Supporting the Troops
Aug 12th, 2007 at 10:21 am by Susie
Now we have a whole new wave of homeless vets coming, and of course this administration didn’t bother to plan for it. Way to support the troops, guys:
ORLANDO, Fla. - Often, when Ryan Svolto manages to sleep, he finds himself back in Iraq preparing for triage, awash in blood and bodies. But he can’t find his medical kit, and, helpless, he thrashes awake, damp with sweat.
As an infantry medic, he patched up soldiers wounded in combat in Iraq. Now, Svolto, 24, is trying to fix his own wounded life after a recent stint at a Daytona Beach, Fla., homeless shelter.
Svolto is one of a growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who joined the ranks of the homeless after returning home. Experts say a system already buckling under one of the nation’s largest homeless populations might collapse under the weight of a new wave of veterans, many saddled with mental-health issues and crippling brain injuries.
”If I could identify and convince every homeless vet in the area to come to a shelter or a transitional-housing program,” said Cathy Jackson, executive director of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, ”we wouldn’t have enough beds for them.”
why are these soldiers not using their gi bill? i know form experience you can live on that. its easy to go to school coming from the military.
what of jobs? before i came back in the army as a grunt (5 years out) i had no problem getting a decent job.
there IS help for soldiers while they are in, soldiers dont go get it. it is there.
example: we get safety briefs EVERY weekend , dont drink and drive. what happens EVERY weekend. right, JOE dosent listen. theyres help, and im ashamed any of my brothers ever spent a night on the streetz.
That’s garbage, Rick James.
The nickel-and-diming down of all benefits including medical, educational and vocational has been in force since before 9-11 to the tune that the promises given when they enlist just don’t wash anymore.
THERE IS NO MORE GI BILL.
The homelessness? That’s just the beginning…This administration has wrought social Chaos our nation hasn’t even seen yet. What the US did to Iraq, it will soon find it did to itself. Bush has planted the seeds of America’s destruction in his lust for Money & Power…
have you ever served a second in the military? no i think not. i have the gi bill, went to school for free, and had 1500 a month tax free in my pocket. i also had free va health care. and then i came back in the army, and yes i got wounded in iraq, and yes im going to afghanistan and not for a second, have i felt that my brothers in arms, above or below me, cared about my wellbeing. sergeants run the army, especially the infantry. more than any civilian coul ever know, WE care about the troops. we care about their mental health, their morale, and what they do with their lives. i am a libertarian, but it seems #2 and #3 are both repeating superficial ignorant party lines. troops take care of troops. were all brothers. help is definitely there.
Well Rick James, then why are we seeing homeless vets? Do troops take care of troops only when they’re on active duty? Who takes care of them when they get out? YOU may care about the troops but what resources do you have for them when they leave the military?!