by Chuck757:
Retirees and veterans of my generation were given a promise of free medical care. In addition, VA medical care was promised, based upon "beds available". This has turned out to be an empty promise. Those that served honorably in the military fulfilled their side of the bargain, and it's more than time for the government to fulfill it's part.

Insurance -- whatever it's flavor, is not free medical care as promised. And, such things as annual fees, co-pays, deductibles, etc. are just another way for the government to avoid costs associated with fulfilling the promise it made to millions of retirees and veterans. In addition, the current practice of billing private medical insurance is another example of the government profiting at the expense of those who pay the premium.

RE: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,164397,00.html

You are right on the empty promise. I'm a Vietnam Era veteran AND a retired Reserve officer. I can't get VA medical care because I was reclassified as " non-priority" in spite of my having been a benficiary for 23 years. They said my wife made too much money and I had private insurance.I'm only 53 so it's seven more years for Tri-care.

I've retired from my civilian job and my employer pays my premiums but my out of pocket expenses for last year was over $2,000...for a broken arm and a colonoscopy.

I'm the same veteran I always was , but pay 10 times more for health care than before this reclassification...and I'm only one of thousands who have been shoveled out the back door.

Guess I'm still being called upon to sacrifice for my country.

Normally, I am fairly supportive of the current administration, this however is one area where I am at odds with the administration over. We can't keep this non-funding up and we can't keep raising fees on the Tri-Care system. With no disrespect to the Vietnam generation I think this curent generation of disabled veterans are going to be worse off than others because of the increased cost; not necessarily because their injuries were better or worse.

Congress actually has a chance to raise their dismal ratings with the American public by demanding that the proper amount of funding be added to the budget for veteran health care. Time will tell I guess but in the mean time I am not going to hold my breath.

Our current president presided over a war of choice not a war of necessity where the Rumsfeld doctrine of 'shock & awe' was to win a nation without any troops on the ground. the result?

We bypassed cities filled w/armed soldiers.
We left behind bunkers filled w/munitions.
because we didn't have the time or equipment to verify there were no WMD's inside.
We starved the inhabitants by cutting off their food and water supply lines then rolled through their cities w/truckloads 180 strong filled w/food and water.
We ignored their security needs and spent over 5 years unsuccessfully attempting to rebuild the infrastructure we bombed into the stoneages.
We accrued 4,000 dead and 30,000 wounded overwhelming our military and VA medical systems who were woefully underfunded and unprepared.
We fired our military leaders who told the truth of what it would take to invade a nation and replaced them with leaders who kept their mouth shut and failed the nation.
We forced the resignation of the CENTCOM admiral who had the audacity to tell the truth when asked.
We kept a SECDEF who's only goal was to destroy Iraq's leader, gain control of stragegic oil, and display the awsome might of the only remaining superpower who is now being routinely efficiently attacked by children and mental retards.
We gutted our military such that we now take felons, high school dropouts, obese asthmatics and gang members we'd never before taken then started promoting them all the way to E-6 w/o the training or experience they (were) required to have to gain squad leader positions.
We cut taxes for the first time in history during a period of war ensuring we'd go to war with the least amount of equipment possible only reacting to actual needs years later such as having a request for MRAP's ignored since just after the invasion until just recently.
We went into battle with inadequate weapons & armor so much so that the marine corp estimates 400 of their finest died because of being inadequately equipped.
We gave actual working HK416 weapons to our SPECFOR soldiers then took them away and gave the pieces of crap M-4's so some suit could keep a $60million contract for a defective, obsolete weapon designed in the 60's.

Finally, we were promised by candidate George Bush that he would 'put an end to the abuse of the military' then President George Bush promptly abused us to the breaking point so much so that my current unit was just pulled out of rotation to go back because we were now 'combat ineffective'.
And when the public found out our wounded heroes were living in squalor amidst rat-infested, moldy hospital recovery facilites, we were told to 'suck it up'.
And, yes, while all the rhetoric and commissions were commissioned to report on how to better treat our men and women in uniform, the VA budget was cut drastically.

That's why I personally know a soldier who had 1/2 his head blown off and lost his spleen and the Army gave him a 10% disability.

That's why only those who serve and their families sacrifice and pay the price for occupying a muslim country and stalling the hunt for the real terrorists who are not only regrouping and strenthing in Pakistan/A-Stan, but riding herd over the largest bumper crop of heroin the world has ever seen.

That's why a whole wave of soldiers in my unit that got their 20 year letter promptly submitted retirement letters instead of staying in for the 'duration' or for 30 years+

Only 1 in 10 Americans of age are fit for duty. It seems to me that decimating the even fewer that serve seems a strategic blunder of catastrophic proportions.

Perhaps that's why, last month, the Army sent 150 medically unfit soldiers back into battle including one soldier actually pulled out of a mental institution where he was committed.

And why we'll continue to do so until we finally gut our army to the point of no return.

Our medical system already estimates 50% of national guard & reserves suffer PTSD or war-related injuries while our active forces serve 15 months in theater and only 12 in the rear.

thankfully, we get to pay $12Billion/mo for the honor of policing the second richest country on the planet who doesn't even spend their oil wealth...they just stuff it into New York banks until the burst at the seams.

Yes, we're proud of what we've done. I can't help but wonder at what cost to our nation...

the costs are real:

soldiers in my unit have been caught using drugs, running drugs, running guns, faking breakdowns and physical injuries to avoid returning to Iraq (again), deserting, forging documents and a list of other crimes not seen since the waning days of Vietnam.


OUT HERE

It's a shame that our government seems more interested in giving free medical care to illegal immigrants than taking care of our veterans. Not only that, many states are giving illegal immigrants free tuition to attend college.