Iraq hero goes on warpath

[IndianaGreen]

Source: The Independent (UK)

Iraq hero goes on warpath

Victoria Cross holder condemns government failure to care for veterans suffering post-combat stress.

Exclusive by Terri Judd

Saturday, 28 February 2009

The Army's most decorated serving war hero has accused the Government of failing soldiers suffering from mental trauma resulting from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for twice saving the lives of colleagues in Iraq while under heavy rocket fire, told The Independent it was "disgraceful" that some veterans were struggling to receive treatment. He said the Government was relying on military charities to cover its own deficiencies and called on it to act to better help the growing number of his comrades suffering from severe combat stress, depression and mental breakdowns.

"These are people who have served this country," said Cpl Beharry, in his most outspoken interview since receiving the VC four years ago. "Why can't they get treatment? I don't think the Government is doing enough for soldiers. Those who are still serving get some form of help for combat stress but even those who are serving don't get enough support."


Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/iraq-hero-goes-on-warpath-1634227.html

[Posteritatis]

1. Can't wait to see the freepers call a VC holder a traitor/coward/etc over this (nt)

[Regret My New Name]

6. yeap... screwy bunch.

Makes me curious what's being said at certain other websites in regards to this.

*is he an Aussie or Brit?

[Posteritatis]

8. He's from Grenada

Emigrated to the UK in the late nineties and joined the army a couple of years later.

[WriteDown]

9. How is this possible?

This is the UK. They have UHC.

[Posteritatis]

11. UHC usually isn't really U

Health care in Canada rarely extends to dental, optical, counseling, etc, for instance, and I imagine the British system is similar in the outlines. They're often subsidized somewhat, and usually covered via schools and employers, but the base package in most provinces doesn't handle them that much. It's universal access to most general medical needs, but everyone tends to lag behind things like mental health coverage in particular.

I'd much rather have the flu or a broken leg or a sudden urgent need for a CT scan (that was 'fun') in any of the UHC countries than the US, but there's still some stuff that people have to handle out of pocket.

[WriteDown]

12. Interesting....

Doesn't sound like its not available though. Sounds like the problem is with the wait or with the fact that service members have to go through the NHS.


"He described it as an outrage that former military personnel were forced to wait for NHS treatment: "I think it is disgraceful that an ex-serviceman or woman has to go to the NHS. The Government should have something in place for ex-servicemen and women.""

[The abyss]

13. Posteritatis, Thanks for this information!

I did not know that in CA they subsidized, interesting.

[Posteritatis]

15. It varies by province, and I don't have all the info on most of them

Health care's a provincial responsibility here; I assume it's federal in the UK, so the implementation would be a little different. In NS you're usually out of luck for dental, optical or mental aside from a few procedures, though at least some coverage through employment is pretty typical, likewise for university students.

[The abyss]

17. I did not know there was that much difference.

From what I recall, many years ago, the UK NH did provide optical & dental. I don’t know about mental…. I always thought you would have to be “mental” to live there anyway :)

yes it is a joke

Every government office was cold, drafty and painted the same color. Coal fireplaces were standard in hundreds of offices and thousands of buildings. Coal wasn’t issued until something like October, it didn’t matter if they had a freezing September or a sweltering October. Insulation was non-existent.

Maybe one of the UK people will drop in and bring us up to date!

Edit for my lack of dealing with html correctly.

[No Elephants]

14. Really? I never give a rat's ass what the Freepers say. I have never been to

their website and I get annoyed when people bring their posts here.

I can understand why Freepers come here. I cannot understand why DU'ers go there.

[The abyss]

16. You don’t – ever?

Hell, I troll the whole world looking for anything I can find. I even drop in on the religiously insane from time to time.

However, anymore I really don’t have to look too hard. Most of the links will be brought here, DU, posthaste by people far better than I.

Many posters here are also bilingual, a great advantage.

But – yeah I want to know what is being said…. . Even if I consider them raving lunatics, I want to read it for myself.

[pasto76]

2. Get some!

yes, his combat credentials are certiainly not high enough for FReepers....

[Posteritatis]

3. I imagine having any disqualifies you in their eyes half the time (nt)

[pasto76]

4. they "disqualify" me almost all of the time.

When I say somethig like, "when I was serving in iraq, x,y and z happened."

they always respond with "yeah, well I heard x,y and z never happened."

My opinions are based on experience. Theirs are on what they want to hear, and really it boils down to how they identify themselves as "tough".

Im not tough, Im just a troop, doing my job.

[MadMaddie]

5. pasto76 that is their calling card

they are cowards. They won't put a military uniform on, they won't put the boots on. They play dress up in the woods with no one shooting at them and then they get to go home and act like warriors in their own heads.

Pathetic, selfish and lazy people they are. They listen to Rush, Coulter and Hannity and act like they are educated about the world.

I am sick of them.

President Obama said at Camp Lagune that more money would be invested in healthcare for our soldiars and I believe him.

[RedSock]

7. poor choice of headline

i thought the guy snapped and shot a bunch of people.

but come on -- have the government pay for care of the soldiers it sends into battle?

doesn't this guy know that $341,000,000 per day (Iraq only) doesn't go as far as it used to?

:sarcasm:

[WriteDown]

10. I thought the exact same thing....

Still puzzled as to how this is happening in the UK.

[IndianaGreen]

18. UPDATE: Soldiers rally to VC hero's defence

Soldiers rally to VC hero's defence

Colonel Tim Collins joins chorus demanding more help for ex-servicemen

By Terri Judd

Monday, 2 March 2009

Fellow soldiers decorated for their service in the Iraq war have thrown their weight behind calls by Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC for more help for troops suffering from mental trauma. Their intervention came as it was revealed yesterday that young veterans of conflicts are three times more likely than civilians to kill themselves.

In a demonstration of the courage that earned him the Victoria Cross, the country's highest honour for bravery, L/Cpl Beharry used an interview in Saturday's Independent to reveal the mental anguish he still suffers five years after saving 30 comrades in acts

of "repeated extreme gallantry". He accused the Government of failing service personnel who suffer from combat stress and said it was disgraceful that some veterans were struggling to get treatment.

In a show of military solidarity, countless soldiers have praised the 29-year-old for raising the issue. Colonel Tim Collins, whose rousing eve of war speech made him a household name, said Britain should offer far more support for former soldiers.

Major Justin Featherstone, a fellow member of the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment who fought alongside L/Cpl Beharry in Iraq and was awarded the Military Cross, said: "Anyone prepared to stand up and say 'I have a problem' is showing considerably more bravery than anything they may have done in close combat. In the military we acknowledge that a mentally wounded soldier is no different from someone who has been shot or lost a leg. But there is still a public stigma and to at least try and illustrate the potential problems is very laudable."

Colonel Collins added that while the work of charities such as Combat Stress should be praised, they were filling a gap that should be plugged by the Government. "There is a broader issue of what we need to be doing, not only for those with mental illness and combat stress but also for those disabled as a result of injuries," said the former commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/soldiers-rally-to-vc-heros-defence-1635127.html